I started driving for Amazon DSP 1 month ago and thankfully I will be starting a new job on Monday. Like most people, I applied for Amazon because I needed the money $ and they hire almost anyone.
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Summary of days worked:
My first week was very chill because they put me on nursery route, however I did notice a few odd things. Many of my companies vans did not have AC and I asked the manager if we should report that during our pre/post van evaluation inspections. I was told the first day by my manager that “DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES REPORT PROBLEMS WITH THE VAN”. We were told to lie because they “could not afford” to have vans taken off the road. While working at Amazon DSP I noticed some of our vans had low tire pressure, dirty windows/windshield with no fluid left in almost every van I drove, MAJOR alignment problems, which made it very dangerous to drive during windy areas. Keep in mind this is the same manager that told me if I wanted to be successful at this job I needed to bring bottles to pee in. He told me this with a straight face.
My second week I worked was a lot more demanding because of the huge package increase. I went from around 80 stops during nursery to then an increase to around 160-180 stops. This was a big increase and the day started out stressful because my warehouse gives us 15-20 mins to throw all the packages in and organize them. You are having to make awkward movements with your body risking injury because some of the packages are 50+ pounds and you run out of space very quickly, so you stack heavy bags/boxes. Then when you get out on the road you have to squeeze between the little space you have and move 50 pound box, while you are being timed and told to GO GO GO! During my second week I had a manager ask me why I took a 45 minute lunch and I explained to him that when I clocked out I was in a rough neighborhood so I needed to drive 5 minutes out of the neighborhood to post up. He then laughed at me and said I needed to eat lunch in-front of my last delivery location and he laughed and said where I was delivering was not hood. Little did he know that day alone I saw 10 cops raiding one house and later on in the day I saw a car driving slowly by me (opposite lane) surveilling houses and people in car wearing full ski-masks!
Week three was exciting because it was my first experience dealing with stray dogs. I had to deal with multiple dogs running loose on the street and customers that have guard dogs. Some may think just “suck it up and deal with it” however many of these dogs are hidden and you don’t see them until it’s too late. I know this because my co-workers during the 5 mins we have together would tell short stories about being bit by dogs. Also, this week I noticed how rude many customers on Amazon are. Multiple people had left nasty notes that drivers read through the app, things like “You better drop off before 10am - stop being so slow!” Or “What is wrong with you, this package was supposed to be here yesterday!” or “I requested back door delivery and you keep delivering to front door! I will report you!” - these were more of the nicer notes I received. I was blown away to see how mean some people treat us drivers that are just tryna hustle and make a living.
Week 4 was my most eventful week. I was dropping off a package in a neighborhood and got chased down by someone! He claimed I didn’t deliver all his packages so the next thing I know I look through my camera and there was a truck tailgating me like no other. The driver ended up swerving around me and slamming it in park and came running at me, threatening to kill me because I had his package. It turns out the dude was living in a RV and had been using a business across the street as his delivery address. He said I should have known this even though it wasn’t in my notes. The best part about this situation is the owner of the DSP found out a few days later and her response was to ask me what I did wrong.
For all those that are still driving – I feel where you’re coming from..we all got to make $ to survive. But I would just advise to look for other jobs because this job is very hard on your body (mentally and physically) and Amazon has proved time and time again that we are just numbers – they really do not care at all about our well being:
1) They make you watch a safety heat training video – but then have the audacity to tell you turn off the van every stop in 105 degree weather…..Also not to mention many vans the AC does not work while the Van is on
2) They make us watch safety package handling videos – but then make us throw 300 packages in the van so it is impossible to have safe form when handling them on our deliveries
3) They make us watch dog safety videos – but then we still deliver to customers that have been reported for having aggressive dogs that are unleashed out front
4) Many Managers are cool with people peeing in vans because Amazon sets unreasonable expectations that do not allow for any breaks besides 30 min lunch. Even if you a 10 hour + shift. This is a well known reality as an Amazon driver. I even overheard a girl recommending to another girl a female urinal product that you can piss into while on the road…because we have no time to take breaks.
5) They make you watch safety video after safety video but then could care less about the safety of each Delivery Service Partners fleet..
There are many more things that I can mention that occurred during my short time at Amazon, but for the sake of my time and yours I will not keep going. Im sorry to be so negative, but more people need to call out Amazon (one of richest companies in the world) for their exploitation of the thousands that are working for them. The thing is, legally speaking we are not actual employees of Amazon. Perhaps that is their whole plan to hire third party delivery partners so they are not responsible, even though they set the very expectations and work conditions.