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LOL, I do surveys online for extra money and recently have had a couple about my feelings regarding having things delivered by drones. No way Jose. Talk about not having any accountability.
What happened to Amazon? I used to love that company. They seemed so real and a company with integrity.
I guess greed gets them all in the end. The good news is, I can still vote with my feet, which take me to another option with better personal service. And I am no longer snowed by the Amazon Prime promises which don't hold water.
They're all trying to get us out of the stores and to accept delivery at home or at the curb. Nope. I'm not going to drive away even from the curb, only to find out they didn't do my order right.
I'm going to pick up my order in store. Get them to open the package in front of me to make sure it's right, or grab my own stuff off the shelf and go through the check-out. Delivery just is unreliable nowadays. I'm glad I'm not in the boonies somewhere I don't have any other option.
I share the same concerns as you do.
I used to sell alot on amazon but now they only take the big guys and cut me out of selling on almost every category.
I've had Amazon use the US Postal Service on Sundays deliver to my home.
Yes, the USPS started doing this some time ago to compete and be able to get more contracts with Amazon. I hate USPS deliveries though because they leave my stuff downstairs in the rain and where anyone can steal it. UPS brings it up to me. I called the post office once about that and they told me postal carriers are not allowed to go up steps. Must have been too many workers comp cases or something. I cancelled long ago all the heavy things I used to have in my Subscribe and Save, cause too often the post office delivers it now and I can't get it up the stairs. I called Amazon once and asked if you can request UPS or at least know in advance how the package will come, and the answer was no. The computer decides all.
I'm not in a big city, don't have the Flex option, and our deliveries are just by UPS and USPS.
I still like them overall, returns are easy and generous (I sent them a pic last year of boxes of Almond milk that arrived with the boxes all dented, and they told me to keep it but sent me another box overnight, was about $50 worth. There was nothing actually wrong with the milk I kept.
I like brick and mortar too, but if my cat's flea and tick drops are $45 at Pet Smart and $28 with free shipping online, I'm going online.
I hadn't heard of Amazon Flex before, so I just looked into it. No way would I do it unless I was desperate. It's just a way for Amazon to undercut UPS and FedEx, just like they undercut everyone else, by using people as robots until real robots come along to replace them.
After accounting for expenses, I think a driver would net about $12/hour, which is certainly crap wages in some of the high COL areas where the service is offered. You provide the vehicle, and you even have to provide the insulated bags if you are delivering food.
For comparison, I do a pick-up and delivery run twice a week for a local retail store for a $70 flat fee for each run. I can take as long as I want, but if I don't work in some personal errands of my own (which I am free to do, as Flex drivers are not), it takes me about 2 1/2 hours, and it is one point to one point, not a multi-stop route that changes each time. After accounting for vehicle expenses (gas/oil, fees, insurance, and wear and tear on my car) and taxes, I net about $18/hour. Since this is extra income for me, I'm good with it.
I wouldn't mind doing more delivery work, but dealing with dogs, finding weird addresses, finding parking spaces in a crowded city, climbing up and down a lot of stairs, and meeting an inflexible schedule, none of which I have to do in my delivery job - well, Flex is a crap job. If you watch the Flex recruiting video, what you see is a lot of happy, middle-class people earning money delivering packages in the suburbs in order to afford expensive vacations. Reality would be far different.
I'm quite a ways out in a rural area, and have been seeing a lot of "alternative" delivery people dropping off Amazon packages. The issue for me is that this would be a great way for thieves to scout properties to burglarize. An alternative is to use the Amazon lockers. They are located in the Safeway stores around here, so I can just pick up the package when I go shopping.
I'm quite a ways out in a rural area, and have been seeing a lot of "alternative" delivery people dropping off Amazon packages. The issue for me is that this would be a great way for thieves to scout properties to burglarize. An alternative is to use the Amazon lockers. They are located in the Safeway stores around here, so I can just pick up the package when I go shopping.
If you look on the website, Amazon does a background check for Flex drivers, but there is no mention of requiring that drivers be bonded - or even bondable.
So yes, I think your concern is valid. A smart and organized gang could easily do what you suggest. Especially since Flex drivers have no fixed routes or regular schedules, they could probably get away with it almost indefinitely.
I hadn't heard of Amazon Flex before, so I just looked into it. No way would I do it unless I was desperate. It's just a way for Amazon to undercut UPS and FedEx, just like they undercut everyone else, by using people as robots until real robots come along to replace them.
After accounting for expenses, I think a driver would net about $12/hour, which is certainly crap wages in some of the high COL areas where the service is offered. You provide the vehicle, and you even have to provide the insulated bags if you are delivering food.
For comparison, I do a pick-up and delivery run twice a week for a local retail store for a $70 flat fee for each run. I can take as long as I want, but if I don't work in some personal errands of my own (which I am free to do, as Flex drivers are not), it takes me about 2 1/2 hours, and it is one point to one point, not a multi-stop route that changes each time. After accounting for vehicle expenses (gas/oil, fees, insurance, and wear and tear on my car) and taxes, I net about $18/hour. Since this is extra income for me, I'm good with it.
I wouldn't mind doing more delivery work, but dealing with dogs, finding weird addresses, finding parking spaces in a crowded city, climbing up and down a lot of stairs, and meeting an inflexible schedule, none of which I have to do in my delivery job - well, Flex is a crap job. If you watch the Flex recruiting video, what you see is a lot of happy, middle-class people earning money delivering packages in the suburbs in order to afford expensive vacations. Reality would be far different.
They're doing this for quicker delivery. There is no way you can have 2 hour delivery and use FedEx or UPS and still keep it affordable. These are supposed to be jobs you do part-time, like I used to deliver for Dominos after my full time job when I was younger to make extra money. This job, Uber, Task Rabbit, were never intended to be people's sole job.
They're doing this for quicker delivery. There is no way you can have 2 hour delivery and use FedEx or UPS and still keep it affordable. These are supposed to be jobs you do part-time, like I used to deliver for Dominos after my full time job when I was younger to make extra money. This job, Uber, Task Rabbit, were never intended to be people's sole job.
I agree that's what they're doing and why they're doing it. I'm just disputing the idea that $18/hour, with the driver bearing all the actual delivery expenses, and with no certainty of work, is a good deal for the driver.
I agree that's what they're doing and why they're doing it. I'm just disputing the idea that $18/hour, with the driver bearing all the actual delivery expenses, and with no certainty of work, is a good deal for the driver.
I made $4.00 and change plus tips at Dominoes, and they reimbursed mileage by the Federal rate. But I still put 60 or 70 miles on my car on a busy Friday night all stop and go in a 5-mile wide area.
What other unskilled jobs can someone get for $18 an hour??
Most are people like me, not people with CDL or any other sort of truck license. I can drive my car, not a truck or even a stick shift. If I needed extra money and that was available, I'd take it in a heartbeat over slinging fries or delivering pizza for much less money. You're comparing it to actual professional driving jobs, it's closer to delivering pizza or newspapers, part-time job for unskilled people.
There's not supposed to be certainty of work, it's not intended to be someone's sole or main source of employment. For many people, being able to make a quick $60 in a few hours after work is a Godsend.
I made $4.00 and change plus tips at Dominoes, and they reimbursed mileage by the Federal rate. But I still put 60 or 70 miles on my car on a busy Friday night all stop and go in a 5-mile wide area.
What other unskilled jobs can someone get for $18 an hour??
Most are people like me, not people with CDL or any other sort of truck license. I can drive my car, not a truck or even a stick shift. If I needed extra money and that was available, I'd take it in a heartbeat over slinging fries or delivering pizza for much less money. You're comparing it to actual professional driving jobs, it's closer to delivering pizza or newspapers, part-time job for unskilled people.
There's not supposed to be certainty of work, it's not intended to be someone's sole or main source of employment. For many people, being able to make a quick $60 in a few hours after work is a Godsend.
The point is that a Flex driver is not an employee, with an employee's protections and benefits, and an employee's guaranteed work schedule, and is not actually making $18/hour. The expenses and risk of driving are all borne by the driver.
I've never been a Domino's driver, so I don't know how the Flex deal compares. I went to the website and read the Flex deal for myself. If it seems like a good deal to you, then by all means do it.
I agree with you that unskilled people are up a creek in this economy, and it is getting worse all the time. Driving gigs like Flex - and Domino's - are a symptom of this.
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