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Documents show Amazon is aware drivers pee in bottles and even defecate enroute

theintercept.com

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Re: Documents show Amazon is aware drivers pee in bottles and even defecate enroute

#22
post #7

My understanding is that this is pretty common for every courier including UPS and FedEx. Why? Because the driver will have a set of deliveries. Once they’re finished those they’re done for the day. In NYC at least finding a restroom and finding parking (even double parking) beat it takes valuable time. It saves time to pee in a bottle. This just isn’t unique to Amazon is all I’m saying.

“Trucker Bombs” are well known - and “professional” improvements on the milk jug are sold (as are adapters for women).

Re: Documents show Amazon is aware drivers pee in bottles and even defecate enroute

#24
post #7

My understanding is that this is pretty common for every courier including UPS and FedEx. Why? Because the driver will have a set of deliveries. Once they’re finished those they’re done for the day. In NYC at least finding a restroom and finding parking (even double parking) beat it takes valuable time. It saves time to pee in a bottle. This just isn’t unique to Amazon is all I’m saying.

I could save time at work by peeing in a bottle at my desk.

But my employer (and the law here) doesn't expect me to do this, even if the nearest toilet is several minutes walk away.

Re: Documents show Amazon is aware drivers pee in bottles and even defecate enroute

#25
9 comments at the time of writing this, and three of them are already saying this a "normal" practice. Let's get something very clear: making your employees work insane hours for a simple delivery job, at such a rate that _you literally cannot deliver your daily packages if you do not shit in a bag on the side of the road_ should be criminal. Seeing people with a cushy little job in IT paid more than 90% of their fellow countrymen consider this as "normal" because they need to have their cheap chinese products delivered the same day need to take a large step back.

This is not to go home earlier. It's the exact same thing as their warehouses, where the targets are set so impossibly high that you have no choice but to ignore your bodily needs. Whichever manager forces this onto their employees is at the very least a sociopath.

Re: Documents show Amazon is aware drivers pee in bottles and even defecate enroute

#26
post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Any guesses as to whether the causality is more "night stocking is tough -- better pop some meth to up my productivity" or "night stocking seems like a good way to earn cash while I'm high on meth"?

It was usually the former. It was a very hard job, nearly aerobic, job at least 3 nights a week (1-2 of the nights was working backstock which might not need as much hustle). On top of that, it’s between 11 and 7, some people have more than one job and/or have to switch between day shifts and night shifts.

Interesting. I didn't know meth was cheap enough for this to be economically viable. It reminds me of hearing about cooks who took up smoking because smoke breaks were the only way to get breaks at all during service. From a short-term standpoint, it's got a logic to it.

Re: Documents show Amazon is aware drivers pee in bottles and even defecate enroute

#27
post #15
post #3

I floated around grocery stores quite a bit in the early/mid 2000s, working at several locations and various jobs. Meth was fairly common among the grocery night stockers, especially in the big stores. Often times management has some idea of this, but it was usually don’t ask, don’t tell, especially in the union stores, until the point somebody wanted a person fired.

I am at a loss here: I don’t understand how your comment relates to the article or to topics related to the article.

Meth is an extremely effective stimulant. Its use is quite common among workers who are required to be active for prolonged amount of time

Re: Documents show Amazon is aware drivers pee in bottles and even defecate enroute

#28

> You don’t really believe the peeing in bottles thing, do you? If that were true, nobody would work for us. > The truth is that we have over a million incredible employees around the world who are proud of what they do, and have great wages and health care from day one. Amazon's PR (one of the best in the industry) at its finest. Minimize/deny/ignore the issue raised, and quickly bridge to something else entirely. D…

Ah, the old economics joke: > Two economists are walking down the street, when they pass buy a luxury car dealership. One economist says, "I really want that Ferrari!" The other economist replies, "Clearly you don't!" And the other one that isn't as relevant but is funny: > Two economists are walking down the street, when one of them sees something on the ground. She says, "hey, is that a $20 bill on the ground?" The…

Never heard the first one, but it makes sense.

Re: Documents show Amazon is aware drivers pee in bottles and even defecate enroute

#29
post #7

My understanding is that this is pretty common for every courier including UPS and FedEx. Why? Because the driver will have a set of deliveries. Once they’re finished those they’re done for the day. In NYC at least finding a restroom and finding parking (even double parking) beat it takes valuable time. It saves time to pee in a bottle. This just isn’t unique to Amazon is all I’m saying.

I could save time at work by peeing in a bottle at my desk. But my employer (and the law here) doesn't expect me to do this, even if the nearest toilet is several minutes walk away.

You're not considered a low grade commodity like these companies consider their workers.

Re: Documents show Amazon is aware drivers pee in bottles and even defecate enroute

#30

I'm happy to pay more for deliveries if people have time to take a leisurely comfort break. We need privatized toilets where you review the person ahead of you for how clean they left the toilet. Unlock the door with a special PIN.

Next step would be the need to upload pictures before and after so you have the ability to contest any false claims.

I'm partially kidding, but seeing how much time I spend 'starting' and closing a car in a car-sharing app (making pictures of all corners, all areas), a better approach to these processes would be welcome.

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