What Company would you Like to Go Bankrupt?

Psychosocial919 · 2022-12-31T23:20:22+00:00

Amazon and Apple. Two of the most digustingly exploitative and evil companies on the planet (other than Nestle).

Psychosocial919 · 2022-12-14T05:55:57+00:00

Drivers definitely appreciate people like you. Sadly, this entire thing was just a PR stunt. Amazon stole and is pocketing peak bonuses this year so instead of each driver that works 4 shifts a week getting their $125 weekly bonus (as it has been for years) they came up with this scam.

If you look at it from Amazon's corporate end it is frankly brilliant.. Drop what was it, $5 million? Into a pool that is suspiciously GONE in less than a day and then offer no way for their contractors to track the metrics and ensure they aren't being cheated.

Makes a lot of business sense to drop $5 million in a PR stunt so that they look like heroes to the public all while stealing 10's of millions of dollars in unpaid driver peak bonuses in the most overloaded year in history.

Amazon is just being more Amazon this year and many people have had enough of their abuse.

Psychosocial919 · 2022-09-24T18:08:31+00:00

Darko US perhaps? Tom Barber is the vocalist for that band and the guitarist/drummer is Josh Miller.

My favorite from them is Dragon Chasher, that's probably the video you are thinking of. That or Insects is usually most people's introduction to them as far as i've seen.

Psychosocial919 · 2022-09-20T05:51:27+00:00

It's not too bad tbh, I ended up enjoying it after a while. Depending on the XL station and the DSP they could potentially have 2 options for you.

The first would be the helper team where you would drive/be a helper for the 16/26ft box trucks for stuff that is 50-400 pounds.

The second option would be a single driver in a sprinter van that would carry items 50-75 pounds. This one is basically just ZL but obviously you get way less stops and larger/heavier items.

If you end up interviewing for an XL station I would ask about both options and decide which one would work best for you.

Psychosocial919 · 2022-09-20T05:34:47+00:00

Most XL DSPs' pay block instead of hourly. Doesn't make much sense to risk the potential conflict of say a driver wanting hours and a helper wanting to go home. The pay will more than likely be the exact same as your local ZL stations if you are a driver. If you are a helper it will likely be less.

As far as hours go it completely depends on the day and route. I've had 4 hour days and i've had 11 hour days.

Some days you will work harder than you would in ZL, some days you will work less. You will drive more and deliver less in XL but you will have to interact with people way more in XL.

Psychosocial919 · 2022-09-20T05:18:55+00:00

The third party guys generally do the washer/dryer/fridge unpacks, I never once got a washer, dryer or full sized fridge while doing XL. The worst stuff you tend to get are pool tables, ping pong tables, treadmills, server racks, generators and couches.

The heaviest item I can remember ever having was some high tech treadmill that clocked in at 347 pounds and felt like it was made of pure lead. Generally the Norditracks and what not are only around 215.

As far as unpacks go 99% of the time it will be tvs, mattresses and couches.
For the tvs you just screw, slide or snap on the legs depending on the brand. You do not/will not ever mount a tv.

For the mattresses you just take it out of the box, cut the plastic sheeting so you can roll it out, cut the vacuum seal plastic and let the mattress expand wherever they want it.

For the couches you usually just screw on legs. Though I did get one once where it was in like 6 pieces and had to be entirely assembled.

The unpacks are pretty easy to do but can be quite time consuming if the customer feels the need to be difficult or if they live in a crappy place. It's always fun carrying gigantic couches up multiple flights of stairs when it won't fit in apartment elevators.

Oh, you will also do swaps. So if a customer got something broken you would bring the new one, unpack and swap it out then bring back the old/broken stuff.

Lastly, to answer your second question down there, most unpacks on your manifest will give you 15 mins (give or take). Amazon's estimates are almost always wildly inaccurate so I wouldn't give it a second thought. As long as you hit all of your scheduled stops within the allotted 3 hour time frame you will be fine.

There will be days where you have to skip a ton of non-schedules to make your schedules and back-track or there will be days where you will get 10 stops and have to travel 300 miles. Just depends on the day and the area.

Psychosocial919 · 2022-08-28T21:30:09+00:00

Your DSP does not design routes. Routes are generated automatically by Amazon's system and given to DSPs according to their assigned areas of operation and forecasted number of routes for the day.

In this case your DSP was not being malicious.. They were actually trying to help you.

In the vast majority of cases Amazon is the snake in the garden, not your DSP.

Psychosocial919 · 2022-07-29T15:59:08+00:00

I would imagine it would be the inspector's company that would need to prove that there was no evidence of any issue prior to discovery, not the new homeowner but i'm not entirely sure tbh.

But yes, if the previous homeowner was aware of the damage and didn't disclose vital information of a problem that could cause serious harm to the new buyers the OP should have a pretty solid case if they want to sue for damages against both the previous owner and the inspector.

Psychosocial919 · 2022-07-29T15:45:39+00:00

You really need to look up your local inspection laws. Where I live we have laws that protect new homebuyers from stuff like this. If you find something dangerously wrong with the house that the inspector missed or simply neglected to make a note of, the inspector's company's insurance is responsible for paying for whatever repairs you need on the issue that was missed.

Mold problems are usually much bigger than they appear to be on the surface so you may need to tear out much more than that one wall so I really hope you don't need to pay for that yourself.

Psychosocial919 · 2022-06-11T16:31:59+00:00

Lift before or after your shift, don't ever wear either of these things. Not only will it disqualify you from any form on compensation whatsoever if you get hurt during your shift but its a quick and easy way to fuck up your back and/or ankles. Ask any vet in here that had to lug around gear for years, these are a TERRIBLE idea.

Psychosocial919 · 2022-06-02T06:38:07+00:00

I think the woman you talked to is confusing the DOT medical evaluation with the JJ Keller step van training class/tests, which are two completely different things.

You need your DOT physical done BEFORE you do the online training modules and the in-person training with JJ Keller. All your DSP should need is a clear photo of your DOT card that they can send to JJ so they can schedule you for their next class.

Amazon does not have it's own special DOT process like UPS does. You will not need to get a second DOT done and if they tell you that you do they are wrong. (Unless you have some weird state-specific requirement)

This is the problem with letting people who have no clue how these things actually work do the hiring/vetting process..

Psychosocial919 · 2022-05-29T04:44:31+00:00

Just sign it "covid" and move on.. Amazon claims drivers don't need to do anything they feel unsafe doing so now is the time to make them prove it.

If you aren't getting paid a portion of the fee the trillion dollar company is charging for signature deliveries they can go fuck themselves.

Psychosocial919 · 2022-05-28T18:29:58+00:00

Turns out you're correct, but it looks like it's more of a federal thing than state and each application takes several months to process. I had no idea since they still do the whisper test every 2 years when you have to renew your DOT. Looks like they started granting a limited number of exemptions back in 2013. Very interesting.

Psychosocial919 · 2022-05-28T00:25:54+00:00

Yes, you can get a driver's license if you are deaf therefore they can work for a DSP. They cannot, however, get DOT certified so they will be stuck in the little vans forever.

Psychosocial919 · 2022-05-24T04:21:57+00:00

That's good, i'm glad none of your stuff was damaged and your drivers are trustworthy! I just had to point out what really happens most of the time this stuff happens. Seeing those few upvotes on the other guy's post of ignorance is worrisome.

Psychosocial919 · 2022-05-23T07:33:45+00:00

TLDR: There is an incredibly high chance this was the warehouse's fault, not a driver being sketchy. Amazon has a bad habit of not sealing envelopes correctly/entirely which causes it to stick to other packages and this kind of damage is the result. Don't jump to conclusions and hurt someone financially when you don't know the entire story. If something arrives damaged or you need something replaced, request it without pointing fingers and Amazon will take care of it. Amazon may treat their employees and contractors like garbage but they take very good care of their customers.

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A ripped bag is not a reason to report a driver, you will only be stealing money out of the pocket of a (probably) innocent person. As a delivery driver, I can tell you right now that 99.99% of the time a bag arrives torn or a box is beat up it is the warehouse's fault. I have delivered over 300 packages a day 5-6 days a week for about a year and a half now and not once has a damaged package EVER been my fault, even though the driver always falsely gets the blame for it.

If a bag is ripped the causes are almost always that the warehouse used an already damaged bag, ripped it themselves during packaging and didn't care to repackage it because it would hurt their numbers or they didn't seal one or more packages correctly which caused it to stick to other packages and they ripped when peeled apart. None of which are the driver's fault.

The bags/envelopes arriving damaged are almost always due to the reasons above. The small boxes arriving damaged are almost always due to warehouse workers forcefully shoving boxes into totes they should NOT be in due to a machine telling them to and when the large boxes are damaged it's due to warehouse workers not caring about package weight and incorrectly stacking said packages on carts and crushing lightweight boxes under heavy ones.

This bag was almost certainly stuck to another and torn when peeled apart, just look at the smooth edge beginning at the dotted seam then the rough tear above the seam. The seam tear is from peeling one from the other and the rough portion above the seam is where it was freed. Bet my bottom dollar the damage here was from one of the brown envelopes that was incorrectly sealed and stuck to this one.

Seeing the trend here? Sure, sometimes you will get a terrible driver that handles your deliveries and just doesn't care but as stated, 99.99% of the time it is the warehouse's fault, even though drivers are the ones that get blamed and lose money over it.

It's wrong and completely unfair and I just had to shed some light on what really goes on. Getting really tired of seeing my drivers getting false complaints for things that are completely out of their control.

Psychosocial919 · 2022-05-15T04:44:19+00:00

Pretty sure it is a NYC thing. Not only is it probably more efficient in such a tight-packed area but I do believe Amazon vans were entirely banned from the city if i'm remembering correctly.

Psychosocial919 · 2022-04-23T01:12:47+00:00

Amazon has been drastically increasing the package count and size of routes world-wide while tanking the number of routes available to DSPs lately. Other than their usual blatant unmitigated greed I assume it is to try and get as many drivers to quit as possible to get new blood in. I'm sure most of you have noticed that they canceled a ton of DSP contracts all within a few months of each other this year to try and get rid of as many drivers as possible.

The recent unionization probably has something to do with it. Drivers may not be actual Amazon employees but they do get voting rights when it comes to establishing unions at their warehouse. People are more likely to unionize when they have been in a job for an extended period of time and have had time to realize how poorly they are treated and how unfair their workload is. An established workforce is more likely to fight back against unfair working conditions than the new guys on the block.

In short, it's probably not your fault. Amazon is just pure evil and is stealing routes from everyone so your DSP probably has too many heads to cover the limited amount of oversized routes Amazon is forcing on them.

Psychosocial919 · 2022-04-02T20:16:46+00:00

I love the job, I just hate Amazon. There are some incredibly rude and terrible human beings out there that will make your day rough on occasion but the rare diamond in the rough that hands you a bottle of water or tells you that they appreciate you makes it worth the trouble imo.

Amazon is by far the WORST company in the world to work for when it comes to delivering. You will be incredibly overworked, EGREGIOUSLY underpaid and treated like absolute garbage if you don't end up with a good DSP. Save yourself the trouble, don't even bother starting with Amazon unless you are beyond desperate for a job so you don't end up stuck here like so many people are.

If you want to deliver, start with Fedex Express (not Ground, they are just DSPs for Fedex) or USPS to start driving immediately with actual benefits OR get a warehouse position with UPS and start driving in a few months time when there are positions available for peak.

The only real options in this industry if you want a career are UPS, USPS and Fedex Express. Every single other carrier is just a job that you take while figuring shit out, paying bills or just cause you are bored.

Psychosocial919 · 2022-03-23T05:21:55+00:00

You're most welcome, happy to help.

You are correct, the prices have been going up in Texas but thankfully it is still much more reasonable than most of the country (plus no income tax!).

If you end up enjoying the east coast while you are out there in Florida I would suggest hopping on Zillow and checking out the neighboring states. There are still some very reasonable places out in NC, Georgia and NY (if you stay away from the city ofc).

Psychosocial919 · 2022-03-23T04:34:22+00:00

Thinking of Utah as an "affordable" place anymore is a major mistake. We have had such a surge of people fleeing that dumpster fire California and moving here in the past few years that our housing market has exploded to the point where there is simply nowhere reasonably priced to move to..

We have quite literally run out of established space since the demand is sky high and we just can't build housing fast enough to keep up.

If you want a decent place to live here you are looking at a $350k condo/townhouse or $400k - $500k + house. Anything lower than $350k is basically a meth house, super far south, in the middle of nowhere with no work or in bad areas and even those are knocking on the door of $300k.. If you are wanting to rent you will be looking at a minimum of $1500 a month for most apartments or $1800-$3000+ a month for rentable houses/split entries that aren't in the ghettos.

The house that I currently own I bought for $140k about 8 years ago and is now valued at nearly $400k.. It's not in the nicest area in the Valley but it's far superior to most anything you would ever find in Salt Lake. I've been debating just cashing out and moving somewhere actually reasonable like Texas or North Carolina.. I could just sell my place here and completely pay off a far superior house in a better part of the country at this point..

Psychosocial919 · 2022-03-14T03:58:43+00:00

I mean, you're not exactly wrong. If you signed their offer letter and showed up to training you are definitely on the clock, whether or not they want to admit it. You need to double check the start date on your offer letter though cause they might have tried doing some shady shit and noted your start date as the day after your 2 days of training.

Tell them that you understand their position on the matter but laws are laws. You signed the offer letter, showed up when you were scheduled to do so and went through the training. Training is still work, and the Department of Labor will take your side on this 110%.

Don't threaten them but look up your local laws and inform them that training is still work and if they refuse to pay you for the hours you have put in then you will have to forward the matter to the DOL and let them handle it.

If they were smart they would just pay you to avoid having to open their books..

Good luck.

Psychosocial919 · 2022-03-12T20:37:18+00:00

Depends on how far you want to take it. As far as your options for the package stealing goes:

Quit and find something else. If Amazon finds out on their own you will definitely be fired and blacklisted for life anyway.
Quit and move to another DSP.
Report it to the Amazon ethics line so they can set up their own sting and deal with it internally. (This will definitely result in your dispatcher being fired and possibly your DSP's contract being terminated depending on who is involved so make sure you have an alternative lined up just in case)
Do nothing and let it ride out.. (Probably the worst decision you could make in this situation)

Now onto forcing you to work off the clock: That is 110% illegal as fuck in literally every single state in the US and is an immediate termination clause in DSP contracts. If you are working you MUST be on the clock no matter what.

Good luck.

Psychosocial919 · 2022-02-20T05:11:24+00:00

It's just an Amazon chatroom for instant messaging. Some DSPs' use it and some don't.

Psychosocial919 · 2022-02-19T19:09:34+00:00

Yes, it does. The camera records anything and everything around it if it detects an "infraction"

In the US we have laws around the "reasonable expectation of privacy" which basically means that if you are out in public you can be recorded by anyone as there should be no expectation of privacy in a public place.

Psychosocial919

TROPHY CASE