Amazon delivery van "Crowdsourcing"

[mwilson]

Check this out.........UPS and Fed Ex had better watch out...

http://www.fleetowner.com/fleet-man...m=email&elq2=5f14079803cc4a118bd8494f25a1396b

 

[TFucili]

I saw a short article about this the other day. It appears there may be a fly in the ointment, in that Amazon is requiring that the operators must directly employ drivers, etc., so they can not be independent contractors. This raises workman's comp, health care, and other implications. You are right, though, UPS and FedEx had better keep their eye on the ball.

 

[Wayne M.]

My mom in law lives in my apartment, and is a amazon addict. Daily drops. I usually see one of a few modern white plain van with obscure livery on the door. It’s seems often like a legit operation. Commercial plates and all. More recently, I’m seeing personal vehicles- almost like a Uber looking deal.
If it’s one thing that rubs me wrong, it’s a commercial ops posing in a passenger car. Even stranger is that they’re using their personal phones to final scan the box.
Point is, the LEGITAMATE carriers are just that. Amazon is really undermining the carrier trade. Should be illegal. The sad part is the consumer probably can’t pick this out, nor do they care.

 

[jhenderson]

Have you ever read about their warehouse working conditions?

 

[Wayne M.]

Have you ever read about their warehouse working conditions?

Heard it’s worse than working for wal mart.

 

[JR]

I don't see Fed Ex or UPS having anything to worry about. USPS on the other hand, bye bye. My cousin and I were standing inside the door of the shop last week after finishing up a clutch job on a 966 . Low and behold, in come a USPS truck with my cousins new hitch for the farm truck . He literally backed up to the sidewalk to the house, opened the back doors from the inside, and in one swoop slid the hitch off the truck from the inside. It hit the ground so hard the box blew open. He couldn't care less. Never even give it a second look, never set foot outside the truck. Far as I'm concerned they can pound sand. I've seen and experienced far too many instances like this ranging from deliveries to lost mail over the last 10 years. I can't tell you how much it saddens me, my grandfather spent 20 years as postmaster of our town. That was a tight ship . Those days appear to be long over.

 

[JR]

Another recent instance of UPS laziness. I had a 30 lb tank of freon delivered to the house via USPS. Box was destroyed and one of the ears that protect the valve is literally bent 90 degrees. I'll grab a picture of it.

 

[Wayne M.]

USPS pre scans their packages. A few times I’ll get a notification that it was delivered in the AM, then it’ll show in the PM when the mail comes. Took a while but I figured it out.
In their defense (here anyway) their routes keep growing, and they’re stretched ever thinner. I see em out late at night come the holidays.

 

[jgillott]

I just ordered violin for one of my daughters from a company in California. It was shipped priority next day via FedEx. I immediately got a tracking #. Box (marked fragile in probably 6 different places in safety yellow stickers) arrived without a mark on it and the instrument was in perfect condition. Total cost was $21 for the next day shipping.

In May, I ordered a 1/2" drive Craftsman ratchet from Amazon. Shipped USPS 2 day since we have Prime. Lost in transit for 3 weeks. When it arrived, the package looked like it had been drug through the mud and then left at the bottom of a mail bin. Thankfully, it wasn't valuable or fragile.

 

[JR]

I just ordered violin for one of my daughters from a company in California. It was shipped priority next day via FedEx. I immediately got a tracking #. Box (marked fragile in probably 6 different places in safety yellow stickers) arrived without a mark on it and the instrument was in perfect condition. Total cost was $21 for the next day shipping.

In May, I ordered a 1/2" drive Craftsman ratchet from Amazon. Shipped USPS 2 day since we have Prime. Lost in transit for 3 weeks. When it arrived, the package looked like it had been drug through the mud and then left at the bottom of a mail bin. Thankfully, it wasn't valuable or fragile.

Both UPS and FedEx show up here like clock work . Fed Ex by 1130, UPS by 430. Both + or - an hour every single time. Pretty impressive given the remoteness I live in.

Picture of my smashed R134 tank, courtesy of USPS.

 

[Wayne M.]

I can’t believe the stem didn’t break.
I should get me some R22

 

[JR]

I can’t believe the stem didn’t break.
I should get me some R22

Wayne, any experience with R1234yf at your shop?

Fiat/Chrysler and GM have started phasing it into their lineup, not sure which models have it but Dodge and Chrysler began using it in certain models as far back as 2014.

 

[Wayne M.]

Wayne, any experience with R1234yf at your shop?

Fiat/Chrysler and GM have started phasing it into their lineup, not sure which models have it but Dodge and Chrysler began using it in certain models as far back as 2014.

I did read a trade journal piece about it a year ago, and the hybrid Fusions have it, but we haven’t had to mess with it. We haven’t even gotten the separate recovery station or refrigerant to deal with it.
IIRC it’ll be in any vehicle that’s sold in the EU, so I do not see it in ‘17 super dutys or the little suvs.
It runs at yet higher pressures, has fittings that are a lot like 134a, requiring you to have an identifier built into the station to ensure it’s not contaminated.

 

[MLee]

I read a few days ago that Amazon was thinking about using vacationers to deliver packages in route on there trips to help supplment travel expenses. So it looks like they are looking at all angles. Even Uber is considered. There own transportation is called "On time", I got a package delivered by them and it tool 5 days from Cal. to Ut.

 

[Tuesdak]

I don't see Fed Ex or UPS having anything to worry about. USPS on the other hand, bye bye. My cousin and I were standing inside the door of the shop last week after finishing up a clutch job on a 966 . Low and behold, in come a USPS truck with my cousins new hitch for the farm truck . He literally backed up to the sidewalk to the house, opened the back doors from the inside, and in one swoop slid the hitch off the truck from the inside. It hit the ground so hard the box blew open. He couldn't care less. Never even give it a second look, never set foot outside the truck. Far as I'm concerned they can pound sand. I've seen and experienced far too many instances like this ranging from deliveries to lost mail over the last 10 years. I can't tell you how much it saddens me, my grandfather spent 20 years as postmaster of our town. That was a tight ship . Those days appear to be long over.

Not the standard Union Postal Workers doing this on a Sunday. It's some cut-rate Amazon contract USPS sold everyone out with for no good reason. Guess what the new hires get to do: deliver on Sunday... Nevermind US law giving China 3rd world status so USPS is forced to deliver packages from China at a loss.

Plenty of damage in shipping by the standard choices... So specific examples of damage are just noise compared to how well the established pros can screw up an anvil. If they can't screw it up it gets lost. Just saying.

 

[JR]

Not the standard Union Postal Workers doing this on a Sunday. It's some cut-rate Amazon contract USPS sold everyone out with for no good reason. Guess what the new hires get to do: deliver on Sunday... Nevermind US law giving China 3rd world status so USPS is forced to deliver packages from China at a loss.

Plenty of damage in shipping by the standard choices... So specific examples of damage are just noise compared to how well the established pros can screw up an anvil. If they can't screw it up it gets lost. Just saying.

Not a Sunday, it was during the week. When you watch the same lazy driver thats been making deliveries for years heave a $250 package out the back like it was last night's trash there's not a valid excuse in the world. He needs to look for other work if he is that miserable . Where the package comes from is irrelevant (a made in USA Curt hitch isn't coming from China) and far from "noise" - it's called morales and pride in what you do. An yes, there was a complaint made. Do I think it'll do any good? Nah. The wench post master doesn't have any better of an attitude. Culture does tend to trickle down from the top so it shouldn't be a surprise.

Anyhoo, guy down the road from me has been a mail delivery guy for going on 10 years now. He picks up Sundays all the time to make deliveries for Amazon, so at least around here the full timers have first dibs on picking up the hours.

 

[Tuesdak]

Not a Sunday, it was during the week. When you watch the same lazy driver thats been making deliveries for years heave a $250 package out the back like it was last night's trash there's not a valid excuse in the world. He needs to look for other work if he is that miserable . Where the package comes from is irrelevant (a made in USA Curt hitch isn't coming from China) and far from "noise" - it's called morales and pride in what you do. An yes, there was a complaint made. Do I think it'll do any good? Nah. The wench post master doesn't have any better of an attitude. Culture does tend to trickle down from the top so it shouldn't be a surprise.

Anyhoo, guy down the road from me has been a mail delivery guy for going on 10 years now. He picks up Sundays all the time to make deliveries for Amazon, so at least around here the full timers have first dibs on picking up the hours.

Was it over 50 LBS and a Team Lift item that USPS management hasn't equipped the single carrier to handle? I was referring to the City Carrier Assistants and it's described somewhat here:

https://www.thenation.com/article/postal-service-workers-are-shouldering-the-burden-for-amazon/

Seeing a USPS truck out and about on a Sunday is an eye opener.

 

[fest3er]

USPS is going broke doing 6-day deliveries. So what do they do? Expand to 7-day, of course. It's the logical thing to do.