If not, I’ll probably be there all night.
AMAZON DELIVERY DRIVER DRIVERS
If I have really strong drivers that day, maybe I’ll get home in six hours. It depends on the package count and the drivers. Most of them don’t understand that it’s not me that’s telling you these things, it’s Amazon, and I have to tell you this because Amazon directed us to. When they come in, sometimes you have drivers who are mad at the dispatcher because of what has been going on through their day. That does make me feel like I’m pitted against them. And it hurts my heart when I have to call someone and say, “You got to speed up.” And they’re just like, “I’m doing what I can.” And I’m like, “Well, Amazon says you got to speed up.” It’s a stressful thing. I’m a very sensitive person already so I feel horrible - especially when you know these drivers face-to-face - in the morning when they come in you can see how tired and how beat down they are. They know what their bodies can handle and it’s kind of off-putting to put someone in the position to call someone else and tell them to speed up more, to make sure they’re doing this or that. We’re the line between Amazon and the drivers. They will be able to call us if they could mark a package delivered or anything like that. We will let them know if they miss the package. So we will call them if they’re moving a little too slow.
AMAZON DELIVERY DRIVER DRIVER
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.īasically, our job entails being in contact with the driver all day long while they’re on the road.
The dispatcher spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear retaliation from the company. Amazon uses them to keep tabs on drivers, who work for third-party companies called “delivery service partners” or “DSPs.” One dispatcher spoke to Intelligencer about their job, describing irregular hours, a psychologically and physically taxing workload, and why they support forming a union - an effort Amazon has crushed, most recently in Bessemer, Alabama. Though dispatchers aren’t management, they’re enforcers in their own way. When drivers complain about the company’s surveillance, they’re referring in part to the dispatchers.
AMAZON DELIVERY DRIVER HOW TO
When an Amazon delivery driver is moving too slowly, the company knows how to get their attention: a message from a dispatcher, a driver recently told Intelligencer. Photo: Dinendra Haria/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images The incident was cited by an Amazon shareholder that filed a shareholder resolution calling for an independent audit of the company’s working conditions.Amazon drivers frequently get texts and calls from dispatchers demanding they stay on task and pick up the pace. The US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has announced that it’s investigating the warehouse incident, and experts say that Amazon’s lack of action can be traced back to Amazon’s endless drive to please customers at all costs and a lack of policy that would legally obligate the company to send its workers home. Bloomberg reports that the warehouse didn’t conduct drills to make sure people were prepared in case of an emergency. The Amazon facility wasn’t a safe haven either: a warehouse collapsed during the storm, leaving six workers dead. The tornado ended up touching down near a highway, throwing cars in the air, according to Bloomberg, though the driver involved in the text exchange is reported to be safe.Īmazon told Bloomberg that the dispatcher “should have immediately directed the driver to seek shelter” when they reported hearing the sirens and said that “under no circumstance should the dispatcher have threatened the driver’s employment.” The company says it’s investigating the incident. The safest practice is to stay exactly where you are.” The dispatcher said drivers couldn’t be recalled unless Amazon directed it and that she would lose her job if she returned. But I can tell you it won’t be viewed as for your own safety. The dispatcher’s response is harrowing: “If you decide to come back, that choice is yours. “If you decide to come back, that choice is yours.”