Amazon?

[Hay Dude]

It doesn't often occur to me to check walmart.com, I find the layout of their website to be kind of clunky and not always as informative about the products as Amazon. The times I've used Walmart the order arrived promptly, probably ought to try them more often. Didn't know about Walmart+.

I neither know nor care what Bezos' politics, or what Walmart's "values" are.

I ordered (2) 15” trailer tires from Wal Mart. They were a good brand Chinese trailer tire and shipped free in 2 days. I think they were $70 which was a steal.
I was really impressed with WalMart on line.

 

[Hay Dude]

I am a little bewildered by so many people seem to resent Amazon and their progress to success. There are many retail choices we all must make - everyday. I don't like Jeff Bezos. I don't dislike Jeff Bezos. I DON'T KNOW JEFF BEZOS. Is Amazon a sweatshop? I don't know. But they do OFFER JOBS. And again, whether you accept or reject that opportunity seems to be an individual choice. If there are so many jobs out there that are BETTER, then choose one of them.

There are choices everywhere. That is the beauty of our country. I CHOOSE NOT to order from Pennys. My wife wanted me to order five shirts for her from them. They were on sale. I did so. We live north the river in KC, near Liberty Missouri. I had them shipped to the Liberty store. Waited 2 weeks. Got tired of waiting. Then called Pennys.

Great - they sent 3 of the shirts to Oak Park Mall in Lenexa Kansas. About 40 miles away. The other 2 were at Liberty. My experience has never been like other things I have experienced with other retail stores.

My experience has, for the most part, been exceptional. A month ago, an order from Amazon was delivered to the wrong house. They had a picture of the package at the door. It was not our house. I was fortunate when my wife said - that is the door down the street. I went and got it. Before my wife ago involved, I reported the loss to Amazon. In about 5 minutes, I receive a response asking if it was resolved or still missing. I said NO. I received another response - Would you like us to call you to refund or get the delivery corrected. I thought that was pretty good. Should that one experience out of years make me Hate Amazon?

There really is a reason they make money. They have led the way in online sales and delivery. There are really other companies that seem to make different choices. I think Cerner is one. They have expanded and become very big in KC. Covid came. They developed a process the let them continue to let people work at home. From what I understand they put a heavy load on their workers. But I also understand they pay very well. Working for them is an opportunity, and workers have to choose.

Well, sorry for the rant. But why? Isn't it better to have success in business and job opportunities in our state? At least jobs are available. Better than nothing there to choose from. Is NY better off since they did not expand there? What was the lost opportunity - 100,000 jobs with an income of $150,000. How is that better for anyone looking for work ----if anyone is still doing that.

The jobs he supplies are fine, if thats what you want to do.
I think many dislike him because he uses his new toy, the Washington Post to wield power in politics. That paper is up with The NY Times as source of “facts”.
He also has set up cloud access to a lot of government information and that may scare people.
Not saying thats the way I feel, but I do get concerned about any one person having TOO much power and access.

 

[PuffyC]

Back on topic, the government has the misconception that all 4-year degrees are equal. So a biologist makes as much as an engineer in the government.

The government doesn’t have a monopoly on stupid. Where I work all staffing is done using the ‘warm body’ method, meaning that if the math says you need 10 people to do a job then any 10 people will do. You lose an engineer with 15 years experience? No problem, just hire some noob off the street and you’re good, even though the person with 15 years experience could do 3 times what the noob can do because it takes at least 2 years just to become competent. But accounting for actual ability and experience is super hard so they just skip it.

Then the company started changing the vacation policy by reducing the accumulated benefit. Then another benefit was reduced, and it continued on.

Been there too. They start taking more out of your check for benefits while reducing the benefits you get at the same time. It’s the old pay more get less approach. You do it slowly enough and you can essentially eliminate a benefit without causing people to get bent out of shape because its a death from a thousand cuts.

 

[jyoutz]

Most Enginneers in the Public Sector make around 60 to 75k per year. I worked for a state agency, in a state which required that a wage and compensation study be done at least once per decade. I hired on just before they completed one. I new they were paying below surrounding states, and even the local governments. And, that is what the study bore out. I figured we get about a fifteen percent raise.

WE didn’t get raises. WE got more annual leave. I had been there less than six months. I went from six to 14-hours per two week pay period. people with seniority went as high as 24-hours. I‘m not sure how the legislature thought any work was going to get done. And, since the budget was tight they mandated no overtime, only comp-time. I finished out the first year with almost 200-hours on the books.

Turned in a leave slip to take two weeks off to take the stepson hunting. Supervisor threw a fit, said we were too busy for me to take time off.

I went back to my office to find an email from the head of Personell saying i had to reduce my on the books leave to less than 80-hours within 90-days. Printed it out, attached it to my leave slips, added one for a third week and put them back on the supervisors desk, while he happened to be at lunch. I could hear him swearing and throwing things when he got back to his office.

Back on topic, the government has the misconception that all 4-year degrees are equal. So a biologist makes as much as an engineer in the government.

The team I’m on right now is trying to recruit three engineers and two technicians. Advertised a month ago, still no applications. Boss and I were talking about it. I make about 1/2 to 2/3 of what I could make by moving to a larger town, and going private. The only reason I’m still here is that I’m close to retirement, and living where I want to be, for the lifestyle I enjoy. I took a 60% cut in pay when I took a government job and moved here. Because I want to be where I can hunt and fish, and live in a small rural community. But he and I are rare. Most engineers aren’t going to take the financial hit to live somewhere rural. And, the folks that like metro areas definitely aren’t going to work for that much less than the prevailing rate.

Don’t characterize all government policies by your state‘s policies.

 

[sree251]

Yeah, I can see why employees would want a union, there was talk of one at the company I worked at, but never got serious.

Of course, employees woud want a union, and employers would want to move their businesses overseas or hire better qualified, more driven areo-space specialists from abroad at a lower remuneration package on contract with no strings attached. Running a business is about profit and loss. It's nothing personal. When the space program was terminated by NASA after the moon landings, thousands of engineers were laid off just like that. Those guys ended up selling golf balls in sport stores and cars in used car lots.

Unions? They exact a toll on businesses the way street gangs extort store owners who need to keep their doors open to eke out a living.

You sucked it up all the way to retirement, and in the process your employer enabled you to feed yourself and your family, buy a home, raise and educate your kids. Instead of gratitude to your employer you feel your life would have been better if you had a union to protect your perceived entitlements. If this is your attitude, then American businesses need to innovate to stay alive.

 

[kenmbz]

Unions were very important to miners and other industrial workers who were losing lives etc. in the 1800's into the 1900's.
Look at the history of mining towns and treatment of miners, machine operators, sweatshops.
The threat to life and limb was very real.
Now we have OSHA etc. to protect people.

Unions have not changed to reflect what they are needed for , that is a mistake.

 

[MinnesotaEric]

Those which I mentioned previously; Tools, truck, insurance- (i.e. Comp, GL) the employer's share of SS. (+-7.5%)

That's just for starters, there is time involved with talking to you about the job whether he does it or not. Do you pay for travel time?
Are they getting a full day's work, or going to your site for 3 hours, then finding something else to do?
How long does it take to get paid once the work is done? Do you pay them in a timely fashion or make them wait until you close on the property? Sitting on a bill costs money...

If they are being paid hourly, they are using my tools, equipment, insurance.

 

[jigs_n_fixtures]

Don’t characterize all government policies by your state‘s policies.

The National Society of Professional Engineers does a compensation survey every year. As does the Bureau of Labor Statistics. There is a marked difference in compensation for senior level engineers in the private and public sector, particularly for licensed engineers. It has been my experience that States pay the lowest in the Public Sector, until they get so far behind the other Public Entities, that the State’s Engineers start bailing to work for the other entities, normally the same Public Employees Retirement System.

When I left Nevada, the Nevada highway patrol was hemorrhaging officer to Las Vegas Metro PD, and a couple of the more populous counties. Metro was paying more for recruits in the POST Academy, than NHP was paying a Sergeant with 15-years.

A joint committee of the State Legislature was holding hearings, trying to figure out how to handle the situation. The State Personell Director was asked if there were other employee groups who were under compensated. His response was that Engineers were worse, but it wasn’t a problem because they weren’t leaving. All of th State Agencies which hired Engineers, had a rotating program for Junior Engineers, which hired roughly half of the just out of school Engineers from both State Universities (UNR and UNLV). It was a three year temporary appointment. Two years of mandated rotations through different groups and work types, then one year of their choice. After the second year they could apply for permanent positions. If they didn’t get picked up they were out the door. During their rotation they all had exposure to Engineering and Construction Firms doing business with the State. Typically, the best and brightest got hired by those companies. What teh State retained were the midline folks.

When I worked for the state before I went back to college to finish my degree, I had a kid on the survey crew, who worked for me for two summers, and then went into the rotation program when he graduated. He was one of the few best and brightest who stuck with the State, because he rally enjoyed the work. Four years later he had gotten licensed, and was managing three Consultant Design Contracts. He quit to go to work for one of them.

I ran into him a few months later, and asked him why he left. His response was that when they offered two to three times as much as the State paid, with better benefits, he couldn’t say no and have any sense of being fair to the wife and kids.

 

[ljjhouser]

The jobs he supplies are fine, if thats what you want to do.
I think many dislike him because he uses his new toy, the Washington Post to wield power in politics. That paper is up with The NY Times as source of “facts”.
He also has set up cloud access to a lot of government information and that may scare people.
Not saying thats the way I feel, but I do get concerned about any one person having TOO much power and access.

Good to know. I wasn't aware that he owned Wash post. I knew he is too influential when he asked have that bridge rebuilt so his yacht could pass under. You are right. But there are so many people who have "too much power". Most are in Washington DC. At all levels of our government. I guess that doesn't make me resent our country or Amazon. Thanks for the post. I think he, and a lot of others with power - could do better. As most of use also might.

 

[JDZ735M]

It's one big union over there. We are red-blooded capitalists over here and not ashamed of it one bit.

Over Where?

 

[JDZ735M]

It used to be loyalty from both sides. Now companies expect you to be an enthusiastic cheerleader while trying everything possible to underpay you.
My Dad retired from Phillips Petroleum after 34 yrs of service in 1984 with a pension. He told me back then that the days of company pensions were coming to a close and companies were looking more toward the bottom line than investing in their employees.
When he started work in 1950 he knew it would be the place to retire as his company spent 2 years developing him as an engineer.

I completely disagree that there is loyalty from an entity. Loyalty comes from individuals.

 

[beowulf]

Back to the Amazon "is it worth it issue" --- An example from today as to why we like and use Amazon. The wife reads on her ipad at night but she has trouble falling asleep after that and eyes ached a bit. She was told by our daughter that she could get a blue blocker screen cover for her ipad that would help with that.

She asked me to get that for her. My options: a two-hour round trip to town - heading to I don't know where to find that for her and not knowing which kind to buy anyway or check it out on Amazon. On Amazon I read the reviews, the questions, and learned that the blue-blocker screen covers do not work all that well for some users and have other issues.

Some reviewers suggested blue-blocker glasses instead. I told my wife about that - she said she wears reading glasses and did not want to wear blue-blocker glasses over those. She asked about clip-on blue-blocker glasses. I checked that out - Amazon had a variety of those. Good reviews, not expensive, and I could get a 2-pack (one for me). Wife said that was a better choice as she could also use the clip-ons with her iphone, and as they reduce glare, she could try them out for night driving - clipping them over her other glasses.

I like to buy local, but the advantages of Amazon in the circumstances made it the best choice.

 

[MAX-24-Dean]

What morality are you talking about? Capitalism is the free market: willing seller, willing buyer.

It's about the art of the deal. Are you willing to work for Amazon? What's the deal it's offering you? Do you buy it on your own free will? This is all the morality there is to the transaction. And there is an escape clause for either party: you don't like it anymore, you quit; Amazon doesn't like you anymore, you're fired.

Capitalism is not a person. It has nothing to do with morality. The capitalist who runs Amazon is a person. It is that person who has morality. Just because a person has morals doesn't mean he has an obligation to give you the time of day. Relationship is a two-way thing. If you view your boss as evil, he would see you as evil also.

https://www.atg.wa.gov/news/news-releases/ag-ferguson-investigation-shuts-down-amazon-price-fixing-program-nationwide

 

[Oaktree]

I like to buy local, but the advantages of Amazon in the circumstances made it the best choice.

You make a very good point, so much of what I buy on Amazon is stuff I wouldn't even know where to look for even if there was somewhere local to buy it (which for the most part there isn't).

 

[grsthegreat]

Good to know. I wasn't aware that he owned Wash post. I knew he is too influential when he asked have that bridge rebuilt so his yacht could pass under. You are right. But there are so many people who have "too much power". Most are in Washington DC. At all levels of our government. I guess that doesn't make me resent our country or Amazon. Thanks for the post. I think he, and a lot of others with power - could do better. As most of use also might.

He said hed pay for bridge repairs. The country making his yacht is mighty happy to take his money.

 

[Dftodd]

Back to the Amazon "is it worth it issue" --- An example from today as to why we like and use Amazon. The wife reads on her ipad at night but she has trouble falling asleep after that and eyes ached a bit. She was told by our daughter that she could get a blue blocker screen cover for her ipad that would help with that.

She asked me to get that for her. My options: a two-hour round trip to town - heading to I don't know where to find that for her and not knowing which kind to buy anyway or check it out on Amazon. On Amazon I read the reviews, the questions, and learned that the blue-blocker screen covers do not work all that well for some users and have other issues.

Some reviewers suggested blue-blocker glasses instead. I told my wife about that - she said she wears reading glasses and did not want to wear blue-blocker glasses over those. She asked about clip-on blue-blocker glasses. I checked that out - Amazon had a variety of those. Good reviews, not expensive, and I could get a 2-pack (one for me). Wife said that was a better choice as she could also use the clip-ons with her iphone, and as they reduce glare, she could try them out for night driving - clipping them over her other glasses.

I like to buy local, but the advantages of Amazon in the circumstances made it the best choice.

Check your settings on the tablet. I'm not sure about an IPad.

My tablet doesn't have the blue blocker. But some of the apps on it do.

I use my galaxy tablet for banking and reading and use the Kindle app. The Kindle app does have a blue light blocker in the app setting.

And it has helped with eye fatigue.

 

[ljjhouser]

He said hed pay for bridge repairs. The country making his yacht is mighty happy to take his money.

Yes that is correct. That was my first thought about that. I was also wondering if maybe the bridge needed repair and that was their opportunity to improve the bridge. But whatever the case, it was in agreement between he and the city or country.

 

[sree251]

Unions have not changed to reflect what they are needed for , that is a mistake.

Great point you made there. Work safety is one area where management needs to be held accountable for. Ganging up to protect employee safety on the job is necessary. Oftentimes, it's the foremen and first line management who have to be confronted by the group when working conditions are unsafe.

I wish our soldiers in the US Armed Forces have unions too. Warfighting is the most dangerous occupation. I would work for free to head such a union and insist that every frontline of a foreign war we fight is also manned by politicians who are in favor of the military campaign.

 

[Oaktree]

I wish our soldiers in the US Armed Forces have unions too. Warfighting is the most dangerous occupation. I would work for free to head such a union and insist that every frontline of a foreign war we fight is also manned by politicians who are in favor of the military campaign.

Maybe file a grievance against the enemy for not fighting fair?

Unions have not changed to reflect what they are needed for , that is a mistake.

Very true, much of how they do things is rooted in a time when most trades were learned on the job and the longer you were there (theoretically) the more skilled you were. That's not the case these days. Basing everything on seniority is likely a deal killer for ambitious or educated applicants.
Likewise, to succeed in today's world a company needs to be nimble, unions discourage that.

 

[stuckmotor]

<snip>My other issue is, the Prime delivery drivers are idiots. Drive over your lawn, leave packages laying in the driveway and best of all don't deliver stuff but mark it delivered anyway.

I've experienced the issues above. In fact, I got a message that a package was delivered on Sunday. Maybe I have amnesia because I have no memory of having seen it. Now I have to search out the information telling me whether enough time has elapsed before I report the package as not delivered.