Today I am going to touch on what its like to work for a corporate giant like Amazon and touch on some of the crazy experiences I have had there. I figured I should give my fair share of the story since so many people put it out there.
Now lets fast forward a few months ago when I received my e-mail from amazon saying, "Congratulations you got hired". Now at the time I wasn't hearing anything crazy about the place. The only thing I knew at the time was that Amazon was giant when it came to buying things online and it didn't get any better then that. I figured since I was in it I was going to be in it for the long term. I did feel like I was over my head and I did essentially feel like I wasn't smart enough to work there to begin with. However that's me always being stupid and insecure about my life.
Once I actually got to orientation they sold it to me it seemed like they had everything great pay and the hours to go with it. I circled the warehouse in awe at the time but I was running late and I was as lost I could be, not knowing anybody didn't help either. Thats what I get for having Jake drive me that night. Although at the time he was proud of me and we had this vicious cycle of him borrowing my car while I got stuck at work. Initially he couldn't handle it just like I thought.
Now lets fast forward after I got settled in, the place was starting be a living hell, I noticed the place sort of resembled high school and the only ones who succeeded were the one in the popular cliques. I noticed with my manager Danielle Lawrence. She was popular, high maintenance and wore casual uptight outfits as a manager she made it a point to make feel left out. That goes for Casey as well, I was no competition but she could compete with Caseys' sleek makeup and barbie doll looks. Something which Danielle felt challenged about. As new comers we were in trouble every other week and getting write up after write up, there were other managers like Azlan and Lee but they were concerned with their own team.
Even after she left and Azlan was the lone wolf for the longest it really seemed like no one really like me, Casey got in good with Azlan and the other managers Gavin and Jose on the backwards shift. It was may own fault I wasn't pretty nor was I cool. I spent less time on that and more time noticing how the place was ran. The conditions were very inhumane, I remember being on the fourth floor four and it was unbearably hot. Heat headache after heat headache drove me wild and finally I gave in and went to Danielle. Who basically told me in so many words how there nothing she could do and basically I should start getting use to it because thats something that was normal around the warehouse. It drove me crazy, all I wanted to do was switch teams. However these were the cards I was dealt and I was falling behind. It seemed like every other week I was struggling to keep my job.
I was in a department where I had to count inventory and be numbed out like a zombie for 10 hours. The work was easy but I had a hard time staying up all night so I was constantly sleeping. Casey always covered for me and it worked most days. However the problems that everyone was starting to associate her with me at the time and it has taken me a very long time to break away from the stigma. The environment was harsh but the veterans there school you on everything that seemed relevant. I mean after all they knew how to survive the place. Breaks were ridiculous you spend more time walking to the break room then you did on your break and it felt like it wasn't worth it. However if you were in the farthest part of the warehouse and you left your station early to get a head start you would see your manager waiting downstairs for you. It wasn't fair, especially since they expected you to come back 3-5 min earlier, even then they didn't realize if you were in the farthest part of the building you wouldn't have been able to make it in time.
I was in a quality based department so the drive not to make errors in the inventory were vital. The problem was however they wanted rate as in you better move quick if you wanted etc count all your units for the week. It was absolute hell at the time, you couldn't go too fast without making errors but they made it a point to do so and they were never satisfied. The percentiles were crazy, if you only clocked in at 99% you would be given a write up, weather you agree with it or not. If the manager liked you, they would bypass it with HR. If they didn't, they would serve you. If you hated your department and you weren't good at it good luck getting out, also if you benefited the department by keeping's numbers high good luck getting out as well. The rules were weird and obviously not everyone including the managers followed them.
The food in the break room was the equivalent was the cheap wal-mart like stuff, you didn't have a choice if you were hungry. The switched out the expired stuff everyday but it didn't seem like it was good enough. Majority of people brought their lunch. Did I mention you couldn't take your phone past security? So you had no choice but to focus on the work all while trying to stay on task for the whole 10 hours. It was the hardest in my department considering it was so boring. If you had a family emergency you better handle it on your first break or there after because there isn't anything you could do. Get sick and have to go home? They use a point system so make sure you have your hours stacked up like they say. I have seen people throwing up all night with no hours and they had to grin and bear it because HR didn't consider us human beings.
Majority of the people I got hired with were gone after the 6 month, some people couldn't tough it and they wanted something better and I don't blame them, after a while I was longing for the same thing. However I was in a tight spot so I couldn't just leave. Overtime I tried to transfer I got stuck even after I started getting really good at my job. Now all of this is barely scratching the surface on what is actually going on at this place. So please consider this a part one as I will be continually adding to it as time goes on. Now I am not trying to deter anyone from working here I just want to tell my side of the story.
To be continued......
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