Amazon Prime

[cichlidfan]

I just had to post about this. I have been an Amazon Prime member for many years and I live in one of the areas where they now offer same day service on certain items.

 

This evening I ordered my usual dog food while feeding the dogs, via my Alexa (that means I just told the air to order dog food), at 6:22PM, and it was just delivered at 9:07PM. The price is within a dollar of my local pet store. I never even touched the computer, left the house, or carried it farther than from the front door to the kitchen.

 

This is why I own stock in Amazon and will be a customer for life.

 

Note: I am not promoting the program, just pointing out how well it works.

Edited December 30, 2016 by cichlidfan

[Buzzles]

Have you seen their latest plan?

 

We've known for ages they want to use drones for deliveries, but they've now upped it a notch by planning on using airships/blimps as floating warehouses.

[cichlidfan]

Have you seen their latest plan?

 

We've known for ages they want to use drones for deliveries, but they've now upped it a notch by planning on using airships/blimps as floating warehouses.

 

I missed that one, somehow. The FAA will have a lot to say about that, in the U.S., but elsewhere, I could see it happening.

[javelina1]

I've got Alexa (Echo) as well. Pretty contagious on what you can do.

[MemphisBelle]

I am Prime member since a couple of years as well, I really appreciate all the services that Amazon has to offer and I gladly use them, only thing one need to care about is not to return too many purchased wares, some customer has already been banned from all prime services including purchased media access like music or movies. As long this is considered Amazon is a great place to buy.

 

Other side of the coin is that all the small stores are suffering under the great amount and pressure of those huge online warehouses.

[shagrat]

...and their slaves, ehh, "employees" of course. ;)

And ultimately it isn't only the small shops. As soon as they reach a state near monopoly, we as customers will lose all alternatives.

So we have to pay, whatever they say, simply to get a product.

 

Here in Germany we have an interesting mix of shops, which are basically one single "sales group" so if a customer is unhappy with shop A and threatens to go to shop B, the attendant just smirks, as he just switches the shop, but not the company that gets the money.

They are well aware, that if the guy goes to shop B to see the price for this particular TV, he won't find it there, as they don't sell the same important products in both shops, at the same time...

Edited December 30, 2016 by shagrat

[cichlidfan]

...and their slaves, ehh, "employees" of course. ;)

 

Too true. I love shopping there but I know, damn well, that I would not want to work there. Jeff Bezos is hard task master.

[cichlidfan]

I've got Alexa (Echo) as well. Pretty contagious on what you can do.

 

I am getting ready to add a fifth one to the network, for better voice coverage.

 

EDIT: If you haven't already, check out this site.

 

https://ifttt.com/

Edited December 31, 2016 by cichlidfan

[shagrat]

Too true. I love shopping there but I know, damn well, that I would not want to work there. Jeff Bezos is hard task master.

At least in Germany it is more about violating basic rights in combination with psychological harassment.

 

If people get a written warning that they were monitored talking to another employee and warned for being "inactive for 9, 3 and 1 minute on different days/occasions", for a total of 13 minutes(!)

 

Brave new world!

[MemphisBelle]

...and their slaves, ehh, "employees" of course. ;)

 

This is a common argument which is actually false leading. If it would really be that bad, so those guys would change the Job. Most of the kind of work that is to be done there has been evolved in so many places around the online market that it is actually not really a hard thing to change from one employer to another. The issue is actually another, the kind of work is so less payed in general that the amount of work doesnt fit the monthly income, no matter where you work, they simply have no lobby, just like nurses or rescue medics, hard work and less income.

Edited December 31, 2016 by MemphisBelle

[Pikey]

The big question is, if Amazon can cut these costs and provide better service to the end consumer, what does it mean for the future of

A) Employment conditions

B) Small business

 

Quite rhetorical questions, since we've had a number of documentaries on employee condiutions in Amazon warehouses and we know what it does to small business.

 

As an Amazon Prime member also, I am constantly challenged with my own hypocrisy and literally paralysed for a comeback... I have a great job, I'm incredibly lucky and I am contributing to poor working conditions and perpetuation of a widening rich-poor gap. I feel crap but I'm not well off because I waste money, I shop for cheapest prices? What can I do or say?

 

PS, I'm not that lucky actually, I moved countries twice, changed my career choice in my 30's, lost 2 houses and can no longer afford a mortgage, but I still worked hard and doubled my wage in 5 years based on just high school education, so it's not entirely ridiculous that many people can affect their own outcome.

Edited December 31, 2016 by Pikey
exagerating my own luck.

[shagrat]

That is, IF you have the option to change your job.

In the areas they have their hubs, there isn't much of an alternative, especially for low qualified work.

So without much money on the shelf, no perspective for a decent job elsewhere, would you risk moving your whole family?

So you can always argue while the poor people complain, they just need to get a job as a millionaire and everything is fine. ;)

 

I agree the general issue is that in our society the harder and more valuable a job is, the worse is the payment.

Just ask yourself if all investment bankers would die from a disease tomorrow, or all nurses, policeman, firefighters, waste disposal etc. would, what would you personally miss the most?

[Pikey]

Not entirely true buddy, Amazon and companies like them build distruibution areas in the poorest of places and whilst their argument seems legit, that they create jobs and help people, its also the only thing going in the area and poeople have very little choice about where to work. Check in with the Dunfermiline Amazon distribution centre sometime and ask them about local opportunities!

This is a common argument which is actually false leading. If it would really be that bad, so those guys would change the Job. Most of the kind of work that is to be done there has been evolved in so many places around the online market that it is actually not really a hard thing to change from one employer to another. The issue is actually another, the kind of work is so less payed in general that the amount of work doesnt fit the monthly income, no matter where you work, they simply have no lobby, just like nurses or rescue medics, hard work and less income.

[NeilWillis]

This is a common argument which is actually false leading. If it would really be that bad, so those guys would change the Job. Most of the kind of work that is to be done there has been evolved in so many places around the online market that it is actually not really a hard thing to change from one employer to another. The issue is actually another, the kind of work is so less payed in general that the amount of work doesnt fit the monthly income, no matter where you work, they simply have no lobby, just like nurses or rescue medics, hard work and less income.

 

You assume that the said employee has a choice about where they work. Not everyone is fortunate enough to be flexible, and work where they are able to.

 

It still doesn't excuse a company from taking responsibility for the welfare and rights of their employees. A company as big as Amazon has huge responsibility to do things correctly, and not trample on their staff in order to maximize profits at the expense of welfare. It might also help if they paid their taxes, and didn't use globalism as an excuse to ride rough shod over individual nations exchequers.

 

If Amazon gets the balance right, they could be a great company, get it wrong, and they'll probably end up at the top of everyone's sh!t list. Let's just hope they get it right.

[Pikey]

I remember being employed in the local hospital in Scotland, its a government institution and a massive employer. I didnt get a wage increase for 5 years and my manager said I would never likely get any promotion unless someone died.

 

That day, I fixed my CV, went out and looked further afield and a job was open in Dublin. I took 800 GBP in cash, left my wife, dog and son on their own, got in a plane and took that opportunity. I lived on pot noodle for two months, without internet, playing solitaire on my phone, but when payday arrived, I went back for the family in a van drove across countries and we moved. I remember my first christmas buying 3 computers with my tax rebate and a bunch of DCS stuff and thinking...wow, this is great.

 

2 years later I took a promotion inside that company to return to the UK and a total of four years later I was earning nearly double what I was earning in the Health Service. At the same time I remember a guy from Estonia coming to Ireland. His wage rise was insane.

 

I look back at the guys still working in the hospital there who are happy with their famillies in the same area but making no real money and I wonder, if the real choice is putting yourself through a lot of hardship to get what you want. I told them they should move, but their arguments were always about staying in the same place near their family.

 

There are choices for lots of people (not the really destitute) and some people make that effort and some people are OK with not. But if you can gather up some pennies and take a risk, I'd say it's worth it based on my own experience. Be optimistic! Challenge your beliefs. Be prepared to sacrifice. And eat pot noodle.

That is, IF you have the option to change your job.

In the areas they have their hubs, there isn't much of an alternative, especially for low qualified work.

So without much money on the shelf, no perspective for a decent job elsewhere, would you risk moving your whole family?

So you can always argue while the poor people complain, they just need to get a job as a millionaire and everything is fine. ;)

 

I agree the general issue is that in our society the harder and more valuable a job is, the worse is the payment.

Just ask yourself if all investment bankers would die from a disease tomorrow, or all nurses, policeman, firefighters, waste disposal etc. would, what would you personally miss the most?

[shagrat]

I remember being employed in the local hospital in Scotland, its a government institution and a massive employer. I didnt get a wage increase for 5 years and my manager said I would never likely get any promotion unless someone died.

 

That day, I fixed my CV, went out and looked further afield and a job was open in Dublin. I took 800 GBP in cash, left my wife, dog and son on their own, got in a plane and took that opportunity. I lived on pot noodle for two months, without internet, playing solitaire on my phone, but when payday arrived, I went back for the family in a van drove across countries and we moved. I remember my first christmas buying 3 computers with my tax rebate and a bunch of DCS stuff and thinking...wow, this is great.

 

2 years later I took a promotion inside that company to return to the UK and a total of four years later I was earning nearly double what I was earning in the Health Service. At the same time I remember a guy from Estonia coming to Ireland. His wage rise was insane.

 

I look back at the guys still working in the hospital there who are happy with their famillies in the same area but making no real money and I wonder, if the real choice is putting yourself through a lot of hardship to get what you want. I told them they should move, but their arguments were always about staying in the same place near their family.

 

There are choices for lots of people (not the really destitute) and some people make that effort and some people are OK with not. But if you can gather up some pennies and take a risk, I'd say it's worth it based on my own experience. Be optimistic! Challenge your beliefs. Be prepared to sacrifice. And eat pot noodle.

So you had a qualification exceeding "will work for food", obviously.

I am pretty happy with my job and all, but I know people who were not so lucky and not because they were not willing to sacrifice.

 

Anyway, Amazon's way with employees doesn't help in making this world a better place. Something, I find worthwhile.

[Pikey]

You can start with nothing, many do. You can have bad luck, everyone does. You can make up for your lack of natural qualifications with hard work. The amount of stupid bosses I have at my work or people with low IQ in senior positions I have met on this planet leads me to conclude that hard work trumps luck, most every time.

 

So you had a qualification exceeding "will work for food", obviously.

I am pretty happy with my job and all, but I know people who were not so lucky and not because they were not willing to sacrifice.

 

Anyway, Amazon's way with employees doesn't help in making this world a better place. Something, I find worthwhile.

[shagrat]

You can start with nothing, many do. You can have bad luck, everyone does. You can make up for your lack of natural qualifications with hard work. The amount of stupid bosses I have at my work or people with low IQ in senior positions I have met on this planet leads me to conclude that hard work trumps luck, most every time.

Nope, it is good relations and Networks that get you in a decent position, most of the time. Hard work does the trick, sometimes, but a "good friend in the right place" trumps all hard work.

 

Edit - of course a good qualification (at least on paper) helps a lot.

[BitMaster]

I have a philosophical long term thinking tendency and I may put that idea up for you to think about:

 

In 10-25 years from now, those "new" jobs, driving the post truck from door to door with amazon and ebay boxes...will be GONE. Even those badly paid guys will have to live off wellfare or HartIV as we say in germany. The jobs created in the recent past, zillions of those trucks in our streets and now drones to deliver....WILL YOU STILL HAVE A JOB TO PAY & BUY THERE ?

 

They try to cut each and every corner but forget that sooner or later, they will fire the same guy that orders the dog food ( sorry cichlidfan for taking you here as an example hehe ). So that guy will not buy dog food anymore cuz he doesnt have that 1 Dollar extra anymore, he got no job..you remember ?!

 

Down the road, cutting costs means firing employees, firing your employees in the long run across the industry will cut your overall purchase power.

 

Guys, WAKE UP !!!

 

Our Grandpa's told us to NEVER EVER slaughter the cow that you milk !!!!

This OLD WISDOM will haunt you, me and our children if disobeyed.

 

It is a LONG RUBBER BAND..you can stretch it for a decade or two, but be warned when the breaking point has reached. We are moving there in a fast pace and closing the eyes wont save you, me and our siblings.

 

Give work and income to the people and you can sell honest goods.

Slaughter your milk cow will give you good food...for a few weeks ( decades ) and then you SUDDENLY ARE LEFT WITH NOTHING.

 

I admit, I also order at amazon from time to time and I stopped selling Hardware and PC's over a decade ago when this trend started. No one pays you for doing that so it pays back.

 

What still pays is knowledge and dedication, honest work.

 

My grandpa and grand uncle, both served both WWI and WWII told me many basics one should never forget. I hope you had those great ancestors too that gave you some words that last a lifetime and are worth to be told to your children and grandchildren.

 

It is the heritage we have, toss it in the bin for questionable comfort or cherish it because you have seen where the 1st road will only lead to. Hunger, riots, war and death.

 

No work = no money

No money = hunger

Hunger = riots ( after 7 skipped meals all society brakes apart )

 

it is that quick, happening in front of your eyes, open them and see.

 

 

 

A sad Bit

[cichlidfan]

Wow. I had no intention of starting an arguement and I now wish I had not created this thread. I don't disagree with any of the points being made but I am very unhappy with the direction this thread has taken.

 

My apologies to the forum and it's residents.

[BitMaster]

As a society you have to take care of all your people, the ones that always fall on their feet and those who have had a disadvantage from day 1 on.

 

Leaving the hospital to go for a better job is a legitime move..but who will stitch that wound now, who will take care of that old lady in the hospital...when all went away for better paid jobs ???

 

In the long run, this leads to the above.

 

Society will change, it is just a matter of how violent it will be done BY THE PEOPLE.

 

Look at the recent decade...all those countries that folded. Its getting pretty close to our borders, we suffer a lot by just feeding and housing all those refugees, I have a lot of them in my street meanwhile. They not only left because of war, the left because the change they wanted turned violent.

 

It can easily happen in a matter of days anywhere on this globe.

 

 

7 meals...skip those and riots are breaking out.

Edited December 31, 2016 by BitMaster

[BitMaster]

Wow. I had no intention of starting an arguement and I now wish I had not created this thread. I don't disagree with any of the points being made but I am very unhappy with the direction this thread has taken.

 

My apologies to the forum and it's residents.

 

 

Cichlidfan,

 

I am sorry to have spoiled your thread but I couldnt just leave it just POSITIVE as I think it has a very negative outcome in the long run.

 

It started with Henry Ford..now amazon and who knows who will do the last drop into this doomed barrel.

 

We are both old enough and respect each other cichlidfan, no offense towards you at all.

I totally understand that you order that dog foot that way, it's one of the good things that prime has for reasons you told me.

 

But all others, fit & healthy, ready to do things in their golden age, should rethink of what is of worth and what is your doom...down the road...20-50 years from now.

[cichlidfan]

Thank you.

[shagrat]

To be clear, I meant no negativity to any of the guys posting here.

 

I just want people to consider, what may or may not be the effect of "supporting" Amazon's way of doing business.

One of the sad truths is, if they kill their milk cow here, they find a cow elsewhere and move on.

 

Hence the term "locusts" for these kind of global business and finance.

They just leave devastation in their path and move on.

 

We should strongly consider a change in our society. The more wealth is concentrated in the 1-3% top tycoons of the world population, the more likely we will see big problems coming up... Ultimately civil unrest or worse.

 

Support your local shops, see a couple dollars or euros spent on local products as an investment in society and the future.

Sometimes it is easily worth it.

[MemphisBelle]

Wow. I had no intention of starting an arguement and I now wish I had not created this thread. I don't disagree with any of the points being made but I am very unhappy with the direction this thread has taken.

 

My apologies to the forum and it's residents.

 

what do you want? The thread is called Amazone Prime, its a discussion that covers several aspects of Amazone Prime, so all is good.