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Amazon Unveils One-Hour Delivery Service

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131–140 of 161 posts

Re: Amazon Unveils One-Hour Delivery Service

#131

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…

> Stereotypes of French waiters aside,

Which I found to be quite wrong. I didn't have a single experience of bad service in my week in Paris.

Re: Amazon Unveils One-Hour Delivery Service

#132

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

"Or don't pay a living wage." Why does every job have to pay a "living wage"? Almost all the pizza delivery folks I knew were doing it part-time for extra cash. Pizza delivery is not a long term career. This notion that every job is a career job is just silly and is detrimental to our youth trying to pick up extra cash and some experience.

I don't know where you live but most of the food delivery people in my major US city are at least over 30, many even in their 50s. Lots of immigrants too.

For unskilled labor a career might be a job.

Re: Amazon Unveils One-Hour Delivery Service

#134
post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It'll be pretty easy for target to prevent google from helping them, they can just decline to participate in the program. They are participants though, which should tell you something about how target actually feels about the program. And they don't lose any customer habit data, as customers still use their loyalty cards through Google Express. Almost all of Google's profit right now is derived from B2B relationships…

Valid point. I'm not sure what "participate" really means though. Do Google Express customers have to provide their loyalty cards? Does Target get all of the data they'd get if the customer shopped in store or through their own delivery service? It would be silly to imply that Google's customers don't see any benefit as they're obviously getting some revenue and data. But it would be similarly silly to imply that Tar…

>Do Google Express customers have to provide their loyalty cards?

No. I order stuff from Target via Google Shopping Express multiple times a week without a loyalty card. I didn't even know Target had loyalty cards, in fact! Also if you're logged into your account you go go here and see what loyalty cards you can type in: https://www.google.com/shopping/express/#SettingsPlace:

The list includes Costco, REI, Staples, etc. but not Target.

Re: Amazon Unveils One-Hour Delivery Service

#135

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Or don't pay a living wage." Why does every job have to pay a "living wage"? Almost all the pizza delivery folks I knew were doing it part-time for extra cash. Pizza delivery is not a long term career. This notion that every job is a career job is just silly and is detrimental to our youth trying to pick up extra cash and some experience.

Because it's so, so easy to get trapped in a cycle of endless below-livable jobs just to support yourself. My personal belief, and I'm more than willing to pay more for goods and services to support it, and I live in a country where we have a liveable minimal wage, is that every job if worked 40 hours should be enough for a very modest, but not totally hopeless life. You also then have time off to use to improve your…

> the thread is too long for me to reply to the responses below. What an unfortunate design HN, as the "right of reply" has effectively been stripped from me.

You can probably reply now. IIRC, there is a delay in the reply link being available for long threads, as a very blunt measure to reduce fast/long back and forth arguments.

Re: Amazon Unveils One-Hour Delivery Service

#136
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.

I have. Here in Australia. Service, in general is fine.

Re: Amazon Unveils One-Hour Delivery Service

#138

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because it's so, so easy to get trapped in a cycle of endless below-livable jobs just to support yourself. My personal belief, and I'm more than willing to pay more for goods and services to support it, and I live in a country where we have a liveable minimal wage, is that every job if worked 40 hours should be enough for a very modest, but not totally hopeless life. You also then have time off to use to improve your…

> Because it's so, so easy to get trapped in a cycle of endless below-livable jobs just to support yourself. That's an appeal to emotions and has nothing to do with the argument. > My personal belief, and I'm more than willing to pay more for goods and services to support it, and I live in a country where we have a liveable minimal wage, is that every job if worked 40 hours should be enough for a very modest, but not…

How is your fist point an appeal to emotions there's nothing evocative at all. If you have multiple below living wage jobs you've still a fixed amount of time in the day you can work just now you're being paid less for when you do work AND have higher transportation costs by definition. Maybe job security is an advantage as you won't get fired from everything all at once.

You keep repeating how the suggestions will make things more expensive for poor people. We're suggesting to pay poor people to not be poor.

Re: Amazon Unveils One-Hour Delivery Service

#140

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Agreed, but I think Japanese service culture is an exceptional case ... really haven't experienced anything like it anywhere else.

Finland, Mauritius
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