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> or do you still need more data? Jeff doesn't need more data. He already has all of it. The data tells him that this is collateral damage. It's the cost of d

> or do you still need more data? Jeff doesn't need more data. He already has all of it. The data tells him that this is collateral damage. It's the cost of doing business the way his customers (you, me and others reading this) expect instant gratification, free-everything and such with brutal speed and efficiency. Your question should be > do amazon customers really "need" free shipping, same day / same hour delivery (and other things that make them work their warehouse employees to death).

gfody 10y ago
I'm sure if some small percentage of your employees aren't literally killing themselves from stress then you're not upholding your fiduciary duty to the shareholders.
- inimino 10y ago
  By Poe's Law, you might need to call out the sarcasm for some readers here.
rubyn00bie 10y ago
You absolutely do not need to have a horrible work environment to have a high performing team and company. There is zero correlation, even less causation to your claim. This is apathy by management and it has now given way to cruelty (by the sounds of it). Do not spread these excuses as fact and certainly do not accept them when you hear them.
- sean_patel 10y ago
  Nope. The efficiencies you've grown to expect from Amazon comes at a cost. And when Humans are involved in that cost, sometimes there is also a human cost. See Life in an Amazon Warehouse: Fear and Efficiency at 35 Orders Per Second => http://gizmodo.com/5982811/life-in-an-amazon-warehouse-fear-and-efficiency-at-35-orders-per-second http://gizmodo.com/5982811/life-in-an-amazon-warehouse-fear-...
  - ryao 10y ago
    Those efficiencies no longer seem to exist. I almost always find better pricing at other sites such as eBay, jet.com and Newegg. My guess is that their pursuit of original content has caused them to lose their edge.
  - rubyn00bie 10y ago
    A gizmodo article as proof? Come. On. That's merely stating what they're doing not providing anything new to the argument. Hire more people. Problem solved. Yeah it's gonna eat at your margins oh so slightly (and less than you'd think). Turns out people who are over worked, work like shit and it's because we aren't made to do that. Stop trying to peddle this nonsense, mate.
    - sean_patel 10y ago
      > Hire more people. Problem solved. Yeah it's gonna eat at your margins oh so slightly (and less than you'd think). If Bezos saw this advice, he'd laugh in your face. Because Amazon is moving more towards eliminating humans and automation with robots. I'm sure he knows all about margins bro.
      - rubyn00bie 10y ago
        Mate, you're upset for some reason. You're not arguing anything but your feelings. Go read some HBR case studies or some organizational behavior papers. Then talk with evidence instead of just attempting to insult me (I think?). This isn't conversation, and I'm going to stop. Good luck.
        sean_patel 10y ago
        I'm not upset. You are. Because someone is disagreeing with your statements. It's a systemic problem in today's world, especially in America. If someone disagrees with you, you call it "offensive", "insulting" etc.
dv_dt 10y ago
I feel that free shipping vs humane treatment is a bit of a false dichotomy. Amazon Prime at the low-low price of $99/yr, vs $xx/yr and humane treatment may be an issue with warehouse staff (ironically this may be lessened by technology replacing jobs...). But humane business can be an issue in business areas where costs are much more indirect and management just feels that they need to crack the whip to 'maximize' human productivity - while in all likelyhood hurting long term productivity...

gfody 10y ago

I'm sure if some small percentage of your employees aren't literally killing themselves from stress then you're not upholding your fiduciary duty to the shareholders.

inimino 10y ago
By Poe's Law, you might need to call out the sarcasm for some readers here.

rubyn00bie 10y ago

You absolutely do not need to have a horrible work environment to have a high performing team and company. There is zero correlation, even less causation to your claim. This is apathy by management and it has now given way to cruelty (by the sounds of it). Do not spread these excuses as fact and certainly do not accept them when you hear them.

sean_patel 10y ago
Nope. The efficiencies you've grown to expect from Amazon comes at a cost. And when Humans are involved in that cost, sometimes there is also a human cost. See Life in an Amazon Warehouse: Fear and Efficiency at 35 Orders Per Second => http://gizmodo.com/5982811/life-in-an-amazon-warehouse-fear-and-efficiency-at-35-orders-per-second http://gizmodo.com/5982811/life-in-an-amazon-warehouse-fear-...
- ryao 10y ago
  Those efficiencies no longer seem to exist. I almost always find better pricing at other sites such as eBay, jet.com and Newegg. My guess is that their pursuit of original content has caused them to lose their edge.
- rubyn00bie 10y ago
  A gizmodo article as proof? Come. On. That's merely stating what they're doing not providing anything new to the argument. Hire more people. Problem solved. Yeah it's gonna eat at your margins oh so slightly (and less than you'd think). Turns out people who are over worked, work like shit and it's because we aren't made to do that. Stop trying to peddle this nonsense, mate.
  - sean_patel 10y ago
    > Hire more people. Problem solved. Yeah it's gonna eat at your margins oh so slightly (and less than you'd think). If Bezos saw this advice, he'd laugh in your face. Because Amazon is moving more towards eliminating humans and automation with robots. I'm sure he knows all about margins bro.
    - rubyn00bie 10y ago
      Mate, you're upset for some reason. You're not arguing anything but your feelings. Go read some HBR case studies or some organizational behavior papers. Then talk with evidence instead of just attempting to insult me (I think?). This isn't conversation, and I'm going to stop. Good luck.
      - sean_patel 10y ago
        I'm not upset. You are. Because someone is disagreeing with your statements. It's a systemic problem in today's world, especially in America. If someone disagrees with you, you call it "offensive", "insulting" etc.

dv_dt 10y ago

I feel that free shipping vs humane treatment is a bit of a false dichotomy. Amazon Prime at the low-low price of $99/yr, vs $xx/yr and humane treatment may be an issue with warehouse staff (ironically this may be lessened by technology replacing jobs...). But humane business can be an issue in business areas where costs are much more indirect and management just feels that they need to crack the whip to 'maximize' human productivity - while in all likelyhood hurting long term productivity...