We needed an air filter pronto because fires. I’ve come to avoid Amazon for quick delivery since they’ve missed important deliveries past, so I buy camera equipment from B&H, etc.

But they said the filter we wanted was guaranteed delivery Friday, so we took a chance. This is what my order status looked like Friday evening at 8:00 and Part of Saturday:

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Some time on Saturday (?) they updated to this:

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I checked this afternoon (Sunday) and this is what they said (also in an email):

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All the messages were nice, but we couldn’t help being disappointed. My wife went out to close the garage door tonight (Sunday) and there was a box that kept it from closing. Eh? Our package! So I checked the order status: they left it in the mail room (wait, we’re a residence).

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Do you think the delivery problems have to do with the crowd-sourced delivery they seem to use now?

What package delivery service? I ordered something for Firday delivery. Saturday morning I got a message from Amazon saying delivery had been rescheduled for Saturday. At 9 PM Saturday night I found it by our front gate. It was not there at 8 PM.

But can I blame Amazon? They delivered the item to UPS in time for one day delivery. All of the delays/screw up were on UPS. Why did UPS send the package from Texas to California via Illinois and Kentucky?

Interesting. Amazon listed the service as: Shipped with AMZL US. I didn't realize that my wife saw the driver in an old model Datsun station wagon and plain clothes. She tried to ask him what he was here for and he just pointed to the package he left in the garage.

I Googled AMZL US and the chatter about it online seems really bad:

Another package we ordered last week was furnace filters, scheduled for arrival on Saturday. They just updated the delivery status on those too. Unlike the other order, they were shipped on Friday and out for delivery on Saturday. There was a notation for awhile in the tracking that they were lost in transit but I didn't do a screenshot of that.

Usually they are on time. Except for scenarios such as when my weekend excursion had to happen without the new lens I had ordered specifically for it, because it arrived few days later due to UPS weather related detour! I still am amazed thinking of the gigantic shipping networks & logistics involved between our clicks to order, to our door.

Happens all the time, I almost never use the quick delivery options. If I need it quick I go drive and find it these days which also sucks, since many brick and mortar stores disappear and you no longer have the options of online or in store.

I've heard similar horror stories from people in the Bay Area, but Amazon is almost always on time for me in Portland. The few times I've had a delayed delivery it's been either weather-related or because a USPS weekend carrier missed the delivery.

When USPS misses an Amazon delivery they claim they couldn't access the delivery location, which is laughable since my house is at the corner of two public streets and there's no fence between the street and the door. I assume they claim that to avoid getting dinged by Amazon for a late delivery. I haven't complained though, since I've read the USPS is seriously overworking their carriers with Amazon deliveries.

My only complaint about the Amazon Logistics delivery people is that they always leave boxes in plain view on my front porch instead of in the less visible covered breezeway near my side door. My weekday USPS mail carrier, UPS, and FedEx all know to deliver to the side door where boxes are less visible from the street, but Amazon doesn't provide any way to tell their delivery people to do that, and it's a different person every time.

Yeah...

I Delivered Packages for Amazon and It Was a NightmareAmazon Flex pays contractors to deliver packages from their own vehicles. But is it a good deal for workers?www.theatlantic.com

In the attempt to take commercial carriers out of the equation, you (and I and millions of others...) are stuck with deliveries based on this dynamic.

Fast, cheap, good - pick any two.

Wow, Ken, that was seriously depressing. When I was in college I worked the 3-8 a.m. shift loading packages for the day drivers. Over the holidays I delivered packages to homes.

Things like knowing the routes, having commercial licenses, serious driver safety training, getting to know your customers and their pets, and regular, reliable shifts are gold. I can't imagine taking those away and watching what happens to efficiency and reliability.

Sometimes I wonder when I think about how rich Jeff Bezos has become and how vast his empire, how much of it comes from a willingness to be ruthless. I feel that's true of Walmart too.

My deliveries from Amazon have been good when they come from UPS and FedEX, and pretty good from the post office, but we've had horrible luck with Amazon's Flex program and this article really shines a light on why.

Sometimes I wonder when I think about how rich Jeff Bezos has become and how vast his empire, how much of it comes from a willingness to be ruthless. I feel that's true of Walmart too.

Are we not programmed to expect that (want|need|desire) right now?

Does this ruthlessness come directly from those CEO's like Bezos? Zuck? Musk?

Can we go back in time and compare Steve Jobs with that ruthless mentality?

How about Edison?

😳

This was hilarious and poignant, but didn't give me confidence in Amazon's delivery:

I Used to Write for Sports Illustrated. Now I Deliver Packages for Amazon.There's a certain novelty, after decades at a legacy media company, in playing for the team that's winning big.www.theatlantic.com

The bad news is we gave up on Amazon delivery in our area and order from Costco, BH Photo, etc., instead.

The good news is we still buy from third party sellers on Amazon who don’t use Amazon delivery because they use the post office or UPS. It’s so ironic that I just received these motion sickness glasses early from Beijing from an Amazon seller and no problem, whereas ordering something in stock via Prime means someone in a ratty car may show up a few days late with a dented package.

I can't really complain about few times shipment got delayed or messed up, as Amazon and their delivery greatly enhances my quality of life, bringing me stuff that otherwise I could only dream about sourcing locally, while saving me both time, money and efforts. Just the other day, this was awaiting at my front door:

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105 lbs of nice iron I did not need to go schlep in my car from the local store! No wonder the USPS workers are so strong and athletic!