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Ask away any questions…………before PRIME day starts and i will be gone!
[AMA] I Pack for Amazon
LMrTillets on 06/07/2023 - 21:10
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@geek001: Single small items 100-120 an hour
Multiple small items 80-100 an hour
Large items 60-80 an hour this includes multiple large items in a single box.Roughly those numbers.
Pack books lol, to no kpi. Bezos is a muppet. Today's warehouse work is pushem fast. It's not fair any way u paint it.
@cobknob: Maybe, but he built Amazon from a small loan of just 1,300,000 from family, there’s no arguing with his results starting from just otherwise his brain and elbow grease. All of us use Amazon, some of us every day if the week.
@AustriaBargain: I not impressed but that.. Should I be? I'd be if workers got fairer kpi measurements, better rights and bonuses. No matter how you start your business if you grow and become successful never forget the little people. At the end of the day you don't make it big without em.
@cobknob: Amazon employees 1.6 million people, how much do you think their delivery drivers and warehouse pickers/packers should be paid if $32 an hour isn’t enough for the work they do? I know lab techs and research assistants with degrees who make less than that. OPs job doesn’t require require an education, just a fit body and fast mind. Genuine question, what do you think is a fair hourly rate for the work OP chooses to do?
@AustriaBargain: Yeah you don't need a degree to do this job, but it's hard on the body for most people. I think packing for coca cola or pepsi i saw a job ad and it was paying like $48 an hour for a night shift.
Amazon employ
ees 1.6 million peopleNot in Australia. Maybe globally - and hence the number is meaningless. No-1 ever cares about global employment rates.
The pay should either stay were it is or be adjustable to a lower performance kpi but that hourly rate should still be above 27$/hr with paid 30/45m lunch and 2x15m breaks interchangeably for >8.99hrs.
I don't remem if OP gets penalties for afternoon/night-shift, or if OP is ft/pt/casual. All these factors affect hourly rates. Let's assume OP is night shift, till 3am on PT. 32$/hr+penalties, is okay not great but all I am suggesting is lower kpi metrics, maybe 80% of current performance requirement. The goal posts keep getting moved, in many cases higher and higher for same pay but more work.
@cobknob: Presumably OP is paid within the rules of the law. Perhaps the law should be changed so that all casual warehouse workers must be paid at least $42 an hour.
Presumably OP is paid within the rules of the law.
The laws are extremely flexible - a little too much IMHO. An award or contract at woolies is different to the one at an amazon warehouse. I know the picker hrly rate at woolies for pt/casual and other technical details but nothing more.
Perhaps the law should be changed so that all casual warehouse workers must be paid at least $42 an hour.
If you wanna be that frivolous go ahead. I'm just suggesting reasonable wage+penalties with sound performance kpis.
@AustriaBargain: Thought you were being sarcastic for a moment. I don't know what the rate should be, but the way the 2 warehouses I've been in do a base rate+penalties, and they take other factors into account, like shift length, what time your working, whether your pt/ft/casual, how long you've been working with them, position, etc,etc
@cobknob: Most of these warehouse jobs will be replaced with robots in a few years so why not pay them $50 an hour. Or make higher education free so they will be able to retrain when the robots come.
Most of these warehouse jobs will be replaced with robots in a few years so why not pay them $50 an hour.
I really would like to believe this. Robots are at least 5-10 years away - I'm not going to explain the logic or thought behind this. Its a hefty discussion.
Or make higher education free so they will be able to retrain when the robots come.
They will have to think about this yes. Thats why I support a type of universal basic income that helps and motivates all citizens.
It'd just be nice that the rate is good for the job your doing when your doing it for however long your shift is and that it doesn't age you fast or fuuk you up.
@cobknob: You don't think 5 years is soon? If warehouse work is so hard and dystopian like, then why not overpay the workers for the remaining 5-10 years before robots take most of the jobs. Then we can tax these corporations more and use the money to give the former workers free education, create universal income, or whatever else we need for a post robot-AI world.
at least 5-10 years away
Transitions are slow as fuk in society.
Sounds good to me what you've said, try convincing other people of that, including government representatives also known as politicans
How long have you been packing @ Amazon?
Best/worst part of the job?
Do drivers know what's inside the box they are delivering?
I am not sure. When you pack single small items we don't know who the item is going to….however if you are packing items which require no box and a straight slap on label we can see who purchased the item and address it's going to. Items like toilet paper, felix cat food have just a label on the box…we see the buyers details.
I can't believe no one has asked yet….but what's the pay?
4 nights during weekdays
6:30pm to 4:30am
30 min lunch break
2x 15 min breaks.So 9 hour of actual work per shift
Nets $1146 after tax,super.
More if you do friday night into sat and sat/sun shifts.
So it's around $32 per hour, after tax, excluding super? What about the morning or afternoon shift? Are they much lower?
Is it still way above the minimum wage?Are those casual rates?
It is
Night work would kill me.
I must be soft.
Your not soft, nightshift sucks the life out of you without you realising. Did it for 10 years and absolutely would not do it again and wouldn't recommend anyone do it out of choice.
@ConsumerAffairs: Humans aren't naturally supposed to be nocturnal, so any prolonged night shift work is actually detrimental to your health and wellbeing.
@ConsumerAffairs: I agree. I did nightshift for while when I used to work as an electrician, and absolutely hated it. The actual work was easier than day shift as it was for breakdowns only, not installations and routine maintenance. But the whole experience was horrible - and I was a lot younger then so it absolutely smashed my social life.
Never again.
I ctrl+f for pay :D
Is there a specific reason why amazon labels on some parcels (packages) are not on straight or crinkled? some are really hard to scan, im a postal worker haha
Some packers don't care and do anything to get numbers up, most of the time if it's crinkled they re do the label…as the scanners can't scan when package on the belt.
thats understandable, we also get amazon parcels without labels from time to time.
Do you know anyone who loads the parcels onto trailers? Sometimes we get parcels which are stacked unsafely, I do appreciate how nicely stacked parcels are in the ULDs.
Do the amazon warehouses have air-conditioning?
The parcels get loaded at the end of the line by a few people each night. I don't really see/interact with them they are doing own thing. The temperature in the warehouse is around 19.5-21 degrees all night…i guess they keep it at that temp?
Most shipping labels are put on by machine, SLAM. so they can miss the package slightly, especially if odd shaped or the jiffy bags or plastic bags.
What do you earn per year?
4 nights during weekdays
6:30pm to 4:30am
30 min lunch break
2x 15 min breaks.So 9 hour of actual work per shift
Nets $1146 after tax,super.
More if you do friday night into sat and sat/sun shifts.
Do fights ever break out between co-workers like they do in the U.S?
No, but politics involved by some workers and managers to get ''certain'' shifts. Otherwise it's not like the U.S
What shifts are popular, and why?
probably the higher paying ones? at coles sunday shifts always went to the manager's favourites or the kids
The shifts which pay the most. Saturday/Sunday…again these shifts get given to the friends,friends of friends and you are last in line to get one of those shifts, you might pinch one if someone calls in sick or other reason….but mainly it's taken by the chosen ones.
Do you get penalised for too many toilet breaks / Long duration toileting? Heard a few stories of how that goes down in the US and I'm curious to know if it's the same here.
You don't get penalised but they def don't like you taking heaps of breaks….you have targets you need to meet in packing….so if you take heaps of breaks you won't hit them. We stop every 3 hours for 15 min. First 3 hours we work, we stop 15, next 2.5 hours we get 30min….and final break……we stop around 3:15 am….for 15 min….and go back to work around 3:30….until around 4:15am and spend last 15 minutes filling up/cleaning our bay for next shift after us which starts around 6:30 a.m
Now it seems I prefer an office job. Yes you have meetings, and stay in front of computer for along hours but no one says lunch is 30 mins or you take too many breaks.
Yeah. I've done both and its easy to despise my office job, but i can get coffee when i want, take lunch whenever, go to the bathroom whenever and as long as I'm back from lunch in under 50mins no-one cares.
Can you eat a muesli bar whilst working? At woolies distribution u got a voicepick headset so a bit hard to as a picker.
No you can't.
As you packing a lot, do you run out of particular type of mailing boxes during the day or someone else job monitor this and fills?
Yes you run out of the boxes and envelop type packaging they are all stacked on the floor of the warehouse in different locations, you go and get some and restock your bay, even the tape you run out of….you change it yourself. During PRIME…..it's different….they have people walking around filling up your bay.
Don't they have waterspiders around all year round? Must be a nightshift thing with low headcount maybe.
They don't.
On a night shift 5-8 packers at most.
@sween64: They go around refilling packing bays, refill boxes,change tape,bring labels….usually the ''chosen'' ones are given that task. Making yourself look like you are doing a lot but not doing much. Almost everyone on the floor is trained for packing even if they are managers, during busy times if the headcount is not there….most should be packing, they don't.
They use the new and dumb ones to do others work as well.
Hope it makes sense.
Can i just pick up weekend shifts only or do i need to do weekday and weekend?
If you start casual which you will, you put your availability in the app and…….they give you shifts….most of the time you get random days…you could prob get what you want for a week or two but they go back to giving you random.
Sounds hard to fit it in as a second job then if they'll keep giving you random shifts
If it was as flexible as driving uber/doing amazon flex I might consider - e.g. just pick upa shift the day before or something when I feel like it.
I don't know how flex workers work or get shifts.
This one they just give you random shifts and you accept or decline, but i'm pretty sure if you keep declining you pretty much not given another shift.
How do you apply for work with them? Where are the warehouses located?
One in Kemps Creek and another in Moorebank. You can apply with Adecco recruitment agency.
..thanks for all the boxes!
I'm guessing your job looks like this. I notice halfway in this video there is no small packing slip paper (about 1/8 of an A4 paper) - I usually found it inside the box. Why is that?
It seems the flow of work is to have the box set up first (thus you don't know what you will pack) then you turn around and see and get what you are packing.
How he open the box so fast damn
muscle memory. they are made to be opened easily. push on opposite edges with palms, then box opens. as soon as it opens, push thumbs down to fold flaps down. similar to burger wrapping in a way like this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krxgxKHMxUk
This is how it goes…..you bring a cart to your bay….you scan the cart…..the carts items load up infront of you on your screen. You scan first or any item from your cart….on your screen it will display….details of the item along with which box it goes in….generally when you have packed heaps of items once you see an item you would know 80% which satchel or box it will go into before even scanning it, if you are good….you scan and go straight to that box,item….make it up….put the item in,close it,scan the barcode and your screen will show ''green'' on the right side….which means item is cleared to go…and you keep doing same thing for each item.
You've mention being on your feet for long hours. But how do your hands and arms feel after using them to pack all day?
For me personally i find back pain and legs….none with arms or hands….everyone different…but once the shift is over…the pain goes away almost instantly ..only painful if you start first 2-3 weeks.
If someone works really fast and has higher box count than average, do they get extra rewards or bonus?
Yeah sometimes you get rewarded with vouchers for amazon merch….otherwise you might get a $100 or $200 voucher very rare but.
Can you tell whether consumers are buying more or less or much the same nowadays? Need to know whether inflation is coming down (or not).
Sales are down every week. The stuff that does get sold it's mainly nappies,toilet paper,some books and cosmetics…not much big expensive items if at all. but overall down trending.
Glad to see I'm not alone. I used to order from Amazon nearly daily. I'm now lucky to put through an order a week now that the prices of everything I buy have skyrocketed. That and Prime delivery times to metro SA have slowed right down. Used to be overnight if ordered in the morning, every single time, now I'm finding it's 3-4 days and makes it impractical. Also, every single item that has arrived without a box has arrived damaged and I have refunded every single one of them. I don't understand how they think that's fine when they're shipping it across a border.
The amazon warehouse i work at, the managers would be lucky to get a job elsewhere. Most are rejects and can't run anything, they make themselves look busy by walking around with laptops. Amazon it'self is very sort out operation, even a 15 year old could run it, because everything is there in front of you. Not much goes wrong if anything. You could become the operations manager on a night shift within 1 year if you really wanted to and sucked enough ass.
and yeah sales are down huge.
Interesting insights!
You mentioned that the volume of packages increases during periods like Prime day and I'd assume XMAS etc. for these periods where volume increases, does your target/quota increase per shift? And if so, do you get paid more or not?
You don't get paid more…you just get extra staff…to help
Are you on bathroom break right now… do you get any ?
I have just joined Amazon Prime 30 day free trial.
What should I look forward to with Amazon Prime day starting 11th?I also joined Amazon Prime video using free trial. If I need to cancel do I cancel just the prime or do I need to cancel amazon video too?
Discounts i guess. I don't know about those things. Sorry
It's the same thing.
How are you finding the night shift work generally?
I've read that long term, having the circadian rhythm not line up with the sunlight hours can cause health problems.Oh, and what happens if a worker doesn't meet their quota all the time?
After few weeks you get used to night shift. I never did any before amazon and find it ok. If you don't meet your quota the management will come a few times ask you what's up and how they can help in you doing better….if that fails you get chucked on the back burner…..and get 1 shift a week.
Any insider info on Prime Day Deals? Do you get early access?
I don't have any and will find out tomorrow maybe.
Are you allowed to use earphones? for music / podcasts / audiobooks to break the monotony.
i would guess so
You can't use earphones or listen to music, in the warehouse they play music usually…and you can ''request'' songs.
What kind of songs get played? Is it a commercial radio station or Amazon radio station or just a playlist of songs? Is there a DJ?
You request songs in the lunch room using qr scan. Random songs get played by what has been requested. Indian for indians……….and yeah….if you into indian music you will probably hear that in most amazon warehouses.
How much do you get paid? also how do you apply if a student I know wants to apply?
He mentioned the breakdown above. It's around $32 per hour after tax.
Do you get to take any product home or get any freebies/discounts?
No, if you work hard they give you credit to buy amazon merch or vouchers here and there INC sometimes discounts when they hold events
Amazon staff get a 10% discount on items sold by Amazon AU, for the first $1500 spent, equal to $150 per year.
How are returns processed?
I don't work in returns….so not sure.
@geek001: Sorry, I thought about it, 10 is too much, but if say if you can do 2 in a minute, it's still a higher than 100 unit target.
Anyway, the video shows the guy doing multiple items in a box, I'm guessing the target is less than those who do just single item orders.