Amazon Late Deliveries

Amazon's fast deliveries have delighted many customers and helped it grow into one of the world's biggest companies, valued at roughly $1.7 trillion. Amazon relies on 3,000 small businesses called "delivery service partners," (DSPs) who collectively employ 250,000 drivers to deliver packages, according to Amazon.

Amazon's delivery hours have been happening later than usual. CNN reports that In interviews with Amazon delivery business owners and drivers and a review of conversations on an internal Amazon forum, dozens of people who work to deliver Amazon packages said that late-night deliveries are often more dangerous and stressful.

"Lord, don't let me die here. Don't let me die like this. Not like this. I'd die any other way, but not like this." Tim Ball, who delivered packages for Amazon until quitting this year, said he prayed the same prayer every time he walked up to a home that felt "sketchy" in rural Texas. He said he'd see confederate flags, or signs that warned of shooting trespassers. He said he felt most fearful when delivering packages at night.

Amazon is far from the first company to deliver at night. Every delivery person can face difficulties after dark, but they push their labor force toward delivering packages to customers faster; their workers are generally out later than competitors. Amazon tells customers that deliveries occur between 6 am and 10 pm, a wider typical window than FedEx (8 am.-8 pm) or UPS (9 am to 7 pm).

Now, what has Amazon done about this? Amazon has taken other steps to improve driver safety, including allowing customers to view their driver's first name and photo on the progress tracker page when their delivery is ten stops away.

In the first nine months of this year, Amazon's accident rate was lower than in the same period of 2020, and it's seen sharp reductions in distracted driving and stop sign violations.