Opinion on Amazon's delivery people

[jwlv]

I just wanted to vent about some of the Amazon Flex delivery people.

Many of these drivers park on my driveway because they don't want to walk an extra 10 feet if they park on the street. I have no problem with that except many of them have jalopies that leak oil on to my driveway. I've contacted Amazon logistics (they're the ones who are responsible for the Flex drivers) to complain and they've noted on my account to never park on the driveway. Yet about half of them still do. UPS, FedEx, USPS, OnTrac, they all park on the street and never ever on my driveway.

One time I got a "package delivered" notice and I saw nothing at my door. The package I was expecting contained jewelry. I panicked and looked at my doorbell camera as well as the outside security camera. Nothing. Nobody came to the door. The tracking information showed "Delivered in mailroom." Well, I don't have a mailroom. There's nothing that even remotely resembles a mailroom here. At this point I figured the guy must have gone to the wrong house. I was pissed and ready to yell at someone. Turns out the Amazon Flex driver stuffed the package through the slot in my mailbox at the front of the house. They don't know that it is illegal to put anything in a mailbox unless it is from the United States Postal Service. This has happened 2 more times since that first occurrence.

Once on my doorbell camera I saw a little girl delivering my package. She looked about 10 years old. Standing 10 feet away at the end of the driveway was her mother who I assume is the actual Amazon Flex driver. Quite often I see more than one person in the car that pulls up to make a delivery. I guess it's faster for two people to do it. One to drive, the other to run out and drop off the package at the door. Plus the other person can give the driver better directions and where to turn for the next stop. I guess Amazon is ok with it since they're getting two people for the price of one.

Btw, I know someone who is an Amazon Flex driver. I know what kind of training they get. The answer is they tell them very little. The training consists of a few short videos that's just common sense and how to use the delivery app. They don't say anything about parking on private property. They don't say anything about putting packages in mailboxes. They don't even say anything about bringing other people or little kids with you on deliveries.   

[renegade600]

then quit ordering from amazon if you are having so much problems.   you are lucky to live in a town with amazon drivers.  as far as the other major delivery services not parking in your drive, they are not allowed to backup unless there is no choice otherwise they would.  as far as illegal in the mailbox, yes it is but at least your package was safe.  as far as two people, so what!!!  no different than paper delivery, they are contract drivers, the child is working with a family member, which is allowed by federal law since it is a family operated business.  besides at christmas there are two in a lot of ups trucks. 

[mike27oct]

All this Flex driver crap is all about Amazon cutting back on costs and consequently. their service.  I don't like it either.  Was speaking to our US mail delivery guy recently who gave me the lowdown on Flex when I asked about the USPS contract with Amazon. He said the Amazon packages have really slowed down since they have been using Flex drivers more;  He told me anyone can do it; all they need to do is have a car, (a jalopy will do)  stop off at an Amazon package facility and get some packages to deliver for a couple of hours to pick up some pocket change for making the deliveries.  And we the customers see the results of all this. 

The Flex drivers are not "dedicated employees".  They are likely some of the most irresponsible people doing the job, because they can't hold down a decent job.  This situation probably explains why around the holidays a package was at our door that had the wrong address which was miles away from us  The Flex driver probably just dumped a package he was clueless about and foisted off at our door 

I could go on, but I won't.  The point is now that we know Amazon is cutting back on good service we let them know about it and always complain to them about how lousy Flex delivery is

[jwlv]

Hmm. I did not know that the commercial carriers (UPS, FedEx, etc.) are not allowed to back up. I do remember many, many years ago, those USPS Jeeps were not allowed to make a left turn. Ever. Statistics showed that left turns caused more accidents than going straight or turning right.

One time I talked to a Flex driver right after he dropped off my package. He says it's a good gig and pays well. Most delivery blocks are 4 hours long and that's what they get paid for, even if occasionally they can get it all done in 2.5 hours. But it can also go long and they work more than 4 hours. Usually they have to deliver 40-60 packages per 4 hour block. I noticed that this Flex driver had an Uber sticker and a Lyft sticker on his car too. I joked with him that he must love driving to do all three. He seemed like a nice guy and probably more professional than many of the other Flex drivers.

All these driving jobs boast $15 or $20 per hour. There are some websites that do the math and calculate the actual pay rate.  One site I read compared Uber to a pay day loan. That is you get money right away (or almost right away) but you have to pay back more money in the future in gas, insurance, repairs, maintenance, wear and tear, resale value, income tax, etc. The site estimates that the actual net pay rate is somewhere between $5/hour and a negative value.

[malliekm]

A bit off topic but interesting...
Buyer Orders a $6,000 Camera, Amazon Sends a Box of Rocks Instead.  Replacement is a box of bricks!
https://youtu.be/DXPnOq-XJg8

[Jergnul]

A bit off topic but interesting...
Buyer Orders a $6,000 Camera, Amazon Sends a Box of Rocks Instead.  Replacement is a box of bricks!
https://youtu.be/DXPnOq-XJg8

Yeah, as someone who deals with cameras ordered from Amazon regularly, this was especially scary for me. Amazon's been a bad pf trouble for the last couple of years, but at least they've never ripped me off.