Disaster after Amazon Switches from UPS to Flex in Rural Town

by: Snapped

Perhaps you can contact Az to let them know how your delivery service (or lack of it) has impacted (and will continue to) your purchasing decisions.  You can explain it just like in the post - it says it all.

To be effective, hopefully your ‘neighbors’ will too.

by: iheartjacksparrow

@Nan: I live in California, and I know many towns in the mountain areas are required to have post office boxes as USPS will not deliver to remote/dangerous areas. Can you get a post office box and have Amazon deliver there? I had a post office box for about 30 years as it was more convenient to have my mail go there since it was right across the street from where I worked, and I believe I had Prime deliveries going there.

by: GetAGrip

I live in a small po dunk area of michigan. Dirt roads for miles. Never get plowed even on good days. It has always been a mess BUT its one of those things that you get when you live off the grid sort of. Our solution was to contact our local gas station grocery store about 6 miles away and have all out packages delivered there, Contacting anyone about the problem is useless and a waste of time.

by: OhCalcutta

sorry to hear that,but AMZN is trying to cut cost and give business to the locals

by: Fruitylovesyou

I live in the sticks. No issues here but not where i dont have cell service. hopefully amzn will hear and take this on.

Another thing ...doesn't seem right. They built in the next nearest city. Small towns like what you are describing, there are very little jobs so seems to me many of them that work as a driver know the area and probably have 4WD. Anyways I do think the data points will get to amazon. I can't live without my amazon prime for movies, even if I were to stop buying with them

by: Chicago48

iheartjack has the best advice.  Get a PO box, if you're paying for prime you can afford the PO box.  You should also petition AMZ to install some lockers somewhere.  In Chicago believe it or not AMZ lockers are in dollar stores!

by: NYSteve

"sorry to hear that,but AMZN is trying to cut cost and give business to the locals"

cut costs- of course, like Wal Mart- they are experts on touting their 5% savings    and blowing up the competition at minimal savings to the buyer.

now, Amazon trying to give business to the locals?  chuckle chuckle.
btw, Flex drivers often drive 75 miles just to get to their routes.

I live out in the country, too... i wonder how long my neighbors expect to get the same delivery options as people closer to town, at the same cost?

by: windsorbear

Similar thing happening in my area, except the packages are being delivered to the local rural post offices by Amazon, and then the post office is having to deliver the packages.  Our post office was so overrun with packages in November and December that they couldn't even deliver the regular First Class Mail.  Piles of packages were stacked floor to ceiling all over the post office waiting to be sorted and delivered.  Finally, postal carriers were called in from neighboring city post offices, who were not having to deal with this situation, and most of the packages... and First Class mail, have finally been delivered.  But this is something that should not have happened.  Amazon has their own delivery vehicles and drivers and should make their own deliveries, or use a service like UPS or FedEx who were created to make package deliveries.

Also, I finally had to have my Christmas Amazon packages sent to the nearest (and only locker facility) in a 15 mile area... the local Rite-Aid.  Now, that Rite-Aid is shutting down in 2 weeks as part of Rite-Aid's bankruptcy plan.  Not sure what is going to happen to the lockers.

by: NYSteve

make a buying trip to the nearest big town once a week or a month?

and/or realize that someone has to bear the price of delivery to hard to find addresses, on dirt or sand roads, with unchained pit bulls on the delivery property?
btw, many of my neighbors dont even have their streets marked, or have a good reliable gps address, let alone a house number in or around their property!

by: SmartBidder

Perfect opportunity for Amz's Drone Delivery.  Oh, I guess that fizzed.

by: OhCalcutta

AMZN has been doing this for years,turnover the packages to USPS for the last mile,USPS is willing to do it,why not,they are the experts on the last mile and they make some money,even on Sunday/
As for favoring the local vs USPS,it is because the Blue care or whatever they call it was initially funded by AMZN to its employees who opt to play entrepreneur,so there are good reasons to give them the business,in most cases,they dont have to drive 70 miles on dirt roads,they are usually family owned and make a small profit.