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Amazon Flex

flex.amazon.com

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Re: Amazon Flex

#271

Post by tormeh »

qnk wrote: post #113
suvelx wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What I don't understand, is why I can't pick my delivery slot for free. Everybody has jobs. Everybody finds it annoying to buy something on line. You never know when it's going to turn up. You have to take a day off, and hope your driver is competent at his job. Why can't you just say "I'll be at home on Thursday after 5pm. Call me on #555-333-9999 if you have any issues". Courier delivers the package after 5pm on Th…

"Everybody has jobs" Yes, even the delivery guys who have already been working all day and probably don't want to work past 5pm. There are several alternatives to get custom delivery schedules that work for you, like Amazon locker or Doorman.co.

How about the local post office or your mail box?

Re: Amazon Flex

#273

Post by hsod »

School-Cotton wrote: post #229
herge wrote: post #132

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Also, gentrification and the rights of workers in a sharing economy are still hot-button political issues in the Bay-area. Who's going to picket Amazon Flex in Indianapolis?

I don't think that's the reason - Amazon is incredibly unpopular in Seattle and anything they do there is certain to generate massive amounts of vitriol, so they wouldn't lose anything on that front by going to SF instead.

FWIW, as a life-long Seattleite, I disagree with this. There's definitely an Amazon backlash (particularly in the hipper neighborhoods) but it's not incredibly unpopular, most people like and use the service AND many like what they've done for the local economy.

Re: Amazon Flex

#274

Post by lol768 »

suvelx wrote: post #62
colinramsay wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can't find anything that says Amazon bought Yodel - do you have a source? That said, I think you might be right about Yodel's general model being like this. Their service is shocking. On the other hand, right now I am waiting on a parcel being delivered by DPD on behalf of Amazon. They have given a one hour window, I can track the location of the van online, and I could have text them this morning to rearrange the…

How on earth did you get Amazon to send you a delivery with DPD?

Amazon has sent a lot of Prime packages to me via DPD, but it seems to depend on when I order it. If I order on Saturday, I have a feeling they have very little choice as to which courier to use and as such it tends to be DPD.

I really prefer DPD because you can track the vehicle and you also get a delivery slot. Recently, Amazon have delivered some stuff for me via Royal Mail and ParcelForce (I ordered in the week) and whilst the packages did get to my house the next day, the tracking was much less informative/useful than what was offered by DPD.

Re: Amazon Flex

#275

Post by deet »

suvelx wrote: post #96
SmellyGeekBoy wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

E-commerce companies have 2 points of contact with the customer - the website and the courier. It makes no sense whatsoever to me why there's this ongoing race to the bottom on the courier side of things while companies spend more and more on the website side. I suppose at that point they already have your money, so what if this delivery experience is awful? Yodel are worse than useless, and I can't see this being mu…

What I don't understand, is why I can't pick my delivery slot for free. Everybody has jobs. Everybody finds it annoying to buy something on line. You never know when it's going to turn up. You have to take a day off, and hope your driver is competent at his job. Why can't you just say "I'll be at home on Thursday after 5pm. Call me on #555-333-9999 if you have any issues". Courier delivers the package after 5pm on Th…

This is for Amazon Prime Now deliveries, which let you choose a delivery slot. You choose a two-hour delivery slot between 6am and midnight for free, or you can choose a 1 hour delivery slot, including within one hour from now, for a fee (at least those are the ranges in NYC).

Re: Amazon Flex

#276

Post by bitdivision »

organsnyder wrote: post #120
suvelx wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What I don't understand, is why I can't pick my delivery slot for free. Everybody has jobs. Everybody finds it annoying to buy something on line. You never know when it's going to turn up. You have to take a day off, and hope your driver is competent at his job. Why can't you just say "I'll be at home on Thursday after 5pm. Call me on #555-333-9999 if you have any issues". Courier delivers the package after 5pm on Th…

To get efficiency, delivery companies have highly optimized routes to deliver as many packages in as little time and distance traveled. UPS even has algorithms to reduce the number of left turns. It's probably cheaper for delivery companies to make multiple delivery attempts than it is for them to allow recipients to specify their own delivery times. Of course, there shouldn't be any logistical impediments preventing…

DPD in the UK do this now. The morning of your delivery you get a text message giving you the hour your parcel will be delivered, and a link to rearrange delivery or to track the driver's current location.

To my mind, their system far outstrips the other couriers.

Re: Amazon Flex

#277

Post by robotresearcher »

brador wrote: post #202
suvelx wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What I don't understand, is why I can't pick my delivery slot for free. Everybody has jobs. Everybody finds it annoying to buy something on line. You never know when it's going to turn up. You have to take a day off, and hope your driver is competent at his job. Why can't you just say "I'll be at home on Thursday after 5pm. Call me on #555-333-9999 if you have any issues". Courier delivers the package after 5pm on Th…

Because an average courier drops 180 parcels a day. Now add customer preferences and you have a mess that can't be satisfied because everyone wants their parcel 5-7pm.

Now add the elastic capacity of a large number of casual part-timer workers who finished school/starbucks/whatever at 4pm and are happy to make a little cash working 5-7pm.

Re: Amazon Flex

#278

Post by caskance »

hellofunk wrote: post #201
ortusdux wrote: post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I guarantee that they have this feature planned out and are just waiting until they have enough drivers that firing some is an option.

Amazon is a rather wealthy company, are they really cutting corners on this key part of the customer experience because of money? Because good drivers would line up if they paid properly... or just hired a real delivery company.

Do they not pay well? The rates in the Flex page look reasonable to me.
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