Warehouse Operative at Amazon

Worked in Game's main warehouse temporarily many years ago before it relocated. What a horrible place, horrible atmosphere and lots of pressure. Everyone was really unhappy and there is 0 job satisfaction.

You are told during the induction how replaceable you are and mistakes wont be tolerated. I understood it was fast paced and it wasn't a difficult job but it is literally so depressing. What annoyed me was going home late everyday because you all had to be searched on your way out.

I would expect Amazon to be the same but much, much bigger! As long as you know its only a job to fill a gap, you'll be able to keep yourself sane :)
 
Do you need money? Do it... It's not ideal but money makes the world go around and stick at it whilst still applying for jobs.

Which will you regret more? Having no money or a bad job which pays bills?

It's a fast paced job but pays quite well locally. All our agency workers left to go to an Amazon depot because better money if you want it. And they were mainly Eastern European workers who struggled to pass English tests.
 
MissChief said:
Pays quite well? A new warehouse opened near me and its minimum wage all day every day, even night shift.
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9.96 for Dunstable, for night's that is. I've noticed it varies but not by much, like a 20-30p difference - never seen nights stay the same, good luck getting anyone to work nights for 0 incentive.

Anyway, signed up with the agency, talked to the lady and it seems you need a passport or full birth certificate, don't have a passport and didn't think I needed a birth certificate due to having a provisonal driving license. Quite annoying, hopefully it arrives tomorrow.
 
Inbox me said:
If you're looking for an easy way to make a few bob on the side then practice your "brrrrr, it's freezing" face and go deliver pizzas. On a crap night I made £20 in tips and on a good night £100+, plus the wages. Yes it gets cold and riding in the rain sucks but you get used to it and it's infinity times better than stacking crap in a warehouse.
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I wonder how much of an impact the introduction of paying online has had on tips for such workers? I imagine they've dropped off a cliff now that no physical cash changes hand at the door, so there's no chance for 'keep the change' to be said, but I have no evidence to support it.
 
diamount said:
9.96 for Dunstable, for night's that is. I've noticed it varies but not by much, like a 20-30p difference - never seen nights stay the same, good luck getting anyone to work nights for 0 incentive.

Anyway, signed up with the agency, talked to the lady and it seems you need a passport or full birth certificate, don't have a passport and didn't think I needed a birth certificate due to having a provisonal driving license. Quite annoying, hopefully it arrives tomorrow.
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Depending on the hours worked, etc. some places will shift the shift and what hours are considered night time ones around so that minimal or no hours are considered during the "night" period and then seem surprised that they can't get good quality staff for those hours and/or people don't stick around long :S
 
hughtrimble said:
I wonder how much of an impact the introduction of paying online has had on tips for such workers? I imagine they've dropped off a cliff now that no physical cash changes hand at the door, so there's no chance for 'keep the change' to be said, but I have no evidence to support it.
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I still give £1 to the driver if I have it on me, even if I order online. Good while ago but I've had £20+ in tips on a busy night, although a fair few with a quid or two so you can't depend on it but it does make a difference and is always appreciated.
 
hughtrimble said:
I wonder how much of an impact the introduction of paying online has had on tips for such workers? I imagine they've dropped off a cliff now that no physical cash changes hand at the door, so there's no chance for 'keep the change' to be said, but I have no evidence to support it.
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Massively I'd imagine I rarely have any cash on me or anywhere near the door.
 
I've worked in Virgin, Play, Orange, Diageo, etc distribution warehouses and they're all kind of the same. Highest volume in the quickest time possible. I remember when one even threatened everyone with loosing their job if they didn't increase productivity as they'd pull out of the contract. It'd be like "Process 200 of these an hour" with 3 chances of missing the quota before they'd get rid of you. I can imagine Amazon have the same attitude and even worse. They did let us sit down though. :p
 
MissChief said:
Pays quite well? A new warehouse opened near me and its minimum wage all day every day, even night shift.
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£1+ an hour over my last place who were n absolute joke. I believe they may pay extra for fork lift drivers as every time they trained an agency on the fork lift they left the next day.
 
Just to update this thread. So I went through the lengthy application process, drug and alcohol test, had to go to the branch so it would get stamped as they wouldn't accept a printout of my own, only to be told that there are no shifts avaliable at my chosen location.

Specifically choose Dunstable due to the convenience of local transport, not that desperate for a good chunk of my wages to go on their buses.
 
I'd second the Pizza delivery gig tbh, £40 or £50 cash in hand was not unusual, plus the place was next door a bar that just happened to be popular with the local toffs (not uncommon to see a Lambo or Ferrari outside). If you didn't mind giving the odd tipsy solicitor a lift home with his order at the end of your shift you could often stick another £20 on top.
 
diamount said:
Just to update this thread. So I went through the lengthy application process, drug and alcohol test, had to go to the branch so it would get stamped as they wouldn't accept a printout of my own, only to be told that there are no shifts avaliable at my chosen location.

Specifically choose Dunstable due to the convenience of local transport, not that desperate for a good chunk of my wages to go on their buses.
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Is hemel hempsted too far for you to go, i know depending where you lift they have a coach to pick people up, i think the start time is 6.am
 
v0n said:
You get a scanner with timer and a basket, order appears, scanner provides you with location of the first code, isle 13, unit B7, shelf 20. You run several football pitches through the warehouse to find the first item with scanner counting you down, the moment you scan the item and chuck it into your basket, the next code appears on the scanner and counter resets, maybe it's just round the corner, maybe it's several football pitches away, rinse, repeat. Seinfeld's "mail never stops" scenario - it never gets quieter, it never is not busy.
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Actually that is complete bullshine. They don't store items in the same place for the very reason that it would be terribly inefficient, so instead everything is mixed up all over the place. So you could have a single PS4 next to a box of nappies, then in the next aisle a PS4 will be next to a leaf blower. It's known as 'chaotic storage', here is some more info on how it works.

http://twistedsifter.com/2012/12/inside-amazons-chaotic-storage-warehouses/
 
Em3bbs said:
Actually that is complete bullshine. They don't store items in the same place for the very reason that it would be terribly inefficient, so instead everything is mixed up all over the place. So you could have a single PS4 next to a box of nappies, then in the next aisle a PS4 will be next to a leaf blower. It's known as 'chaotic storage', here is some more info on how it works.

http://twistedsifter.com/2012/12/inside-amazons-chaotic-storage-warehouses/
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Yup - modern stock systems do allow mixed bins/bay/location or whatever, etc. unlike the old days which were closer to what he said - often the pick order will be optimised for routing as well though its not completely fall proof.
 
Craig321 said:
The BBC Panorama on their warehouses is a good watch
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Ouch - anything over ~90/h with that setup is going to have some seriously impact on someone's long term mental and physical health :S around 90/h would be sustainable for someone once they were physically accustomed to the work and motivated.

I worked for Screwfix in a not dissimilar setup as a student and the kind of expected level to be performing acceptably was 600 items over 8 hours or 75 an hour though it was only really enforced if they didn't like someone.
 
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