delivery driver

Spark Delivery

When I started, the money was decent. I made about $500 per week, more or less. I almost quit my other job because the pay was not bad. Then it changed. Think maybe Walmart took control and it all went south after that. By the time I quit delivering, the pay was absolutely terrible and offers were hit and miss. I could sit in the parking lot several hours between deliveries, and many days I went home frustrated and with very little money to show for my wasted time. I know some people who still do this, but all of them are looking for something else. Basically, new drivers arrive each day as the more experienced drivers get frustrated and leave. I don't understand why anyone would even do this job unless you just want something to pass the time of day for very little pay, and even then if you are sitting in the parking lot for much of that day, you are going to be bored and frustrated out of your mind.

As for the app, there were many problems with it. I had days when an offer would be made and the time to accept that offer had passed a few minutes earlier, even though I just got the offer.  Many times the app would be completely down and not working at all. There were many other issues that I've forgotten about (or maybe my brain is protecting me from all the frustration of those issues). Anyway, things would happen where customer service had to be contacted, and those people overall were good at their jobs and very understanding in most cases. I bet they were busy as heck though.

The biggie though, and this is why I would never do this job again, is the ability of customers to tip bait. Stupidly, Spark gives customers at least a day or so to withdraw their tips after delivery...and a lot of people do just that. Customers don't even have to give a reason for doing so. They do it because some drivers get wise to their tricks and decide not to make those deliveries. Unfortunately, there is always a newbie who will take it and then make virtually nothing for all their efforts. Just recently, I had a friend who was supposed to get a $20 tip for a fairly difficult delivery. Of course, once she got her pay information, that tip had been removed by the customer. This stuff is fairly regular and not just a fluke now and then. As dumb as it is to allow customers to do this, it is hard to believe that there are people in this world who expect you to shop and/or deliver a boat load of groceries and then these idiots think that it's ok not to tip you at all. Most people would not think twice about tipping the pizza delivery person, who is just bringing one or a few fairly light pizzas, but they think that someone who brings heavy groceries to their door, and more than likely will have to make multiple trips to and from their car, does not deserve a tip for that work. This happens a lot. In fact, a lot of offers will show no tip at all. That offer, in most cases, is not going to pay much at all without a tip included. But again, you can't trust that even if a tip is indicated that you are ever going to see it.

Another thing I noticed as time progressed is that Spark was having drivers go through a ton of stuff on the app that reminded drivers to do this, then do that, then go to the bathroom, etc. It got to be quite a bit of finger activity just to make even a simple delivery. I can only guess that with all the new inexperienced drivers coming onboard, that many mistakes were being made, and Spark had to have every step checked and double checked before a driver could move forward. There were a few times where I got stopped in my tracks just because the overburdened app crapped out and I could not close out one delivery in order to go to another. Then, I had to take extra time to call customer service to get it fixed. Then, that took long enough that I would miss the next pinging time for offers, which caused another hour of sitting in the parking lot.

There are things about this sort of work that I have probably forgotten about as I have not delivered in almost a year now. I did it for almost 2 years though and there are many reasons I would avoid doing this particular job ever again. The potential tips are the only way this type of job works and if you can't depend upon those, which Spark seems to be ok with, then there just isn't much there at all, in my opinion.


What is the best part of working at the company?
Deactivated me because of my marital name change. Denied my request for reactivation through the appeals process unfair employment no job security no guarantee to make money just over seas customer service reps that barely assist

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Wear and tear on your own vehicle for no guarantee to make decent money they have you delivering 1.00 per mile that's what you make

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Self employed you choose the environment you accept 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Driving waiting for orders denying lots of low pay orders and tip baiting by customers and some people like to order ten items of the same thing like two bags of dog food four things of water. Hope you like lifting and if its in an apartment building hope ya like walking. Get a dolly lol also gated housing can lock you in with no way put if customer is not home. Aprak can't help you only the cops

What is the best part of working at the company?
It used to be great! But - they lowered the pay and hire too many drivers so it's rough to get orders - I guess if you do it as a side hustle, it may be OK but if you want a job, you're going to struggle with this one. The worst part is the pay dropped dramatically and people just don't tip like they used to - most hours you make significantly less than minimum wage - especially once you pay for gas and vehicle maintenance... the only good things are the flexibility and the people you meet at the stores and homes/businesses. 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Low pay, high mileage and lots of drivers

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Scripted answers from Driver Support that never really help, store personnel are usually great but there are always some who aren't,  highly competitive, low pay

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Hope for offers and wait ... lots of driving and waiting ... carrying heavy items frequently... always in the weather

My first day driving for Spark I met 2 different incentives earning me an extra $63. The incentive ended that night. The next day I received notification that I met the incentive expectations and earned an extra $63. The money was deposited into my earnings. However, I later in the day I noticed the $63 gone from my earnings. I received a notice saying that they canceled the incentives after they were complete and that I would only receive a $25 inconvience incentive fee. I texted with support and was told some higher up managers decided to cancel it. How can you cancel something when it's already over and the expectations were met? Also, I delivered 3 trips to 6 different customers and 1 out of the 6 customers tip baited me. I looked up online and I see that many people say the same things happen to them. I think money can be made with Spark but it won't be what you think and the company seems frusterating to work with. I'm glad I have another job. I can't say this is true for everyone but alot of people have these same experiences. Beware!

What is the best part of working at the company?
Communicating with the associates at the store while either waiting for the orders to be loaded or while shopping. 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Communicating with the tech team regarding app issues. No one at the tech team resolved any issues. The issues there is what caused me to not be able to work anymore. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Since there was not a work office to work at I can’t say what the environment or culture is. I worked out of my own personal vehicle as a self employed contractor. 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
First waiting for orders to be sent. Figuring which one is good to accept. Then going through the process to deliver. I worked as much as I wanted to and got paid pretty good.

I like that I have the choice to work my own hours within their schedule. They are times you can wait up to an hour for an order but I don't anymore (15 minutes max). Big batch orders are a major problem because mileage is wrong sometimes and if it's less they take it back out and if more they tell now to take it back to the store if off. They didn't on the first time they told me to complete but told me well what you are quoted is what we pay. That is wrong because they take back if less. I was told by them to finish the delivery. It needs to be managed better but overall it's not terrible pay should be better since we are driving our own vehicles and paying our own insurance.

This is the best job I have ever had . The pay is amazing 🤩 Great Incentives all the time to make the pay great . Make your own schedule 100% of the time . Great work life balance ! No calling off , no being late to work , vacation whenever you want . Take a 3 day week end . Take Christmas break off  take 2 weeks off . Just save up ! $ No nore HR BS !!  Make as much money as you want . You decide your income for the week . You do have to love to drive to really enjoy this job . If you do not like to drive , I do not recommend this job . I love all the different areas I get to visit on a regular basis . See people crops grow daily is so cool . Just be great at customer service , and put tip stickers on out your bags . 

If you're thinking of doing Spark deliveries for extra income, DON'T! Walmart has decreased what the pay for deliveries and increased the delivery radius so now you have to drive longer for less money than before! The drivers who have been around awhile know that the pay is bad and won't take the deliveries so Walmart continues to recruit new drivers who don't know any better. If you do get approved by Spark, you'll need to plan on sitting in a hot parking lot from 6am to 10pm everyday with no breaks to make any decent money at this gig. Otherwise you'll maybe squeeze out $20-40 a day while you're competing with 10 other drivers for the same deliveries. 

Everything about this job is garbage. The customer support is no help. They just give you excuses and apologies. You can barely understand them half the time. They never know what to do. They don’t resolve any issues you may have. They don’t care how customers treat you and they are not very transparent. If somebody gives you a bad review you can’t see the reason why and you can’t defend yourself. You get deactivated with no warning in advance. It’s just a very very bad app.

Spark was a good company to work for you can make really good money with this app. You are an independent contractor and they don’t take taxes out of your pay so if you are interested in them you have to keep that in mind. You can be as flexible with your schedule as you want as you work for yourself. How much you are paid is how much you are available during the day. If you work from when the first order comes in till the last order at night you would make $800-1000 a week or more depending on the trips. You do have to compete with a lot of people for each of your trips so it can be frustrating at first 

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