I deliver for Amazon

[CourierLass]

Amazon often gets a hard time on MN, tbf it’s not the easiest place to work but needs must.
I shall try to answer your questions best I can

You all do an amazing job OP, thank you.

We live in a long main road (about a mile long), and our delivery driver one day just before Christmas said he had 200 deliveries to do all on our road in that single day!

How big is the area you usually have to deliver to?

[quote CourierLass]@Fiddlersgreen
You are updated throughout the day on how fast you’re going if you fall too far behind you ‘get swept’ another driver who is finished comes and takes parcels off you and you’re charged £1 per parcel that is swept, so you have to complete your route or lose money.
@Akire
The drivers should not leave parcels like that and do deserve concessions (👎🏼)[/quote]
That seems dangerous to me, like it's Amazon's policy to put extreme time pressures on drivers, encouraging some of them to drive recklessly through residential areas. That sounds like a disaster waiting to happen.

Sorry if it has already been asked. . How do you feel about the amazon tv ads (not seen one for a little while) where the workers are saying how great it is to work for amazon? (They felt like soviet propaganda to me)

[quote CourierLass]@LastStarFighter
The route is plotted using geospots with your postcode and if you’ve previously had a parcel all that data is used, we don’t tend to get a set area, it shifts about every 4/5 weeks.[/quote]
I was wondering because we get between 2 - 4 drivers per day (including regularly Amazon), 4-5 days per week, stopping at our door asking for directions. We don’t mind at all, so they always get a smile and the best directions we can manage, and sometimes a print out of a local map with the house names marked, but I’m always surprised there are so many.

I work right next to an amazon building and it’s so busy, hundreds of white vans coming and going. Lorries at night. Aprox 5 buses at times taking employees home.

@cormorantes
It is like propaganda Amazon absolve themselves of any responsibility to their workers, the attitude is ‘if you don’t like it leave’.
@davidsong
We have had the ementor driving app being phased in to monitor driving skills, any fall below 800 you won’t work the next day.
@LastStarFighter are you in a new build estate?
I never need directions.
😉

@MoominWoomin I worked for Amazon in the HQ as a graduate and that's what I did, investigated buyer fraud. You get away with anything once or twice, if it happens more often, you will get flagged, if you are actually deemed as fraudulent, you will never be able to shop at Amazon again, your email addresses everything is linked to an IP, they can see all of your email addresses used and everyone connected to you. This was in 2013, I'm sure their technology has even got better now.

@CourierLass we will leave the safe space as our porch now, I didn't know this would help you - it's good to know!!

OP thank you and the other drivers. My questions

• does your actual employer have much control over how they employ, or is really a take it or leave it between them and Amazon?

Is there much difference between the pay and conditions of different companies fulfilling Amazon deliveries? Do you just do Amazon delivery or other companies as well?

We don't need a safe space, my house hasn't been empty since the middle of march 2020. :(

[quote cheesebubble]@MoominWoomin I worked for Amazon in the HQ as a graduate and that's what I did, investigated buyer fraud. You get away with anything once or twice, if it happens more often, you will get flagged, if you are actually deemed as fraudulent, you will never be able to shop at Amazon again, your email addresses everything is linked to an IP, they can see all of your email addresses used and everyone connected to you. This was in 2013, I'm sure their technology has even got better now. [/quote]
Wow that is fantastic! I always kind of thought with them being a billion dollar company they probably just don't care. I hope the two empty parcels I received recently haven't been logged as fraud now, they didn't even ask for photographic proof, which I took, just sent me refunds right away.

@MoominWoomin the delivery services obviously have changed BUT every single is parcel used to be weighed before it is being sent to you as far as I am aware, so there will also be a review of weight and what you ordered.

First the computer flags it but there is an actual degree educated human making the fraud review, so the decision is never taken lightly, also there is another person doing a 4 eye check before classifying someone as fraudulent. If you have received two empty parcels, I don't think there is any issues. It also very much depends on the value of the items. It is a huge company but set up pretty well, I am sure a lot of changed in the last 7/8 years.

I left as I got headhunted by an investment bank and the money was pretty good when I was 23/24 but I actually enjoyed working for Amazon but HQ is different than the warehouses and delivery services.

@cheesebubble Your career there sounded very interesting, I love hearing about the 'behind the scenes' inner workings of big companies.

I once had a delivery of several items in one of those packets where the ends are just tucked in. 2 cheap items and 1 expensive (smart watch). The parcel only contained the two cheap items and the other was missing. I'd opened it straight away as it was a birthday present for the next day and when I contacted Amazon, they sent me out another by next day service. I think though that it was the packaging at fault and it might actually be found lying in the van that night - i don't think it was stolen or kept by the driver - surely it would be too easy for that to be proven and they wouldn't know what was in the parcel anyway?

Do you have any idea what the parcels contain OP?

I once got a delivery for someone else in a different estate, we'd been out and it was a small thing put through the door. I contacted Amazon and they told me just to keep it or throw it away! They took no details of who the parcel was meant to be for so presumably they would just wait until the person complained that it hadn't arrived? Anyway I said I'd just drop it round myself but I always wonder what was in it and if i could have benefitted from a windfall :)

I wonder if I've stored up extra honestly points!

Have you seen the Ken Loach film “Sorry we missed you” and if you have, is that the realty (it sounds like it is sadly)

How does the routing software work? I am due a delivery today. The guy was at the end of my street 30 minutes ago now he is 2 miles away and my package is due for delivery "in a few more stops"?!

@WaxOnFeckOff
We don’t know what’s in the parcels, 95% is in Amazon packaging with occasional items not; these tends to be pet food/cat litter sacks or oversized items.
Ppl do lie about not revising items but I think most ppl are honest.

@roses2
The routing can be an utter pain, it’s calculate with geospots/postcodes and previous deliveries.
Often I can be brought into a street, do 5 deliveries then off down another road and loop back to you, it’s all in loops to basically bring you back to where you started, we al get annoyed with it.
Though I do skip ahead stops if I see there’s more in the street.

I never left feedback for delivery, I always got a notification about how was your delivery, never clicked it just ignored it as I thought it's generic and has no impact either way! Just went and left positive feedback on my order! My Amazon driver is amazing!!! Even through his mask I can see he big pleasant smile!
You guys are amazing and definitely deserve to be paid way more than what is paid!

Do you ever ring people if they aren't home?
I just remembered in my old house, a few times I've got called by Amazon drivers asking for safe place, one Amazon driver seemed very scared to leave it outside my door, I was on my way home, literally 2 mins away, I had to reassure him it's fine and if he wants he can wait for me