Amazon: your Christmas present supplier which respects a good season for all?

I am horrified, I have to admit.  Amazon employees may be working flat-out to deliver your parcels (and mine), but The Sunday Times delivered an exposé of working conditions in the UK at Amazon, yesterday.  I am now an Amazon-customer-in-relent and putting all my orders on hold.  Let the law courts decide when it comes to employment law - should anyone affected decide that's an appropriate direction to take, but, from what I read, this is exploitation to an extreme form and just inside the law.  Allan Lyall, Vice President of EU Operations at Amazon replied to the claims of the undercover Sunday Times reporter with comments that did not address the claims directly.

I've not been impressed with Amazon's regular & ordinary service since they introduced Amazon Prime, and it's got worse over time.  Items dispatched now take much longer to arrive and the email to say so now gives no idea of the estimated time of delivery.  (Indeed, the normal "free delivery" service seems to mean "fourth class", truth be told, and up to a whole week in transit.)

The fact that staff are apparently treated in this way, with no reasonable refute to The Sunday Times article means my last Amazon buying click was the very last for now.

A friend and I have discussed alternatives over time and well before this article.  Originally, I was a great supporter of The Book Depository, but they have a tendency to complete a transaction as if they have the stock and then come back to say they haven't, refunding your money and shovelling onto your disappointment quotient.  TBD were far better packagers for me, with the books arriving intact, but "no shows" proved an impossible irritant.  My friend ran to four of these "ended contracts" before cutting to the final chase of "never again": better tenacity than me or poorer memory?  Who knows?  But he's driven by price, as I am.  Perhaps as we all are.

My friend now favours Waterstone's for book purchases.  I stuck with Amazon, until this report.  (And please, do read it: the true spirit of Christmas is lost even before you get to the second paragraph.)   Now I think I should give Waterstone's more consideration on the book purchases.

But lastly, to the workers at Amazon, I say a big "thank you".  If working conditions are as reported in The Sunday Times, then it ain't what Father Christmas intended and it ain't what decent folk hoped to see in the UK - this is the "spirit of Christmas lost".  When you eventually arrive home exhausted and put your feet up for relief, too tired to see your children asleep, you earn our utmost respect and we wish you a merry Christmas and a far better, and more worthy and respected (that you well deserve) 2009!

May we not ever forget the true spirit of Christmas!  And may God bless you Amazon workers!

Comments

[justcorbly]

I have to say I've always thought Amazon had highly automated warehouses that didn't require so much human muscle.

I'm curious if conditions in Amazon facilities here in the States are as oppressive. Probably so. I do know their draconian approach to sick leave is common in both blue- and white-collar environments.

[Catherine]

I've used Bookrabbit.com for many of my Christmas purchases. They are quite often cheaper and they are definitely quicker. Their packaging is erratic but they were super fast at sending a replacement for one damaged item - sent it out to me 1st class after I emialed to complain and before I had sent the damaged one back.

[crimeficreader]

Gav, the story came about because an undercover reporter signed up with an agency that puts people in jobs there, and worked there - after a tip off.

Subsequent reports and online comments indicate that Amazon is not foul of the law, but, ethically, I, for one, am happy to boycott the company for now. Their response showed no remorse and no understanding. Indeed, it gravitated towards confirmation of the reported scenario.

Yes, your "stuff" may arrive, and on time, but this will follow much indignity to a fellow worker, extreme working conditions that we would criticise for the "third world" and a set of objectives (feeding into a "bonus" scheme) that are impossible to attain.

And why should temps be considered "trolls under the bridge" anyway? They are not nasty. They deserve respect too. They are the ones that take what breaks they can and suffer the consequences. They work to ensure your orders arrive on time.

It only takes one click to feel satisfied and to forget what lies behind it.

[gav (nextread.co.uk)]

Would it be terribly wrong to say that I don't care as long as my stuff arrives?

Actually I do care and think that the report is probably in noway a true reflection of what it's like to work there.

The story probably comes from an unhappy temp who didn't want to work hard. It is coming up to Christmas and I doubt it would for the entire of the year. Plus they don't mention any of the other benefits that are offered.

[Peter]

I am shocked -- shocked! -- that an American corporation exploiots its workers for competitive advantage.
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Detectives Beyond Borders
"Because Murder Is More Fun Away From Home"
http://www.detectivesbeyondborders.blogspot.com/

[Maxine]

I have not had chance to read the Amazon article - but the trouble with Waterstones (and probably every other online bookseller) is that their stock is not very large compared with Amazon. (Or the supplier may have gone bust - the Woolies supplier seems to have done for Zaavi and stalled PanMacmillan). Returning to Waterstones - their crime fiction is pathetic once you get past the bestsellers. Amazon has also now bought Abe books, which is another popular online bookseller, mainly second hand. One service you might like to investigate is that of the independent booksellers in the UK - they have a group website. You can browse, etc, and if you find a book you like you can order it and pick it up at your nearest independent. I find that there are not many shops near me signed up (probably because there are not many inde booksellers near me) and of course, on this site, one gets inde prices. Sometimes this means paying £8 for a PB you can get for £5 on Amazon.
Is Amazon the Primark of bookselling?

[Philip]

The interesting thing about Lyall's statement is that it is one of those responses that, while intended to be at once evasive and a counter-attack, somehow manages to confirm the truth of the allegations. I say boycott the buggers.

[Anne Brooke]

Awful indeed - but not entirely surprising. Amazon have always been bad to their employees. It's part of their company vision, I believe ...

Waterstone's is not bad at deliveries - I always try to use them now. They don't get it all right, but they make a good attempt.

Axxx