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Amazon Unveils One-Hour Delivery Service

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Re: Amazon Unveils One-Hour Delivery Service

#91

Post by Chevalier »

walterbell wrote: post #88
slayed0 wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Regarding your first point, changing the tipping medium does not solve the underlying problem. Tipping sucks.

Have you experienced customer service in countries where there is no tipping? It is often entertaining and involves unpredictable "extra work". Perhaps digital reputation systems will provide a stick to replace the carrot of tipping, unless labor laws evolve to impose Fair Reporting on mobile logistics data.

Stereotypes of French waiters aside, service is just fine in Europe. (Speaking as a former resident with very fond memories.) Tipping is just a way for American employers to rip off their most vulnerable workers.

Tipping is a truly toxic practice, and it's a burden on customers as well. Why would anyone want to be assigned extra work to evaluate how unhappy they are in order to calculate how much extra they should pay?

Re: Amazon Unveils One-Hour Delivery Service

#92

Post by jpatokal »

walterbell wrote: post #88
slayed0 wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Regarding your first point, changing the tipping medium does not solve the underlying problem. Tipping sucks.

Have you experienced customer service in countries where there is no tipping? It is often entertaining and involves unpredictable "extra work". Perhaps digital reputation systems will provide a stick to replace the carrot of tipping, unless labor laws evolve to impose Fair Reporting on mobile logistics data.

Yes, I have. Japanese customer service wipes the floor with US customer service, and they'll run down the street to return your "forgotten change" if you attempt to tip in a restaurant.

Re: Amazon Unveils One-Hour Delivery Service

#93

Post by stronglikedan »

arrrg wrote: post #82
stronglikedan wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Prompt service ensures a good tip. The driver will get paid either way, and he'll get tipped either way. However, since the tip reflects the quality of the service, the amount cannot be determined ahead of time. I'd never stiff the driver though, regardless of how bad the service is.

I don’t think your assumption holds for repeat interactions. Drivers want to get consistently tipped, so they do have an incentive for treating people who already tipped them well, namely insuring that those people will remain customers.

> I don’t think your assumption holds for repeat interactions.

I would agree with that. However, I don't order enough pizza to be a "known" customer. If I had a rapport with a particular service vendor, I wouldn't mind tipping up front, provided that they have demonstrated a consistently high level of service prior.

Re: Amazon Unveils One-Hour Delivery Service

#94

Post by rconti »

walterbell wrote: post #88
slayed0 wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Regarding your first point, changing the tipping medium does not solve the underlying problem. Tipping sucks.

Have you experienced customer service in countries where there is no tipping? It is often entertaining and involves unpredictable "extra work". Perhaps digital reputation systems will provide a stick to replace the carrot of tipping, unless labor laws evolve to impose Fair Reporting on mobile logistics data.

Yes. Accounting for cultural and random variations, it's the same.

Re: Amazon Unveils One-Hour Delivery Service

#95

Post by SiVal »

morgante wrote: post #43

I just placed an order with this new service (some HDMI cables for our office). The selection is pretty decent, definitely comparable to Google Shopping Express. One very odd note though: they ask for a variable tip to the delivery courier (something Google doesn't do). So even for "free" 2 hour delivery, you're paying for delivery. While I see how this is better for the courier, I think it's a big mistake—people hat…

Tipping is a nuisance, something that goes in the "Con" category in a Pro & Con analysis. The vendor is implicitly warning you that you shouldn't count on getting good service included just because you officially paid for it. They're warning you that they have no real control over their service providers, and "it would be a shame if something unforeseeable, like getting caught in traffic, were to happen to a delivery you were counting on", so you'd better work something out with them privately and hope the "service" provider is pleased with the result.

Like many people, I have a lot of options when it comes to who I buy from. I now have to pay sales tax to Amazon, and there are often other vendors who are cheaper, or charge no sales tax, or have stores five minutes away where "shipping" is instantaneous and always free for even the smallest purchase. Even so, I'll often pay more and buy from Amazon anyway because of their service. Anything that reduced their service quality would shift some of those purchases away from Amazon.

I haven't seen this new Amazon system for myself yet, so maybe there's no real problem, but if "free" 2-hour delivery turns out to require air-quotes around the "free" along with a nudge, nudge, wink, wink, "it would be a mistake to disappoint me" attitude from the delivery guy, I'll use the system a lot less.

Re: Amazon Unveils One-Hour Delivery Service

#96

Post by Pyxl101 »

Chevalier wrote: post #91
walterbell wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Have you experienced customer service in countries where there is no tipping? It is often entertaining and involves unpredictable "extra work". Perhaps digital reputation systems will provide a stick to replace the carrot of tipping, unless labor laws evolve to impose Fair Reporting on mobile logistics data.

Stereotypes of French waiters aside, service is just fine in Europe. (Speaking as a former resident with very fond memories.) Tipping is just a way for American employers to rip off their most vulnerable workers. Tipping is a truly toxic practice, and it's a burden on customers as well. Why would anyone want to be assigned extra work to evaluate how unhappy they are in order to calculate how much extra they should pa…

> Tipping is just a way for American employers to rip off their most vulnerable workers.

Could you please elaborate? I don't see how tipping can be involved in ripping off workers in the United States.

Employers are always required to pay their workers minimum wage - the federal minimum wage in the worst case, and sometimes the state minimum wage when it applies and is higher. See: http://www.dol.gov/elaws/faq/esa/flsa/002.htm

> If an employee's tips combined with the employer's direct wages[] do not equal the federal minimum hourly wage, the employer must make up the difference.

Re: Amazon Unveils One-Hour Delivery Service

#97

Post by snotrockets »

nezza-_- wrote: post #68
Avshalom wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Tipping ahead of time ensures that driver gets paid. Which is a bit more important than whether you're first or last during a delivery run.

No, the Pizzeria paying the driver ensures that the driver gets paid.

That's the problem is: most Pizzerias don't. Or don't pay a living wage.

Re: Amazon Unveils One-Hour Delivery Service

#98

Post by NegativeK »

walterbell wrote: post #88
slayed0 wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Regarding your first point, changing the tipping medium does not solve the underlying problem. Tipping sucks.

Have you experienced customer service in countries where there is no tipping? It is often entertaining and involves unpredictable "extra work". Perhaps digital reputation systems will provide a stick to replace the carrot of tipping, unless labor laws evolve to impose Fair Reporting on mobile logistics data.

There's quite a few service industry jobs in the US that don't do tipping. I haven't found things to be better or worse.

What irks me the most is that tipped industry veterans will declare, very forcefully, that 20% is the minimum in all circumstances -- which is somewhat fair, as I do believe in fair wages. However, if a minimum exists, why are we even tipping?

Re: Amazon Unveils One-Hour Delivery Service

#99

Post by bobbles »

walterbell wrote: post #88
slayed0 wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Regarding your first point, changing the tipping medium does not solve the underlying problem. Tipping sucks.

Have you experienced customer service in countries where there is no tipping? It is often entertaining and involves unpredictable "extra work". Perhaps digital reputation systems will provide a stick to replace the carrot of tipping, unless labor laws evolve to impose Fair Reporting on mobile logistics data.

Is this actually a serious post?

Countries without tipping happen to compensate their employees with something called 'wages'.

It goes a long way to developing a real service culture and not fake 'yes sir thank you sir' service in the US

Re: Amazon Unveils One-Hour Delivery Service

#100

Post by walterbell »

bobbles wrote: post #99
walterbell wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Have you experienced customer service in countries where there is no tipping? It is often entertaining and involves unpredictable "extra work". Perhaps digital reputation systems will provide a stick to replace the carrot of tipping, unless labor laws evolve to impose Fair Reporting on mobile logistics data.

Is this actually a serious post? Countries without tipping happen to compensate their employees with something called 'wages'. It goes a long way to developing a real service culture and not fake 'yes sir thank you sir' service in the US

Some countries with a "real service culture" wouldn't accept wages, never mind tips, i.e. the business would be family owned and operated.
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