According to Amazon's website, "Amazon is guided by four principles: customer obsession rather than competitor focus, passion for invention, commitment to operational excellence, and long-term thinking. Amazon strives to be Earth's most customer-centric company, Earth's best employer, and Earth's safest place to work". Amazon is a leader in online commerce and originally started out with selling books before it expanded into other products. As of 2022, it has had a huge presence in any consumer market you can think of.
Many reasons why customers choose Amazon over other competitors is because of its customer service, low prices, quick shipping, wide selection of products, and ease of use. All the user needs to do is open the Amazon app, log in, buy what they need, and it will be dropped off to their front door within 1-2 days. In addition, Amazon has a substantial backend system that processes orders at the instant you order them. Most orders go through Amazon's warehouses which are spread out across the world. They are stocked based on algorithms that predict the type and quantity of products being ordered in a specific region.
Despite Amazon's success and efficient supply chain, it has run into serious issues over the years. For instance, the working conditions for warehouses workers are terrible. There were multiple reports of employees being pushed to meet extremely high targets, subjected to strict break times, electronic monitoring, and fear of being fired for not meeting targets.
There is a strong history between Amazon warehouses and poor health. For example, back in 2011, staff in a Pennsylvania warehouse worked in 100 degree heat with ambulances waiting outside, taking away workers as they fell. Additionally, in 2018, the Huffington Post reported on the case of Jeff Lockhart Jr. In 2013 Jeff, an employee at Amazon's warehouse in Chester, Virginia, collapsed at work and was pronounced dead less than two hours later. His autopsy cited heart problems as the cause of death, and we'll never know whether the intensity of the job was a contributing factor.
Furthermore, "Turnover at Amazon is much higher than at many other companies-with an annual rate roughly 150% for warehouse workers" according to the New York Times. If Amazon wants to change the negative view of it's company and improve conditions for warehouse workers, it must take action to solve these issues by revamping their operations.
I have not heard of the case of Jeff Lockhart Jr. until I read this. What happened was horrible, and what's even more horrible was that there were no further investigations on the Amazon warehouse, the working conditions, statements from other workers who were working at the same time, etc. We only have Jeff's autopsy to refer to. Quite problematic.
ReplyDeleteIt's definitely tragic, I couldn't imagine anyone close to me dying because of the intensity of their job.
DeleteThey treat their warehouse workers horribly but they also have absolutely no clue where your customer data is and have many people on the inside who have access to this data who should not be able to!
ReplyDeleteYeah Amazon and all these other big companies have tons of data on us. It's hard to trust them but their services make our lives alot easier. So I guess it's a tradeoff haha?
DeleteAmazon has definitely has become one of the biggest companies in the world. I buy things off of Amazon every week because it is cheaper and is more efficient. They have a quick delivery service and it is very easy to spend my money on Amazon. More people are becoming online shoppers and that is why Amazon is so successful. I think that since they are so well known, they need to start treating their workers better. Bringing awareness to the issues within the company is important.
ReplyDeleteI use Amazon as well and love their service. My packages come within 1-2 days. However, I always think about all the people who are working so hard to get those packages to me despite the working conditions they may encounter.
DeleteAmazon is most definitely a great company as far as customer service, shipping speed, and delivery. I never knew how poorly some workers are treated. I would never expect this from a company of such magnitude. I feel like this would have an impact on the compnay
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