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Walmart threatens to cut ties with truckers that also haul for Amazon

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Re: Walmart threatens to cut ties with truckers that also haul for Amazon

#81
post #68

I guess the cold war started. I hope it isn't true. Amazon is not walmarts enemy: they should focus on low prices and growth using new technology. Their ceo said they reached employment peak [1] Truckers and delivery people dont hate each other or have any competitive spirit among each other. Pay me to make a delivery. End of story. The ups and FedEx guy(s) and i all bitch about the same thing: why cant these healthy…

In what universe is Amazon not Walmart's enemy?

Win on price; innovation; technology;people;

Imo Amazon is smarter and more nimble and if Wal-Mart starts this stuff it may backfire

Look - if iy wasn't for Amazon people would not expect to get anything on line, and thus walmarts revenue in online would not be as much. (The pie is huge because of Prime)

Re: Walmart threatens to cut ties with truckers that also haul for Amazon

#82
post #62
post #37

I've posted before about Walmart and I'll post here again. They routinely would pay us late and underpay invoices on delivered products. Sometimes racking up to $50-$100,000. The worst part for us is it would be an average of one year before they would pay it in full. You'd have to submit a claim and fill out endless paperwork to get paid. It was so hard on us as a company. You also had to pay them a per package fee…

This seems like anti-competitive behavior. When a duopoly exercises this kind of power, does it come under the purview of the FTC or some other oversight org? One thing is to squeeze profits out of people, but it's another to say you cannot sell your services to anyone but me, is it not, unless there is some kind of contractual clause committing you to them, but given their size that still might be concerning?

Abuse of a dominant market position can carry a hefty price tag. I wonder whether they really thought this through.

Re: Walmart threatens to cut ties with truckers that also haul for Amazon

#84
post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am a hypocrite. I order too My point was that delivery people dont give each other the finger - we could care less. We talk shop amd know each other by name. I really doubt a trucker hauling today to a Amazon site and tomorrow to a walmart site cares. After years of delivering stuff people can buy we get jaded- and that is what we all complain about. (to ourselves) One example. Woman gets Fresh. Weekly. As carrier…

I'm sure it would be preferable for the son to pick up the groceries, and the 59-year old carrier to be unemployed.

Delivery people are on the front lines of society's clear delineation of the "served" and the "hired" or "servers"

People with money buy convenience through delivery. This was not available pre-Prime. Cumulatively the richer "served" are served by the poorer "servers" in this case delivery people.

Same for drivers.

Although your statement is true the son should have helped...

Re: Walmart threatens to cut ties with truckers that also haul for Amazon

#85
post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Amazon is as awful to their employees as any other retailer, and worse than many. There are pretty much only two only MAJOR retailers with good labor reputations. One is Costco, and that's only because they can run their business with a fraction of the employee-to-square-footage ratio that most retailers need. The other is Whole Foods... which has been getting worse for years, and will probably accelerate down that p…

The race to the bottom is the elimation of those jobs completely. Today a store that used to have 5 cashiers needs 1 to monitor 5 self checkout stations. Amazon and others are working on eliminating that final job... They are also working on ways to fill the shelves with no human involvement, and robot shopping assistance that you can ask for help we are probably less than 10 years away from the first retail store wi…

Let's not jizz ourselves over the loss of millions of retail jobs that won't be replaced any time soon. Not everyone can be a fullstack js ninja or thought leader in fidget spinners.

Re: Walmart threatens to cut ties with truckers that also haul for Amazon

#86
post #37

I've posted before about Walmart and I'll post here again. They routinely would pay us late and underpay invoices on delivered products. Sometimes racking up to $50-$100,000. The worst part for us is it would be an average of one year before they would pay it in full. You'd have to submit a claim and fill out endless paperwork to get paid. It was so hard on us as a company. You also had to pay them a per package fee…

I don't understand a mega-corporation delaying payment to employees. Is that part of a Fortune 500's business model? For what little benefit do they gain by playing these low level wage tricks?

Is that part of a Fortune 500's business model?

Yes.

For what little benefit do they gain by playing these low level wage tricks?

The money from those who give up, and a year's worth of interest on millions of dollars from those who don't give up.

Re: Walmart threatens to cut ties with truckers that also haul for Amazon

#87
Seems the FTC should step in here.

Oh, wait. We have a "pro business" Administration and Congress.

So, the big boys get to throw their weight around.

bah

P.S. These "big boys" should have to compete for truckers' services. Just like everyone else. On an ongoing bases... not some one-time commitment extorted solely to their advantage.

Re: Walmart threatens to cut ties with truckers that also haul for Amazon

#88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wouldn't matter, Amazon is already singling out all three with LaserShip and its own Logistics firm. Did I mention how terrible AMZL is at their job? I spend the better part of a day tracking down a package marked as "delivered."

The last three packages I got from Amazon were late, even though they were Prime guaranteed. Only one of those was the fault of the carrier, the other two sat in the Amazon distribution center for the two guaranteed days, only making it to the carrier long after they should have been in my mailbox. While I was able to get an extension on my Prime membership all three times, I'm starting to wonder if I should just dro…

Amazon prime started taking 5 days. I canceled. Orders now spend 3 days in waiting to ship, and then arrive 2 days after being marked as shipped.

Re: Walmart threatens to cut ties with truckers that also haul for Amazon

#89
post #37

I've posted before about Walmart and I'll post here again. They routinely would pay us late and underpay invoices on delivered products. Sometimes racking up to $50-$100,000. The worst part for us is it would be an average of one year before they would pay it in full. You'd have to submit a claim and fill out endless paperwork to get paid. It was so hard on us as a company. You also had to pay them a per package fee…

I don't understand a mega-corporation delaying payment to employees. Is that part of a Fortune 500's business model? For what little benefit do they gain by playing these low level wage tricks?

I worked for a company that used fast payments to induce vendors to accept payment via "payment card." If a vendor wanted to continue getting checks or ACH payments, the payment would be processed 2 days before the late date.

In this case, the bank (WFB) had a payment card revenue-share agreement with the company, the commercial card version of cash back.

Re: Walmart threatens to cut ties with truckers that also haul for Amazon

#90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Amazon is notorious for their awful treatment of workers. Just recently a local NPR station had a re-run of a story where (1) even when the AC broke inside the warehouse, Amazon wouldn't give them a break or let them open the door or windows to cool things off. A person eventually passed out. (2) They tempt and fake promise temp workers with good future outlook like better pay and benefits after they work for X amoun…

I'm not really trying to defend Amazon Fulfillment nor do I doubt the veracity of the NPR article. However, I want to throw some anecdata into the conversation. My ex-wife has worked for Amazon Fulfillment for almost 5 years (in Texas - not exactly known as a "worker friendly" place when it comes to having laws protecting the working class from abuse) in multiple facilities (both replenishment and fulfillment) and ha…

The NPR report was specifically about 2 or 3 locations if I recall. So anecdote does work the.
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