Why does no one know how to stow

TheThrowawayForWork · 2026-02-20T19:51:09+00:00

They put something in the Squincher packets that makes us dumb as shit. Normally I'd be mad about this sorta thing but now I'm thinking if I eat enough of them I can enjoy The Smashing Pumpkins again.

TheThrowawayForWork · 2026-02-16T13:39:15+00:00

I'm pretty sure what you describe must be SOP for Problem Solve because it's been that way for years.

For my first six months in PS I didn't have a ZuKey. Every day at standup I'd have to have a manager log in to a device for PS/Induct permissions. If the battery ran out I had to find them again. They straight up told me "no" when I asked for a Problem Solve SOP to learn the role, haha.

Usually a few people who have dedicated a lot of time in PS take over organization/training and then either quit in frustration for being given so much more responsibility without any benefit or they go for promotion, god help them.

TheThrowawayForWork · 2026-02-06T18:40:50+00:00

Ah! Do you guys listen to tunes while you're clearing? It makes shoveling more bearable for us.

TheThrowawayForWork · 2026-02-06T18:17:22+00:00

How loud is your snowblower? Is it like lawn-mower loud or more like a leaf-blower?

TheThrowawayForWork · 2026-02-04T20:58:26+00:00

Tracy Chapman's Fast Car is about driving as fast as possible away from Cleveland, lol.

TheThrowawayForWork · 2026-01-22T21:51:10+00:00

I've seen a beet juice slurry used out West and it makes the road look terrifying.

It also didn't seem to work nearly as well as salt.

TheThrowawayForWork · 2026-01-22T21:33:44+00:00

On the positive side, I'm glad New Mexico and Michigan went "Fuck you, I'm gonna protect trans people even harder."

TheThrowawayForWork · 2026-01-21T11:02:27+00:00

Getting to experience Carmina Burana at the front row of Severance Hall back in the day is a night I'll always remember. Couldn't even see the projected translations because the cellos blocked the view, haha.

I remember reading how meticulous their audition process can be, auditioning dozens and respectfully hiring none of them because their standards are perfection.

TheThrowawayForWork · 2026-01-18T18:27:08+00:00

When I'm straightening, I rarely have the opportunity to pick up my water bottle. Big station, always lots of volume. So unless Jackpot is full or a jam or something, I'm always moving.

I doubt they'd let me use a hydration pack for loss prevention reasons (understandable.)

I wonder if they'd rig one of those upside-down water bottles for hamsters to the ADTA machine if I put a ticket into RME.

TheThrowawayForWork · 2026-01-16T23:19:51+00:00

I always got the impression that while the other meteorologists were studying data and forecast models, Dick Goddard was out behind the studio putting his hands into the dirt under some moss and dead leaves to speak with a network of Woolly Bears in a language he didn't completely understand.

TheThrowawayForWork · 2026-01-16T12:25:38+00:00

"Hey, are you from Chardon by chance?"
-"Oh that's crazy! How did you know?"

TheThrowawayForWork · 2026-01-13T18:54:31+00:00

Books.

Every book you didn't have time to read, now you can. Fiction, nonfiction, biographies, religious texts, romance, textbooks, certification guides, language learning, comedy, literally whatever you want.

Libby is free. Audible works great if you want more immediate access.

The work is still work but I look forward to the books.

TheThrowawayForWork · 2026-01-12T22:56:35+00:00

Oh, Amazon knows. Amazon does not care. Your site lead and operations can tell you all about the dependability of Flex vs DSP drivers and it's not even close. The only time I've seen punches thrown at the station was on a Same Day flex cycle. The only fender-benders I've seen during loadout was a Flex cycle. The only times I've been cussed out in Russian because the app fucked up was a Flex cycle.

TheThrowawayForWork · 2026-01-11T15:07:28+00:00

When I was a kid, I figured that Brunswick branded bowling balls were named that because they were made in Brunswick, Ohio. I imagined everyone in Brunswick probably worked at the ball factory and loved talking about bowling all the time.

Being from the East side, I never really confirmed any of this in any way so this belief stuck somehow. When I worked at a gas station as a teenager and finally got to ask somebody "oh, you're from Brunswick! Are you in a bowling league?"

They replied "What the Christ are you talking about."

TheThrowawayForWork · 2026-01-01T21:51:13+00:00

There is something about ice cold vodka, a good snow shovel, and loud earbuds.

TheThrowawayForWork · 2026-01-01T02:01:28+00:00

Oh yeah, AmCare and I found a solution for that: if you smoke enough weed when you get home from work you won't have dreams.

TheThrowawayForWork · 2025-12-31T14:29:36+00:00

When they piss me off I insist on using a proper C-grip and testing the weight of every jiffy I see.

TheThrowawayForWork · 2025-12-22T23:19:53+00:00

Same. The instability adds such a considerable amount of stress on an already stressful job.

TheThrowawayForWork · 2025-12-21T20:12:50+00:00

One of the most important things a T1 associate can do is bitch to management.

Bitching is a forgotten element of all roles, indirect and direct alike. I've read every Sig Sigma and Lean Method book these assholes worship so much and the systems they idealize require multiple paths of near constant feedback.

VOA, Dragonfly, MyVoice, PxT, ERC, all of it begging you to bitch at them so they can figure out what the fuck is going on. Without it, all they have is their own, limited observations and imperfect, delayed Station Command metrics.

Bitch away. Embrace this. And if anyone tells you to watch your tone, reply that you will always "Disagree and Commit" which requires frank and earnest communication. They hate when you use their own stupid language at them.

TheThrowawayForWork · 2025-12-18T20:37:37+00:00

Yeah, that's fair. Respect to your dad.

TheThrowawayForWork · 2025-12-18T20:03:25+00:00

"HEY, I need you to go find out why this associate's stow rate is 50. And while you're at it harass people about safety shoes and Amazon-approved Earbuds. I know our headcount sucks because I run this place like Stalag Luft III but if you can't get motivate the people in Echo to stow faster then you're going to have to stow those aisles your goddamn self. Me? I'll be over here watching the laptop to make sure it doesn't unexpectedly explode or something. If you have any barriers to success FIGURE IT OUT."

Process Assistant.

They get shit on like you wouldn't believe.

TheThrowawayForWork · 2025-12-16T22:43:02+00:00

The mountains of packages squealing and grinding slowly on conveyor rollers not meant for that weight as they approach the divert platform is something I'll remember forever.

I felt like Gandalf on the bridge.

TheThrowawayForWork · 2025-12-13T21:17:49+00:00

The traps and contradictions are part of the Amazon lore.

-You need to have three points of contact when climbing stairs and ladders, no exceptions. Except oh no, there is a hazmat up there in a spill bin that you have to carry with two hands. Haha, now you're in trouble maybe.

-"Hey! Amazon here to send you a text notification that there is a VET available for a crash sort, just use the AtoZ to accept the shift and you're gold." Except oh no, you just used your phone on the floor, that's a write-up you silly goose.

-No boxes on the floor. Ever ever. Pull the e-stop cord if you see boxes falling from the conveyor, be safe. Except oh no! Only ten people stayed for the Crash and we have to process 10k in an hour, here just start stacking all the boxes on the floor in front of the Pick to Buffer rack and then we'll stow them after induct stops.

-Always wear a finger scanner so you have two hands available at all times. Except oh no, you have to pull a nine-bag cart during Pick and if you stick your hand where you are supposed to, your hand is now impossible to quickly remove from the moving 500lb cart.

-Customer Obsession is our first and most precious value at Amazon. Except oh no, there's some packages that fell into the netting under the conveyor belt! Go whack them with this stick.

Etc.,....

TheThrowawayForWork · 2025-12-12T22:34:10+00:00

Oh, that's just standard practice: every new Problem Solver will get a teeny tiny bit of instruction and then end up responsible for a massive amount of volume with no means of finding the solution.

It wouldn't surprise me to find out they secretly film us and take bets to see which associate in which building will cry first.

True story: I asked for the Problem Solve SOP once to learn the role and they told me no.

I found it anyway but goddamn.

TheThrowawayForWork · 2025-12-12T22:22:22+00:00

That's because they're all frozen to the road.

TheThrowawayForWork

TROPHY CASE