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

Email from Jeff Bezos to employees

aboutamazon.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

801–810 of 1001 posts

Re: Email from Jeff Bezos to employees

#801

Post by wiz21c »

giomasce wrote: post #794

"As Amazon became large, we decided to use our scale and scope to lead on important social issues". A bold claim for a company widely known to exploit and underpay workers in distribution warehouses.

your comment deserve 1000 votes. The whole message from Bezos is so much about what the management team has done and so few about the people who actually move boxes around.

I also wonder what's the overall CO2 footprint of Amazon and what's their record about recycling, repairing, etc. I know they propose some tools to help for that and they may even be more efficient than others, but as a company with "lead on social issues", it needs to have more than "a lead", it needs to question its very own existence. So the mail of Bezos, is, in my view, not ambitious at all.

Re: Email from Jeff Bezos to employees

#802

Post by brazzledazzle »

ImaCake wrote: post #780
Corrado wrote: post #754

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't know, I just returned a faulty smart light bulb and the process was beyond easy. Just select it from my previous orders, submit a request to return it, and choose how to send it back. Pretty easy. As a "bonus" I was able to send it back through a Kohl's store so my wife got a 25% off coupon that she used to purchase some masks and socks (and stuff). Yes, I know, they got us to purchase more stuff, but she rea…

My anecdata counterfactual to this is that I recieved an empty package and couldn't even figure out how to make a complaint to Amazon let alone return it. It was a cheap item so maybe they care more if it passes some threshold value?

I had the same issue. I had to use the chat option. It took a little bit but wasn’t too long and they gave me a refund without requiring I send back an empty package. I would have eaten the cost (<$12) if I hadn’t been able to work it out though. Wasn’t worth getting flagged as a potential scammer.

Re: Email from Jeff Bezos to employees

#803

Post by 2rsf »

redthrowaway wrote: post #593
PaulDavisThe1st wrote: post #231

> This journey began some 27 years ago. Amazon was only an idea, and it had no name. It had a name, and that name was "Cadabra". It didn't become Amazon until Jeff watched a documentary about the Amazon River. His lawyer had already turned up his nose at "Cadabra", and Jeff was looking for something else. It's also worth noting that the idea didn't grow over time - Jeff always intended to build something like "Sears…

>ps. amazon employee #2 Please tell me you held onto your stock

90% of startups fail, in Las Vegas you have a 14% chance to win now make your choice. I sold my stocks (not Amazon but a very early employee at a small company that still exist and somewhat profitable) as soon as I could and ended up selling at an all time high so YMMV

Re: Email from Jeff Bezos to employees

#805

Post by hutzlibu »

arcticbull wrote: post #756
hutzlibu wrote: post #215

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"If you want a small government that is able to retain order and fairness, you must also limit the size of the companies within its purview. " Why does the government needs to be big (in size?). It just needs to be strong enough and really connected to its people it represents. Then also a very small country (with a small government) can set up and enforce clear rules on multinational companies, doing buisness within…

Strength only comes in numbers.

Not really.

With numbers come also internal struggles, that weaken the whole system.

Look at switzerland or norway for example. They are small in numbers, but don't get really screwed by big corporations either.

Re: Email from Jeff Bezos to employees

#806

Post by denysvitali »

pwinnski wrote: post #639
denysvitali wrote: post #509

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, maybe he is right, he might not be aware of Bell Labs or he might have forgot about it before typing that email

Or, and hear me out here, he might have lied. It's funny how many people on this page are having trouble acknowledging that this is a prevaricating puff piece. He wants to tell a story of his success, and leave in a way that doesn't tank the stock. So he lies a bit about the origin of the company, lies a bit more about their accomplishments, and so on.

I should have added a /s

I'm not protecting him, this is more like a PR stunt rather than a letter to his employees. Given the history, I can safely say that he might not care _that much_ as shown in this open letter

Re: Email from Jeff Bezos to employees

#807

Post by snakeboy »

astrange wrote: post #551
snakeboy wrote: post #445

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To be fair, Amazon has probably the worst corporate reputation among public-facing companies, up with Walmart when it comes to labor issues. So I find it hard to believe that anyone is being convinced that Amazon is a net positive here. And at a certain point it's consumerism that's driving all of this. I don't know if it's fair to blame Amazon for this any more than it is to blame McDonalds for obesity. We live in a…

> To be fair, Amazon has probably the worst corporate reputation among public-facing companies, up with Walmart when it comes to labor issues. The US healthcare system, oil, gas and coal companies, weapons manufacturers, factory farms, fast fashion sellers, soft drink and dessert companies? I mean, Amazon and MS are in ESG investing indexes, so they must be doing okay. Those indexes won't even allow nuclear power in.

I think my phrasing was poor. I meant specifically about labor issues, not the general impact on society/the world. Everyone in the country jokes about how Amazon employees have to run, skip bathroom breaks, etc. to meet warehouse quotas. Whether this is entirely true anymore, I don't know, but that's the reputation.

Re: Email from Jeff Bezos to employees

#809

Post by withinboredom »

gambiting wrote: post #788
TedDoesntTalk wrote: post #590

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Brand name helps with perception That used to be true with Amazon. Not anymore, not for me. Now I have to decide if I trust and endless array of 3rd party sellers. It is often just easier to buy from a manufacturer’s website since I know I’m getting the real thing and it’s not expired or otherwise screwed up. Maybe I pay a few more bucks, but I’m ok with that for a lot of things. (Exception: books and used)

It's always interesting to me how people on HN almost universally have such poor experiences with Amazon. I've had over 200(!!!) orders from Amazon last year alone and didn't have any problems with any order. In fact when my guaranteed next day delivery was late by a day they just gave me a month of prime for free. And every time I decide to buy directly from the manufacturer I get punished - bought a Lenovo laptop a…

I also prefer to order direct, if possible. If I think I might need to return it, Amazon.com is the way to go (or Bol.com for local stuff). It's always a pain to return to the manufacturer, they're incentivized not to take back the return while a retailer is incentivized to take it back.

Re: Email from Jeff Bezos to employees

#810

Post by Cro_on »

ImaCake wrote: post #780
Corrado wrote: post #754

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't know, I just returned a faulty smart light bulb and the process was beyond easy. Just select it from my previous orders, submit a request to return it, and choose how to send it back. Pretty easy. As a "bonus" I was able to send it back through a Kohl's store so my wife got a 25% off coupon that she used to purchase some masks and socks (and stuff). Yes, I know, they got us to purchase more stuff, but she rea…

My anecdata counterfactual to this is that I recieved an empty package and couldn't even figure out how to make a complaint to Amazon let alone return it. It was a cheap item so maybe they care more if it passes some threshold value?

My $2 book purchase anecdata from last summer runs counterfactual to yours. The product never arrived and within 48hours of complaint the cash had been returned.
Post reply on HN