10 Rules That Can Get You Fired From Amazon - Page 4

tubemonkey · 12-22-2010, 03:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MikeFromHC

New gum, new wrapper and where does the wrapper and old gum go?

You must've missed the part where I said "whenever it's safe to start a new piece".

So the wrapper and old gum go in the trash in the break room.

tubemonkey · 12-22-2010, 03:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikemc2

Gum, my employer just banned it last week. Our largest customer found a piece of chewed gum in a package of one of their private label products that we manufactured for them. Not. Good. The current theory is that it may have been intentional. As for sick days, our company has been in operation since the '80s and hourly employees just got sick days (3) this year. Prior to 2010 if you called in sick you were charged a point and you lost a day's pay. When I worked in the plant I always went to work when I was sick as did many others, we couldn't afford not to. Before I joined the ranks of the "carpet walkers" I was up to 5 years perfect attendance and trust me I wasn't 100% healthy that entire time.

Unions are a good thing.

Do you work for a small company?

OldGunbunny · 12-22-2010, 04:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Unions are a good thing.

Yep - just ask GM. Or Eastern Airlines.

Quote:

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Do you work for a small company?

Yeah. I own the company. Know what that means? It means I work 80+ hours a week to make less than I would working 40 hours a week for someone else.

It also means I'm the last person to get paid - if there's enough money.

tubemonkey · 12-22-2010, 04:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OldGunbunny

Yep - just ask GM. Or Eastern Airlines.

Yeah. I own the company. Know what that means? It means I work 80+ hours a week to make less than I would working 40 hours a week for someone else.

It also means I'm the last person to get paid - if there's enough money.

Or my company; which is thriving and a closed shop. Worker protection is a good thing.

Don't care if you work more hours for a smaller rate. That's your choice.

mrscoach · 12-22-2010, 05:52 AM

Has anyone thought that the water only rule could have come about because someone was drinking alcohol on the job? I know there are clear alcoholic beverages, but most aren't, and are usually mixed with something else. And there is the spillage factor, and the fact that water is healthier for you in most situations.

I'm sure every rule came about because of some incident, just like the warnings we see on packages. "Do not attempt to stop chainsaw with hands", that sort of thing. People can be idiots.

luqmaninbmore · 12-22-2010, 10:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OldGunbunny

Yep - just ask GM. Or Eastern Airlines.

Unions are good. They are not a panacea. While benefits for the workers no doubt played a part in the financial problems of those companies, a greater role was played by the incompetence of the management and the rapid change in environment that accompanied Reaganite deregulation. If it were not for unions and other forms of working class organization, the majority of us would not enjoy the protections against work place hazards or exploitation that we enjoy today. And we wouldn't have a weekend or many other benefits. Again, they are not perfect. And the farther they get from the rank and file membership, the worse they get. But they are good and have been a powerful force historically for creating a more just and human society.

kindlekitten · 12-22-2010, 11:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by luqmaninbmore

If all kids worked really hard and got a good education, a number of them would still be working these jobs because there can only be a limited number of people at the top of the social hierarchy. And there are a number of people that enjoy working with their hands and bodies. I know I certainly enjoyed my time working for an airline, running bags around. Of course, if you replaced all of these jobs with robots, you would simply have masses of unemployed people. And a sharp increase in gated/guarded sanctuaries for the upper classes.

Luqman

there is a plethora of PHD taxi drivers in Seattle and Masters degrees in drive up windows

luqmaninbmore · 12-22-2010, 11:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kindlekitten

there is a plethora of PHD taxi drivers in Seattle and Masters degrees in drive up windows

Exactly. You also have to figure in demand for different skill sets. My mom is an LPN and she makes at least twice as much as I do with my Bachelor's Degree. Heck, my brothers are Union Steelworkers and they make more than I do.

Lemurion · 12-22-2010, 12:06 PM

Most of the rules made sense to me; not necessarily the explanations, but the rules themselves seemed pretty understandable.

MikeFromHC · 12-22-2010, 02:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

You must've missed the part where I said "whenever it's safe to start a new piece".

So the wrapper and old gum go in the trash in the break room.

You continue to assume that everybody is going to do your idea of the right and proper thing.
My experience is such that I do not believe any of these rules grew out of a vacuum.
Even when the rules will reduce their workload by a considerable margin they will not be followed without enforcement.

Lemurion · 12-22-2010, 03:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MikeFromHC

You continue to assume that everybody is going to do your idea of the right and proper thing.
My experience is such that I do not believe any of these rules grew out of a vacuum.
Even when the rules will reduce their workload by a considerable margin they will not be followed without enforcement.

My experience tells me that gum is going to end up stuck to something on the production floor - and wrappers will just flutter away.

tubemonkey · 12-22-2010, 03:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MikeFromHC

You continue to assume that everybody is going to do your idea of the right and proper thing.
My experience is such that I do not believe any of these rules grew out of a vacuum.
Even when the rules will reduce their workload by a considerable margin they will not be followed without enforcement.

Which makes their rule about "gum in mouth at start of shift can stay there" rather inconsistent and asinine, since gum loses its flavor and gets tossed way before the shift ends.

Like I said, stupid rules.

Lemurion · 12-22-2010, 03:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Which makes their rule about "gum in mouth at start of shift can stay there" rather inconsistent and asinine, since gum loses its flavor and gets tossed way before the shift ends.

Like I said, stupid rules.

I think of it more as an object lesson: if you make someone keep a piece of gum in their mouth all shift, they'll think twice about bringing gum to work a second time.

RoboRay · 12-22-2010, 05:36 PM

I have had someone work with me or for me that justifies every single one of those "silly" rules.

The thing about rules are that you can't selectively apply them. If one single employee has to be told he can't have a cup of Pepsi on the assembly line because he keeps dripping it on packages and leaving a stain, then nobody can have it. As usual, 1% of the population screws everything up for everyone else.

NVash · 12-23-2010, 01:03 AM

Working at Amazon is terrible. Its glorified slave labor and the slightest thing can get one fired. The pay is nice but one barely gets enough time to eat, sit down during break or even sleep at home because its right back to work again. In the long run one finds themselves asking if its all worth it.

12-22-2010, 05:36 PM	#59
RoboRay Zealot Posts: 132 Karma: 270 Join Date: Apr 2010 Device: NookColor (CM7); OLPC XO (Ubuntu 8.10); HTC Thunderbolt (CM7)	I have had someone work with me or for me that justifies every single one of those "silly" rules. The thing about rules are that you can't selectively apply them. If one single employee has to be told he can't have a cup of Pepsi on the assembly line because he keeps dripping it on packages and leaving a stain, then nobody can have it. As usual, 1% of the population screws everything up for everyone else. Last edited by RoboRay; 12-22-2010 at 05:39 PM.

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12-22-2010, 05:52 AM	#50
mrscoach Guru Posts: 767 Karma: 4837659 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: San Angelo Texas Device: Samsung Galaxy tab	Has anyone thought that the water only rule could have come about because someone was drinking alcohol on the job? I know there are clear alcoholic beverages, but most aren't, and are usually mixed with something else. And there is the spillage factor, and the fact that water is healthier for you in most situations. I'm sure every rule came about because of some incident, just like the warnings we see on packages. "Do not attempt to stop chainsaw with hands", that sort of thing. People can be idiots.

12-22-2010, 12:06 PM	#54
Lemurion eReader Posts: 2,750 Karma: 4968470 Join Date: Aug 2007 Device: Note 5; PW3; Nook HD+; ChuWi Hi12; iPad	Most of the rules made sense to me; not necessarily the explanations, but the rules themselves seemed pretty understandable.

12-23-2010, 01:03 AM	#60
NVash Wandering Vagabond Posts: 282 Karma: 350000 Join Date: Apr 2010 Device: iPod Touch	Working at Amazon is terrible. Its glorified slave labor and the slightest thing can get one fired. The pay is nice but one barely gets enough time to eat, sit down during break or even sleep at home because its right back to work again. In the long run one finds themselves asking if its all worth it.