Those of you who follow my posts know the challenges we’ve had getting contracted Amazon drivers to deliver our packages into the large black box we designated for that purpose. We’ve posted signs on the garage doors, the front door, the black box, and in our profile in Amazon. We posted those same signs in the same locations in Spanish when the drivers continued to leave our packages in locations other than the black box, just in case they couldn’t read English. We put a bulk-sized box of dog biscuits in the black box and trained the dogs that when a delivery person is reaching for the handle, they would know that person was a “friendly.” We returned damaged boxes and cancelled our orders each and every time they didn’t get it right. We talked to the drivers, who allege they didn’t think the parcels would fit in the black box, which is big enough to contain a 6 foot 350 pound person. We talked to Amazon “representatives” who all apologized profusely, returned our money, and promised they would fix the problem. Over the last month our hope grew that they finally came through on their promises. The parcels were making it into the black box! But then the last two days happened. Not only did the driver not put the parcels into the black box, they didn’t even bother to come all the way down the drive way. They drove down half way, threw the boxes out the door, and drove away. Lou saw it happen the first day, so I was able to retrieve the package before our dog did. We were unfortunately out when they half delivered the package yesterday, so CJ ripped into and destroyed the contents. When we looked at the note the driver left on the account and saw that he had written it was “delivered to resident,” we flipped out! We did our usual evidence gathering, contacted Amazon, and were fed the same line as before: They’ll talk to the delivery service and fix the problem. Today, the driver made it all the way down the driveway but, again, instead of putting the parcel inside the black box, they propped it up against the outside of the box. The USPS mail lady, as I was walking out to get the Amazon package, drove down the driveway and said, “why don’t they just put it in the black box? Its right there AND there’s treats inside.” “Good question,” I commented, and just shook my head.
We’ve threatened in the past to boycott them but, due to the “convenience” factor Amazon offers, didn’t follow through. As of yesterday, we no longer have hope that Amazon or its drivers will get it right. Its not convenient or time-saving to have to box up destroyed packages, report it to Amazon, and then re-order what we need. Most importantly, we are not willing to continue taking the risk that CJ will tear into something that may cause her harm. The bottom line is that the black box is more for her protection than for the deliveries. The other delivery services are able to get it right, and the fact that Amazon doesn’t tells me only one thing: They don’t care. I refuse to keep giving our money to a company that consistently demonstrates that to me. Once I made the decision, I started researching them as well as others I thought might make a good replacement. Turns out there are a lot of compelling reasons to #boycottAmazon, and all of them point to the fact that Amazon just doesn’t care about anything other than making money and they’ll do it at the expense of their employees, many of whom are not paid a living wage or overtime compensation, are denied breaks, and are made to work in unsafe conditions. Its not going to be easy to transition away from Amazon, but it’ll be worth it to spend our time and money ordering from companies who treat their employees and customers with respect.