God Bless Amazon.

If Amazon gets into the business of shipping packages for third parties, and can do it with the efficiency they run their other business, then we will all be better for it.

Amazon doesn't lose my packages. Amazon gives me notices when my packages are a few steps away, then instantly updates me with a photo of my package delivery. If I have a problem with a product, I can initiate a refund or replacement automatically in a few moments. If I still have remaining issues, I can get fast and efficient resolution from customer service.

Amazon rocks.

quote:

Originally posted by icom706:
So, when does the Sherman Anti-Trust Act wake up?

Yup. And it needs to be soon, because I imagine the court fight will take years and years to sort out.

I live in Seattle and have been watching Amazon since the company was founded.

Anyone who has been screwed over by Amazon just failed to do their homework. The company has a long, long history of turning on anyone they're doing business with. If you got "cash flow" then they want IN!

It seems like they're trying to "buy DOS" like Microsoft did, meaning finding free or cheap ways to do anything or everything. If you have anything going for you then it's in your best interest to keep your mouth shut, let alone doing business with them.

Again, I could talk for hours about the company.

Still, the one thing about their propaganda that's absolutely true is their contention that the customer is number one with them. They work super hard to keep the customer happy.

Everyone else should be wary..... don't drop your soap.

V.

Amazon needs to step up their game if they hope to defeat FedEx. Yesterday, the local Ground terminal processed twenty-two thousand packages for delivery yesterday. Normal daily load is twelve thousand.

quote:

Everyone else should be wary..... don't drop your soap.

A lot of people are willing to drop that soap so long as they can buy it for less.

quote:

Originally posted by a1abdj:A lot of people are willing to drop that soap so long as they can buy it for less.

LOL! That's it!

It's OK if you're an Amazon customer - they honestly put you first. However, ANY other capacity and you're "meat on the table". You'll be exploited with no mercy.

I guess it's a matter of being viewed as a debit or a credit in terms of their bottom line.

As for FEDEX (at least here in Seattle); they're just horrid. I always try and ship UPS even if I have to pay more. Amazon cut FEDEX ground out of their shipping program this week and I don't blame them one bit.

V.

quote:

Originally posted by dsiets:

I have a kindle. It being an Amazon product, it lets me know when packages are 4 to 10 stops away

I never heard of this feature.

How does it work? Can I teach this trick to my Kindle? Is this for Kindle Readers, like the Kindle PaperWhite and Kindle Oasis? Or, is it an app on a Kindle Fire?

 
We are fortunate to have excellent local delivery from all the carriers, UPS, USPS, FedEx, and DHL, with friendly, competent drivers. Once they get their hands on it, that is. Snafus happen prior to arrival at local.

quote:

Originally posted by White Phosphorus:
Still, the one thing about their propaganda that's absolutely true is their contention that the customer is number one with them. They work super hard to keep the customer happy.

I used to say that. I don't any more.

Second-to-last thing I bought from them their tracking showed the driver was two deliveries away from me. Then the driver went right past my street to the other side of an adjacent road. Diddled around in there for an hour--not moving at all, then disappeared entirely from the map. I expanded the map only to find the driver was now miles away and headed further away. Then it disappeared entirely.

I called Amazon. Instead of getting the Americans I used to get when I called, I got what was obviously an off-shore call center. Guy essentially blew me off. Escalated to a supervisor. Got a woman with an accent so thick I could barely understand her. Demanded the order by cancelled. She said they couldn't do that since it was out for delivery. Told her if they delivered it they'd be paying to take it back, as I no longer wanted it. She gave me a refund and told me that when they eventually delivered it I could keep it or send it back. My choice.

They delivered it the next day. Feeling guilty about keeping something for which I did not pay, I contacted them again. This time via text. Again got somebody for which English was obviously a second language. Had a helluva time getting him to understand the order had been delivered but I'd already been refunded due to the missed delivery. Finally he understood and told me they wanted it back--contradicting what the woman the day before had told me. So I sent it back.

Once-upon-a-time Amazon would have connected me with American customer service personnel, either given me the refund right out of the gate or initiated an overnight replacement order, and told me in no uncertain terms to keep the original order if and when it was delivered or offered to extend our Prime membership for my trouble.

That was the third time in about as many months Amazon Logistics bungled a delivery.

I now regard Amazon as nearly an option of last resort. Were it not for Amazon Prime Video we'd probably cancel Amazon Prime, as I don't plan to order much from Amazon going forward.

If you don't have the skill set to cut it at Taco Bell then you can always get a job at TSA. Then if you discover that you're still too soft headed to be a TSA agent then you can be a delivery driver for Amazon.
That's been my experience with our deliveries as of late.

I was a 10+ year prime member. Finally cancelled it. They were good years ago but have gone downhill in the past few years. Not just a gradual decline; more like dropping off a cliff.

I paid full price for my prime and tired of subsidizing the cheaper memberships. Also tired of worsening customer service at amazon and the incredibly incompetent/negligent logistics/delivery division.

I tallied my credit card bill this morning. Just over $5000 for non-food/gas/elec. etc. All of the items purchased with that $5K were available on amazon but NONE were purchased there. NONE. I sent amazon an email detailing all of it.

Tired of calling after every botched order/delivery to spend an hour on the phone for a $5 credit on my next order. My time is worth more than that. Perhaps that's amazon's goal?? Make it such a nuisance that people just give up??

I drive tractor/trailer and have been in numerous amazon facilities. 2 or 3 times a week for the past 6 years. The shenanigans going on there are a load of crap as well.

Amazon will succeed or not but I won't do business with them unless I have no other choice.

Dan

FedEx earnings

Looks like they released earnings yesterday. Revenue down 40%. Wowza.

quote:

Originally posted by AITG:
I hate to bring up ancient history but this sounds like WalMart 25 years ago: everyone complaining about poor service, horrible working conditions, putting competitors out of business. WM added cheap Chinese products to the mix.

Unfortunately, the American public voted for all of the above and WM became a Goliath. Amazon is following the same theory and will probably have the same result. It sucks but it works.

Exactly. Lots of people talk big, until they can buy toilet paper for 25 cents a roll cheaper.

Amid Amazon spat, FedEx cites loss of 'large customer' in weak results



FedEx cited weak global economic conditions and the loss of business from a key customer in the second-quarter causing the delivery giant to miss Wall Street’s expectations on Tuesday, one day after a report that e-commerce giant Amazon had escalated its clash with the shipping firm.

The Memphis-based company said its weaker-than-expected results were attributable to “weak global economic conditions, increased FedEx Ground costs from expanded service offerings, the loss of business from a large customer, a continuing mix shift to lower-yielding services and a more competitive pricing environment.”

FedEx reduced its full-year profit guidance to account for the poor results. Shares fell more than six percent in after-hours trading.

“Fiscal 2020 is a year of continued significant challenges and changes for FedEx, particularly in the quarter just ended due to the compressed shipping season,” FedEx chairman and CEO Frederick Smith said in a statement.

FedEx reported quarterly revenue of $17.3 billion, falling short of a projected $17.58 billion according to Refinitiv data. Adjusted earnings per share were $2.51, also missing Wall Street’s expectations.

The company now expects to post adjusted earnings per share of $10.25 to $11.50, down from an earlier estimate of $11 to $13 per share.

While FedEx did not reference Amazon by name, the company’s relationship with the e-commerce giant has deteriorated in recent months. Amazon has banned sellers on its third-party marketplace from using FedEx shipping services to fulfill orders for its Prime subscription service, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday.

The ban will remain in place “until the delivery performance of these ship methods improves,” Amazon said in an email to merchants. The e-commerce giant has made heavy investments to boost its own shipping services in recent years.

FedEx criticized the decision in a statement to FOX Business earlier Tuesday, noting that the move “affects a very small number of shippers” but “limits the options for those small businesses on some of the highest-demand shipping days in history and may compromise their ability to meet customer demands.”

FedEx announced in August that it would end ground shipping services for Amazon. That announcement came one month after FedEx said it would allow its contract with Amazon for air shipping to expire.



https://www.foxbusiness.com/ma...ults-amazon-shipping

I am for any company that can bring competition to UPS. They are over priced and never do there job right at least here

FedEx is really a gang of screw-ups here. They never show up when their website says they will. They don't even show up on the day they say they will - very annoying if you take time off of work to receive an important shipment.

Worse still, if you have a package held at one their local shops, it'll never arrive there and will be sent back to the shipper. I had one guy trying to stuff $800.00 worth of H4895 under a tarp in my backyard garden. Why didn't he ring the blasted doorbell? The whole thing is a mess.

UPS is great here. They show up on the day they say they will, a least within 4 hours or so.

The Amazon drivers do well but they all look really tired. I don't like to see people living like that.

V.

Amazon is the Death Star.
Woe to any entity that competes with them.

quote:

The Amazon drivers do well but they all look really tired. I don't like to see people living like that.

Small vans under 10,000 pounds to avoid DOT regulations (like FedEx, UPS, and others must abide by).

But it's cheaper! Who cares if they kill a family of 5 sleeping and driving?

quote:

FedEx cited weak global economic conditions and the loss of business from a key customer in the second-quarter causing the delivery giant to miss Wall Street’s expectations on Tuesday

The C word they were looking for was "competitor", not customer.

Amazon delivery here has been really good so far. I hope they continue to do well.

quote:

Originally posted by White Phosphorus:
FedEx is really a gang of screw-ups here. They never show up when their website says they will. They don't even show up on the day they say they will - very annoying if you take time off of work to receive an important shipment.

Worse still, if you have a package held at one their local shops, it'll never arrive there and will be sent back to the shipper. I had one guy trying to stuff $800.00 worth of H4895 under a tarp in my backyard garden. Why didn't he ring the blasted doorbell? The whole thing is a mess.

UPS is great here. They show up on the day they say they will, a least within 4 hours or so.

The Amazon drivers do well but they all look really tired. I don't like to see people living like that.

V.

FedEx is the same here. They’re much better than the USPS when it comes to packages but that isn’t saying much. UPS and Amazon delivery is excellent here.

If FedEx wants to survive they’re gonna need to step up their game because UPS and Amazon already have.