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Amazon Flex

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Re: Amazon Flex

#141

Post by ekianjo »

ousta wrote: post #117
ekianjo wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm still waiting to see cashiers disappear in supermarkets. Or bakers, since bread and cake production could be completely automatized by now. Strangely they are not going away. I wonder why... People who predict extinction of jobs are usually wrong.

cashiers are getting extincted little by little, supermarkets all have self checkin, macdonalds rlies heavily on it, train systems in many countries have automated lines, bakers have long been replaced by industrial ovens and breads in EVERY supermarket and they are now low qualified workers helped by electronic ovens who unfreeze breads instead of workers. don't make any mistake as technology evolves it becomes chea…

> cashiers are getting extincted little by little,

Cashiers are still alive and well in Japan, thank you for asking.

> Supermarkets all have self checkin

Not everywhere and even where there is i see way more people queuing for the cashier queue than going for self checking but maybe it's different the Californian world or wherever you are living.

> ovens and breads in EVERY supermarket

I'm obviously talking about local breadshops in cities. they are alive and well, once again, and not going bankrupt. Quality still matters.

> train systems in many countries have automated lines

Yes, but how many have automated trains ? it's technically possible for a long time yet trains are still driven by people. It's way more simple to automate a train than a car yet it's not happening. Strange, huh ?

I'm just making observations based on real life - the world has not massively been robotised since the 90s (it has certainly happened in many manufacturing plants but the "worker"/"human face" is very resilient when it comes to local services).

Re: Amazon Flex

#142

Post by the_mitsuhiko »

I like what the Austrian post started to do. You buy a post locker once, place it on the outside of your house/flat and the post starts putting packages in there and throws the one-time use pin into your mail.

Re: Amazon Flex

#143

Post by mirsadm »

popopje wrote: post #80
suvelx wrote: post #8

I've got a suspicion that Amazon has been trialling/building this in the UK since their purchase of Yodel, perhaps earlier. A number of times some bloke in a car has turned up and delivered me a package. No uniform, no branding. Just a phone running Amazon software. I can't say it's the greatest experience.

Package delivery is never a good experience in the UK i have my packages delivered to a friendly shop nearby - to my house, it's a nightmare. The collect+ system also works reasonably well, i take that option if offered. (where it's delivered to a local cornershop or similar and you walk to pick it up) I really feel there should be a gap in the market for "last mile" delivery to be solved properly, but i suspect ther…

Having moved from Australia to the UK, I can tell you the delivery services I've used so far (Yodel, DPD etc) are far superior than any service in Australia. They even deliver on Saturdays and Sundays. That's amazing.

Re: Amazon Flex

#144

Post by bmelton »

ousta wrote: post #102
bmelton wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In America, generally speaking, if you're using a privately owned car for business, the companies pay a mileage rate, which is currently 57.5 cents per mile. That cost is expected to cover the cost of gas and maintenance on the vehicle. I don't know if Uber / Amazon actually DO this, but if so, that mileage fee would be on top of whatever their actual pay rate is.

can't you remove this cost from taxes?

If I'm understanding you correctly -- mileage rate pay is a business expense for which you are reimbursed, and aren't considered pay. They are (I believe) tax exempt.

Re: Amazon Flex

#145

Post by bluedino »

This is what the post office should be doing. We'll deliver your mail to wherever your phone is or you want it for that day.

I hate buying something from someone online (eBay for instance) and then they ship USPS. If I can't let the mailman into my apartment they won't leave the packages. So then I end up having to sit in line at the post office on Saturday morning and hope they can find the package for me and pick it up.

Re: Amazon Flex

#146

Post by ekianjo »

LesZedCB wrote: post #133
ekianjo wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> basic income this is not the place for discussing this here, but the inherent problem with this basic income idea is that there's no way to provide such money in developed countries which are already indebted to the bone. Unless you decide to seize savings and declare the country a communist dictatorship or something.

Well, since you decided to discuss it anyway... :) Basic income is wealth redistribution function. There is a massive income inequality problem in the US (a trivial google search will reveal, if you aren't aware of already), and a basic income would rebalance taxes as well as replace some other social programs in order to pay for it. See this reddit post for more info about income inequality and taxes . https://www.r…

> Wealth redistribution

Well you spelled it, you need a communist like system to do that (i.e. take money through taxes, redistribute it through massive inefficiencies, and make sure politicians get their hefty share when the money flows).

Inequality is a false problem. It's a problem if people get poorer, but all indicators for the past 50 years show that everyone is getting richer, while rich ones are getting richer faster (which is obvious why, when you have more capital you are much more likely to increase it faster). As long as even the modest classes are getting richer every generation, everyone's life is improving.

Re: Amazon Flex

#147

Post by biftek »

3pt14159 wrote: post #53

I'm surprised they aren't launching with cyclists too. Maybe they don't know the size of the backpack / basket that the delivery person has? I kinda just bike around Toronto for fun / exercise (up to 100kms in a day) and if I didn't have to alter my bike I could consider doing it. Plus it is faster in many parts of the city to bike than to take car or transit.

They are already using bike messengers in Manhattan (maybe elsewhere) for Amazon Now's 1 hour delivery. I'm guessing they just hire out to LazerShip or some other currier service, and give them Amazon jackets.

Re: Amazon Flex

#148

Post by ekianjo »

scrollaway wrote: post #136
ekianjo wrote: post #127

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> As for bakers, they don't just make bread and cake. yet it's still their main product and they are stopping making it even though industrial bread is cheaper. So your point is ?

My point is it's a pretty terrible example for you to pick. Baking is not a low-skill menial job. It's certainly not first in line in the "jobs that will get replaced by a machine" domino line.

It's actually a pretty good example because bread making can be completely automatized starting from ingredients mixing, to baking, packing and delivery to your supermarket.

yet bakers do not disappear. What's not valid about this example?

Re: Amazon Flex

#150

Post by jonesetc »

martingordon wrote: post #134

One of the reasons I hesitate to use Amazon Now is that big "suggested tip" field. I don't tip the UPS delivery person, why should I tip my Amazon Now delivery person? What's been the norm for you all?

Disclaimer: I have never used Amazon now, and don't see myself using it even though it is available to me. I also have no idea how the whole operation works before it leaves the warehouse.

Does your UPS package get delivered in an hour? Do you tip a pizza delivery driver?

Personally I think it depends on how much work the person doing the delivery did before the delivery to help get it done fast. So for food delivery, usually the drivers will not cook the food, but will put together the bag, double check everything, and add in any extras like sauces, utensils, rice, etc. So if the person for Amazon Now is the one putting the order together and double checking it before loading it into their car, I would think that they are more in line with food delivery than UPS drivers.

Also something that takes away from how much I would give is that restaurants usually share some of the tips with in store workers who made the food. With that in mind I'd definitely tip less.

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