Has Amazon switched to using Amazon Logistics for prime deliveries in your area?

[kdonnel]

It has been close to a year now that our prime deliveries are delivered by Amazon Logistics. It looks to be a step up from Amazon Flex where you actually buy in to become a partner with Amazon Logistics and become an Amazon Delivery Service Partner.

It has caused some controversy in my neighborhood. There have been two main complaints.

One that the packages get delivered a day slower then when they were delivered via USPS or UPS and two that the drivers tend to drive through the neighborhood on the wrong side of the road.

I am guessing they are taught to stop for deliveries on the wrong side of the road so that they do not have to exit and enter the delivery van from the road side. The delivery vans all look this this and do not have the easy way of exiting from the passenger side like UPS trucks do or have the steering column on the opposite side like USPS trucks do. If my guess is correct, Amazon Logistics should invest in proper delivery vehicles that provide safety to both their drivers and the public.

Since there are so many deliveries close by in the neighborhood the vans tend to just remain on the wrong side of the road when moving from house to house.

I have been out walking the dog many times and have seen different Amazon Logistics drivers get angry when people do not move over onto the wrong side of the road when they meet the van head on coming down the street.

To complicate things, my neighborhood has several different traffic calming methods in use including narrower then normal streets, speed tables, and periodic divider medians where the lanes split into individual lanes with a small planter divider.

A couple times I have seen the Amazon driver screaming and waving at oncoming traffic to go around when the Amazon van has been stopped going the wrong way in one of the divided areas. The oncoming car is having to wait because there is traffic coming that obviously has the right of way and the Amazon van is parked in the wrong lane of traffic.

Another thing I have noticed is whenever I have seen the Amazon Logistics vans out of neighborhoods, they are driving with their hazard lights on. In Georgia it is legal to drive with your hazard lights on but not recommended by the Georgia State Patrol for the following reasons:

• Hazard lights can actually reduce visibility making other drivers think you are stopped or stalled.
• They make it difficult to see if motorist ahead are tapping on the brakes.
• They turn off your ability to use your turn signals.

Since each Amazon Logistics delivery van is potentially run by a different delivery service partner I am wondering if the policies are unique to the partner who services my area or if these techniques are taught in all areas?

 

[gwynne]

It has been close to a year now that our prime deliveries are delivered by Amazon Logistics. It looks to be a step up from Amazon Flex where you actually buy in to become a partner with Amazon Logistics and become an Amazon Delivery Service Partner.

It has caused some controversy in my neighborhood. There have been two main complaints.

One that the packages get delivered a day slower then when they were delivered via USPS or UPS and two that the drivers tend to drive through the neighborhood on the wrong side of the road.

I am guessing they are taught to stop for deliveries on the wrong side of the road so that they do not have to exit and enter the delivery van from the road side. The delivery vans all look this this and do not have the easy way of exiting from the passenger side like UPS trucks do or have the steering column on the opposite side like USPS trucks do. If my guess is correct, Amazon Logistics should invest in proper delivery vehicles that provide safety to both their drivers and the public.

Since there are so many deliveries close by in the neighborhood the vans tend to just remain on the wrong side of the road when moving from house to house.

I have been out walking the dog many times and have seen different Amazon Logistics drivers get angry when people do not move over onto the wrong side of the road when they meet the van head on coming down the street.

To complicate things, my neighborhood has several different traffic calming methods in use including narrower then normal streets, speed tables, and periodic divider medians where the lanes split into individual lanes with a small planter divider.

A couple times I have seen the Amazon driver screaming and waving at oncoming traffic to go around when the Amazon van has been stopped going the wrong way in one of the divided areas. The oncoming car is having to wait because there is traffic coming that obviously has the right of way and the Amazon van is parked in the wrong lane of traffic.

Another thing I have noticed is whenever I have seen the Amazon Logistics vans out of neighborhoods, they are driving with their hazard lights on. In Georgia it is legal to drive with your hazard lights on but not recommended by the Georgia State Patrol for the following reasons:

• Hazard lights can actually reduce visibility making other drivers think you are stopped or stalled.
• They make it difficult to see if motorist ahead are tapping on the brakes.
• They turn off your ability to use your turn signals.

Since each Amazon Logistics delivery van is potentially run by a different delivery service partner I am wondering if the policies are unique to the partner who services my area or if these techniques are taught in all areas?

It sounds like you've spent a good amount of time observing these vans.
What is the next step? Contacting LE to report your observations?

 

[Ben E N]

This is just a holdover until they move to drone delivery in the next couple of years I'm sure.
Around here, it's all UPS, USPS, and independent contractors. I saw someone delivering an Amazon package while driving a rented Uhaul yesterday.

 

[kdonnel]

It sounds like you've spent a good amount of time observing these vans.
What is the next step? Contacting LE to report your observations?

You meet a big blue van coming at you head on multiple times with your learners permit child driving and you take notice.

 

[dotfurio]

I've never seen Amazon vans around town so I'm assuming it's still USPS or UPS. All my packages go to a UPS mailbox anyway.

 

[msjprincess]

This is just a holdover until they move to drone delivery in the next couple of years I'm sure.
Around here, it's all UPS, USPS, and independent contractors. I saw someone delivering an Amazon package while driving a rented Uhaul yesterday.

Same here.


Very odd that all of the Logistics drivers seem to have the same personality. Maybe Amazon has created cyborgs.

 

[Floridaman999]

Still get mine from USPS about 98% of the time. Otherwise, it's UPS. No Amazon Prime vans in my area.

 

[Floridaman999]

You meet a big blue van coming at you head on multiple times with your learners permit child driving and you take notice.

That's borderline child abuse. I wish those crazy drivers could be held accountable for their unsafe actions.

 

[kdonnel]

Very odd that all of the Logistics drivers seem to have the same personality. Maybe Amazon has created cyborgs.

It has been the same 2 or 3 drivers for the past year. We have had the same UPS and USPS drivers for 14 years.

You don't have the same delivery drivers where you live?

I am curious if the driving on the wrong side of the road is something taught by Amazon in their logistics training or something taught by this delivery service partner?

 

[kdonnel]

Still get mine from USPS about 98% of the time. Otherwise, it's UPS. No Amazon Prime vans in my area.

Here are the areas Amazon Logistics either already services or plans to service if they can get folks to pay the $10,000+ fee to join the delivery network.

Amazon seems to be making an effort to replace UPS and the USPS for Amazon Prime deliveries. They have created their own airline to move out of stock items from warehouse to warehouse.

https://techcrunch.com/2018/12/21/a...e-cargo-aircraft-bringing-fleet-to-50-planes/

 

[Ben E N]

Here are the areas Amazon Logistics either already services or plans to service if they can get folks to pay the $10,000+ fee to join the delivery network.

Amazon seems to be making an effort to replace UPS and the USPS for Amazon Prime deliveries. They have created their own airline to move out of stock items from warehouse to warehouse.

https://techcrunch.com/2018/12/21/a...e-cargo-aircraft-bringing-fleet-to-50-planes/

Sort of like Disney using Minnie Vans to try to replace Uber drivers...

 

[jelly_bean]

I've never seen the Amazon Logistics vehicles. My issue is that, unlike USPS and UPS, the Logistics drivers don't have keys to enter my building. If I'm not home to buzz them in they do one of two things with my packages. They either leave them outside on a busy sidewalk or mark them as undeliverable. It's very annoying. Fortunately most of my deliveries are currently either USPS or UPS. I wish it was possible to select the carrier when placing an order.

 

[jelly_bean]

Sort of like Disney using Minnie Vans to try to replace Uber drivers...

I feel safer with the Minnie Van drivers so I consider that an improvement, albeit a pricey one. Plus they have the benefits of properly installed car seats and knowledge of Disney property.

 

[Ben E N]

I feel safer with the Minnie Van drivers so I consider that an improvement, albeit a pricey one. Plus they have the benefits of properly installed car seats and knowledge of Disney property.

Oh, I would never jump into any delivery vehicle unless I was being paid to be there. I was just pointing out that of course Amazon is trying to figure out how to cut out the middle man. That way, they keep all the profits for themselves.

 

[clori]

I have seen white vans that say amazon delivering packages and when they deliver to me I get pictures showing where my package is and I get notifications about how many delivery stops away they are with an expected arrival time. However most still come by UPS and occasionally USPS and perhaps Fed EX

 

[bgirldeb]

A lot of ours are delivered by Amazon logistics trucks. Some are by individual drivers/ (Amazon flex?).
There was some hubbub on Nextdoor about it, but we haven’t had a problem with it.

I like it better than USPS delivery.

 

[kdonnel]

I have seen white vans that say amazon delivering packages and when they deliver to me I get pictures showing where my package is and I get notifications about how many delivery stops away they are with an expected arrival time.

I think those are Amazon Flex drivers.

 

[kdonnel]

Oh, I would never jump into any delivery vehicle unless I was being paid to be there. I was just pointing out that of course Amazon is trying to figure out how to cut out the middle man. That way, they keep all the profits for themselves.

It almost seems like they are doing more then cutting out the middle man. With the model they have created with Amazon Logistics, they don't have very many employees they have to pay or manage.

They are pushing all the HR related tasks down to their delivery partners that seem to be much like franchise owners buying certain routes.

Their page mentions a potential profit of 75k-300k with a fleet size of 20-40 vans and a big asterisk saying there are no guarantees. That does not seem like a tremendous about of profit to me for the work involved in managing a fleet of 20-40 vans and the drivers to drive them.

Definitely structured to let Amazon keep more money.

 

[Ben E N]

It almost seems like they are doing more then cutting out the middle man. With the model they have created with Amazon Logistics, they don't have very many employees they have to pay or manage.

They are pushing all the HR related tasks down to their delivery partners that seem to be much like franchise owners buying certain routes.

Their page mentions a potential profit of 75k-300k with a fleet size of 20-40 vans and a big asterisk saying there are no guarantees. That does not seem like a tremendous about of profit to me for the work involved in managing a fleet of 20-40 vans and the drivers to drive them.

Definitely structured to let Amazon keep more money.

Make no mistake about it - Amazon is a brutal company. They make Disney, and all of its nasty inner workings, look as friendly as Mickey Mouse in comparison. The only reason they hire any people is because they can't replace them with robots, and they try to get them as cheaply as possible. Many of their drivers are sub contractors so they don't have to pay them benefits. Every move they make has been figured out by algorithms to make their higher ups as much money as possible. Bezos did not become the richest person ever by being charitable.

 

[MrsCobraBubbles]

Just had a package delivered yesterday from a u-haul van, when I looked out the window I saw a bunch of Amazon packages through the open door of the van. Is that what you're talking about?