Does anyone here have experience working for Amazon?

[Triggeravus]

I heard the horror stories, but wondering how widespread they really are.  

[JLO64]

Short answer: If you need the cash, maybe.

Long Answer:

A “relative” of mine who I’m close to currently works at an Amazon Fresh facility here in the glorious nation-state of California.  For those of you who don’t know Amazon Fresh is Amazon’s grocery delivery service and they have multiple refrigerated warehouses stuffed with food in a fashion very similar to their regular prime delivery service.

I am not kidding when I say that you are more likely to catch COVID ordering from Amazon Fresh than from going to your local supermarket. Even pre-pandemic this warehouse would have been under serious investigation for all the OSHA and health violations that take place there on a daily basis. Right now there’s a lawsuit from my state against Amazon for this behavior, but given their track record I’m not holding my breath. (Let’s not get political) When serious accidents do happen (such as getting a broken arm) the insurance they provide (at least here in the US) might not even cover your medical bills, and your pay will be suspended.

Additionally, I wouldn’t fully bank on your past experience helping you get something other than grunt work.  This relative of mine comes from a professional background (I confess, not related to logistics) but even ignoring that, she has been frequently been sidestepped for “promotions” to warmer parts of the facility despite working there for months longer than others and performing better in her picking assignments due to nepotism among employee groups. However, I will admit that your expertise in the field might give you an advantage especially since this is a brand new warehouse and you’d be one of the first employees to work there.

Granted, it is entirely possible that these issues are specific to only Fresh or this specific facility, but given just how widespread complaints against Amazon are, I find that to be somewhat unlikely.

 

My honest opinion:

Take it if you’re in need of cash but other than that don’t really count on it being a good job. Additionally, I’ve heard that there really aren’t that many opportunities to get promotions on the more managerial side of things, but working at an Amazon warehouse might look pretty good on your resume once you decide to get another job.

 

I hope my bias wasn’t too insufferable and this information is of use to you!

[spartaman64]

i had a friend work there for a couple of weeks. we didnt talk much about his job but he had to quit because of back problems. and hes 20 years old so that tells me what i need to know lol

[NekoBubbles]

I've had 4 friends work for Amazon and all of them say pretty much the same thing its VERY brutal work. Expect to lose weight. And any hopes of being able to sit and not be stressed is a pipe dream of an idea. Also get use to very little job security, as people constantly come and go. Its more about fast and efficient. Over having a community within the workplace. Also managers are well aware of how intense it is to work there so don't expect too much sympathy. Pretty much have to be kinda masochistic to wanna work up the chain of command there. Its not horrible, but its not great either. 

[Guest willies leg]

Well that explains why Amazon is having so many problems shipping stuff. Out of the last 3 things I ordered from them....3 did not arrive and I had to cancel and order from someplace else. Also, their support phone and support chat is among the worst on the planet. They would be better off not even having it.

[Stahlmann]

13 minutes ago, willies leg said:

Well that explains why Amazon is having so many problems shipping stuff. Out of the last 3 things I ordered from them....3 did not arrive and I had to cancel and order from someplace else. Also, their support phone and support chat is among the worst on the planet. They would be better off not even having it.

That's pretty much the exact opposite of my amazon experience so far. In the last years i have never had a shipment that went missing, only 1 shipment that was slightly delayed. EVERY time i had any issue the support (mostly via the live-chat) quickly resolved it in my favor.

 

But to be fair, in Germany where i live Amazon doesn't have a delivery service. Everything is done through established delivery services like DHL, DPD, etc...

 

I can't say anything about the experience of working there though. But i can imagine it's extremely tough.

[Guest willies leg]

33 minutes ago, Stahlmann said:

That's pretty much the exact opposite of my amazon experience so far. In the last years i have never had a shipment that went missing, only 1 shipment that was slightly delayed. EVERY time i had any issue the support (mostly via the live-chat) quickly resolved it in my favor.

 

But to be fair, in Germany where i live Amazon doesn't have a delivery service. Everything is done through established delivery services like DHL, DPD, etc...

 

I can't say anything about the experience of working there though. But i can imagine it's extremely tough.

They must be razor-focused on taking out the German establishment stores then. Here in the USA we always get offshored support where they have no tools nor the authority to do anything, so the end up making shit up just to get you off the call or chat. Like saying "oh, the package is to be delivered today, guaranteed" when they have no fucking clue whatsoever.

 

I've had packages die in transit from Amazon to USPS, in fact, the last one happened that way. The previous one was shipped by Amazon, never made it here. And previous to that was the same as the last one, package got "lost" from Amazon to USPS. Their site still says it's on the way and arriving today! I'll probably call and talk to someone in some other country just to hear them lie to me again. At least they're polite!

[Stahlmann]

2 hours ago, willies leg said:

They must be razor-focused on taking out the German establishment stores then. Here in the USA we always get offshored support where they have no tools nor the authority to do anything, so the end up making shit up just to get you off the call or chat. Like saying "oh, the package is to be delivered today, guaranteed" when they have no fucking clue whatsoever.

I've always received support in german. And it never sounded like google translate. So i think Amazon Germany has it's own support centers. That might be why it's so vastly different to the US experience.

 

2 hours ago, willies leg said:

I've had packages die in transit from Amazon to USPS, in fact, the last one happened that way. The previous one was shipped by Amazon, never made it here. And previous to that was the same as the last one, package got "lost" from Amazon to USPS. Their site still says it's on the way and arriving today! I'll probably call and talk to someone in some other country just to hear them lie to me again. At least they're polite!

Sounds more like a problem of USPS tbh. Like i said, the german postal services amazon is working with always delivered my stuff on or before the estimated delivery date and never lost a shipment.

[OldFord76]

I never worked at Amazon, but my cousin did. Needless to say, my family hasn't used Amazon in years. He advised us not to, it was good enough for us. 

[Triggeravus]

12 hours ago, willies leg said:

Well that explains why Amazon is having so many problems shipping stuff. Out of the last 3 things I ordered from them....3 did not arrive and I had to cancel and order from someplace else. Also, their support phone and support chat is among the worst on the planet. They would be better off not even having it.

I've probably ordered thousands of things from Amazon over the years.  Only 2 got lost, and they were both shipped via USPS.  

 

One major problem I have with Amazon how they ship USED, opened items as new.  It's happened to me several times. Most items had a section for Amazon Warehouse deals that are returns at a discount.  I rarely see that option under any item anymore.  I used to always look for it but gave up at this point.

 

I ordered a Phanteks digital controller that arrived without the shrink wrap, the box was literally open, the twist ties were laying loose in the box with loose cables everywhere, half the velcro mounting tape was on the remote and the other half was on the previous owner's PC I guess.  It was missing the ARGB cable. If you pay attention to reviews this seems to be a common practice now, and I'm talking about Amazon as the seller and shipper.  I'd be curious if any Amazon workers could disclose if they're told to ship  used items as new or if they're just doing it on their own.