What do you think about how Amazon treats employees?

[stickyvicky]

The other thread about Walmart got me thinking about Amazon.... I feel pretty guilty about how much I order from Amazon... I think it's really sad that we have hardly any more small stores where you can go in and chit chat with the owners....

[lance_s]

The other thread about Walmart got me thinking about Amazon.... I feel pretty guilty about how much I order from Amazon... I think it's really sad that we have hardly any more small stores where you can go in and chit chat with the owners....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-KMXng5Cp0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anTp5jFxtyE

That's another place I avoid as much as possible. I'll look for the same thing elsewhere if possible.

[stickyvicky]

I remember about 2 years ago I went to my local pool store that was going out of business. I was chatting with the owner and asking him why he was going out of business. He said it was because of all the online stores undercutting him a few dollars. He said people would come in and ask for his advice about ph and all sorts of questions about testing water and he would make a list of what they needed and explain how to use it..

After 30-40 min of educating them, the customer would leave and take the list and go order it online.

So sad.

[LizLemon85]

Some small stores around here have a "consultation fee". If you want an in-depth consultation about a product, you have to pay a fee (usually 10-20 €) and when you buy something, you get the money back.

There are strict laws to protect workers rights (that's why Walmart gave up after 8 years, they were whining that no one can make money that way), a maximum of 40 hours of work per week, 24 vacation days per year, the right to unionize, most stores are closed on Sundays, paid paternal/sick leave etc, but companies like Facebook and Amazon (and a lot of local based companies as well) try to determine and bend the rules by lobbyism or they use loopholes.
Like they hate minimum wage, so they only pay for actual working time. You go to the restroom, change into work clothes or prepare your workstation? Not actual work.

[lance_s]

I remember about 2 years ago I went to my local pool store that was going out of business. I was chatting with the owner and asking him why he was going out of business. He said it was because of all the online stores undercutting him a few dollars. He said people would come in and ask for his advice about ph and all sorts of questions about testing water and he would make a list of what they needed and explain how to use it..

After 30-40 min of educating them, the customer would leave and take the list and go order it online.

So sad.

EXACTLY why I oppose online shopping.

On the other hand, online does provide a much broader selection of products to choose from.

Imagine you've done a monthly budget and you have exactly $100 a week to buy groceries for your family. For $100, you can get a week's worth of groceries at Wal-Mart or Amazon Online Foods (or whatever it is called). But if you go to the local community grocery store you can only buy 5 days worth of food for the family. What would you do?

Now suppose a genie comes along and tells you that if you continue to shop at WalMart or AOF, in 2 years when your child becomes extremely ill and requires extensive hospitalization, you will have lost your job and not have medical insurance to pay for the treatment.

Now what would you do?


WalMart and other big box stores are in ongoing legal battles in India because of restrictions on how they can operate. They arrived late in India and there was already some data on the social impact of retail concentration, so they don't the sort of unfettered access to the marketplace they do in the west. The dilemma above is what India is wrestling with on a national level. If they come up with a solution, maybe it can serve as a blueprint for the rest of the world.