Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Two Portland delivery companies revolt against Amazon, shut down

vice.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

251–260 of 310 posts

Re: Two Portland delivery companies revolt against Amazon, shut down

#251

Post by kjs3 »

softwaredoug wrote: post #119

> "The companies were losing money and employees trying to satisfy Amazon and their constant abusive changes,” Tom Rask, an attorney for Last Mile and Triton, told Motherboard. "You have to hire numerous drivers who may or may not be working. One day Amazon dictates that you have thirty routes, the next day forty, then the day after twenty. You’re supposed to have enough drivers for back-up while Amazon is lowering p…

If you're building your business around 1 client who isn't the government, I would humbly argue you're doing it wrong.

Re: Two Portland delivery companies revolt against Amazon, shut down

#252

Post by dfxm12 »

sokoloff wrote: post #211
techsupporter wrote: post #199

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This view--not that you hold it, but that it exists--frustrates the hell out of me. "We don't like being a customer of the company that clubs baby seals but our customers would leave us if we didn't use the company that clubs baby seals so I guess we should pay up for some more clubs." It's a pretty glaring example that "free markets" usually aren't, and often unrelated to government intervention. You have informatio…

I may not like that my electric utility burns coal, but I like my lights to work more. You can’t sit around worrying about every single imperfection in the world and accomplish much of anything.

Not just that, the fact of the matter you and I don't have very much of an effect on these things. We can't choose how our energy is produced, and we don't use anywhere near as much energy as a company like Amazon. This is where government regulations must come into play.

Re: Two Portland delivery companies revolt against Amazon, shut down

#253

Post by blck »

kjs3 wrote: post #251
softwaredoug wrote: post #119

> "The companies were losing money and employees trying to satisfy Amazon and their constant abusive changes,” Tom Rask, an attorney for Last Mile and Triton, told Motherboard. "You have to hire numerous drivers who may or may not be working. One day Amazon dictates that you have thirty routes, the next day forty, then the day after twenty. You’re supposed to have enough drivers for back-up while Amazon is lowering p…

If you're building your business around 1 client who isn't the government, I would humbly argue you're doing it wrong.

It sounds like Amazon strong arms these companies into ONLY serving them.

FTA: "The incident is notable as it appears to be the first public example in the United States of Amazon delivery service partners, small businesses that deliver packages exclusively for Amazon"

This is the program for Amazon Delivery Service Partners https://logistics.amazon.com/

Seems to me it's basically Amazon Flex but for people with capitol who want to be able to get up and started with their "own business." But when you join you can't contract for anyone else.

Re: Two Portland delivery companies revolt against Amazon, shut down

#254

Post by reaperducer »

relax88 wrote: post #98
tablespoon wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> This is more or less how it should be. If Amazon isn't going to offer a good enough deal, then companies shouldn't move packages for them. Not really. These companies are basically committing suicide, because Amazon is in such a dominant position. The way is should be is that they could have put pressure on Amazon much earlier, instead of being forced into such extreme action. Nothing will change. Amazon will just…

> It’s not like there’s a club of past & future delivery company operators that meets regularly Why not? “National Delivery Drivers Union” sounds pretty good to me for a name. If you want to negotiate with leverage against Amazon, you need to actually have the leverage. Why is collective bargaining so weak in this industry?

“National Delivery Drivers Union” sounds pretty good to me for a name.

This already exists. It's called The Teamsters, and was formed over a hundred years ago by people fighting many of the same problems that modern "gig" delivery drivers face today. But because companies like Amazon and Uber pretend they're strictly technology companies, people don't put the two ideas together.

(A "teamster" is someone who drives a team of horses. Think "stagecoaches" and "goods wagons.")

Re: Two Portland delivery companies revolt against Amazon, shut down

#255

Post by robertlagrant »

heywherelogingo wrote: post #138

Amazon is a cess pit in every respect. I use it once in a blue moon if I can't find an obscure item elsewhere, but I mostly abandoned it some years back. Alternatives have raised their game, and aren't regularly appearing in the news for being a cess pit. Everyone knows it's a cess pit (you can't miss the endless stories) but they like the convenience, and are frankly too lazy too look elsewhere, so the inevitable mo…

I don't think you can infer quality based on an absolute number of negative stories.

Re: Two Portland delivery companies revolt against Amazon, shut down

#256

Post by kjs3 »

blck wrote: post #253
kjs3 wrote: post #251

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you're building your business around 1 client who isn't the government, I would humbly argue you're doing it wrong.

It sounds like Amazon strong arms these companies into ONLY serving them. FTA: "The incident is notable as it appears to be the first public example in the United States of Amazon delivery service partners, small businesses that deliver packages exclusively for Amazon" This is the program for Amazon Delivery Service Partners https://logistics.amazon.com/ Seems to me it's basically Amazon Flex but for people with capi…

That's exactly it. You get sold on "You get a slice of the amazing growth of Amazon", but are buying into the fact Amazon can cut you out at any time, for any reason, and you have no recourse.

Re: Two Portland delivery companies revolt against Amazon, shut down

#257

Post by silisili »

drzaiusapelord wrote: post #101
axaxs wrote: post #56

I don't get Amazon's play here. Just charge me more money for items, and pay your people well. I'd rather have a happy safe driver than a miserable one at the end of his or her rope, all so I could save a dollar. Reminds me of Papa John complaining giving his employees healthcare would make prices go up 14 cents per pizza. Seriously? Who cares about 14 cents when ordering a pizza... Amazon's entire value to me is fas…

>I'd rather have a happy safe driver than a miserable one at the end of his or her rope, all so I could save a dollar. I mean, that's just you and your ethics as a person. Capitalism demands relentless and permanent profit, so capitalist culture is middle-managers doing exactly the opposite of you. Worse, they're in a rat-race against other middle-managers to see who can save the most money. So the system is designed…

Ethics can drive capitalism, though, via demand. They say millennials in general tend to support businesses with a cause. And we've all seen the rise of say, cage free or free range eggs, despite how misleading the terms are.

That is to say, morals can exist even in cutthroat capitalism when consumers demand it. If only people were as pushy about human treatment as we are about animal treatment. We won't buy eggs from chickens stacked together in a box, but have no qualms about buying Iphones or clothes made by humans stacked together in a box.

Re: Two Portland delivery companies revolt against Amazon, shut down

#258

Post by WalterBright »

blck wrote: post #253
kjs3 wrote: post #251

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you're building your business around 1 client who isn't the government, I would humbly argue you're doing it wrong.

It sounds like Amazon strong arms these companies into ONLY serving them. FTA: "The incident is notable as it appears to be the first public example in the United States of Amazon delivery service partners, small businesses that deliver packages exclusively for Amazon" This is the program for Amazon Delivery Service Partners https://logistics.amazon.com/ Seems to me it's basically Amazon Flex but for people with capi…

> It sounds like Amazon strong arms these companies into ONLY serving them.

I don't really understand this. Amazon can't "strong arm" you unless you let them. If Amazon "requires" you to dump your other clients, you can also "require" that such a clause means they must offer compensating guarantees and more money.

Sheesh.

Don't start a business where the business plan is to have only one customer, or at least if you do, don't complain when they realize they have you over a barrel.

Re: Two Portland delivery companies revolt against Amazon, shut down

#260

Post by plank_time »

The goal is to pay people high at the beginning, get them hooked on the pay, and then squeeze them by lowering pay and they have no choice because Amazon is a monopoly on their services.

Have people not figured this out yet?

That’s how they get you and transfer all the costs out of their hands. I’m surprised there isn’t more of an outrage over this.

Post reply on HN