10 Rules That Can Get You Fired From Amazon

[MikeFromHC]

I see no crazy rules and suspect the vast majority of them came as a result of problems that happened on their floor if they were unlucky or some other place if they were lucky.

I've been through a class on gift wrapping (and failed it in practice) put on by Penny's for a gift wrapping booth. Penny's save a ton of money and the gifts come out looking far better. One of the wrapper's at the other extreme was so good that if there were lines on the paper they formed rectangles on the ends. I quickly was "promoted" to taking in the gifts, giving them out and collecting money.
(A literal translation of the above would be "I'm an uncoordinated slob."

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by MikeFromHC

I see no crazy rules and suspect the vast majority of them came as a result of problems that happened on their floor if they were unlucky or some other place if they were lucky.

Here are some stupid rules:

1- no lipstick because Amazon sells lipstick. Amazon also sells clothing, so shouldn't workers be wearing company provided jumpsuits? Whose jeans are you wearing? yours or Amazon's?

2- no gum, unless you were already chewing it at the start of your shift. Either no gum period or gum whenever it's safe to start a new piece.

3- don't talk too much. If you can talk and still get your work done, who cares how much you do it.

4- no watches because Amazon sells them. They also sell other jewelry and wallets and pocket knives and other things people wear and keep in their pockets. Are all of these items also prohibited?

[BenG]

Amazon's new migrant workers:

http://www.courier-journal.com/artic...ss+the+country

[luqmaninbmore]

Originally Posted by Blossom

My hubby works at a factory on an assembly line. They have a 6 point system. Half point for being late and full point for missing a day of work. Once you get to 5 to 6 points they put you on what is called Last Chance and then you're let go if you miss any more.

Points resets once a year. Sick days are not allowed. Once you worked there 2 years you do get 5 vacation days for a full year which are good for sick days.

However you can still be let go at any time if they think you missed too much work before you get to 6 points.

The only water allowed rule is weird. My husband lives on Gatorade to do his job.

And this is why unions are a good thing. Two frickin' years till you get sick leave? And rules that aren't rules because they can be ignored by the employer at will? I wonder how much America will back slide into Dickensianism by the time my youngest comes of age.

[ProfCrash]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Here are some stupid rules:

1- no lipstick because Amazon sells lipstick. Amazon also sells clothing, so shouldn't workers be wearing company provided jumpsuits? Whose jeans are you wearing? yours or Amazon's?

2- no gum, unless you were already chewing it at the start of your shift. Either no gum period or gum whenever it's safe to start a new piece.

3- don't talk too much. If you can talk and still get your work done, who cares how much you do it.

4- no watches because Amazon sells them. They also sell other jewelry and wallets and pocket knives and other things people wear and keep in their pockets. Are all of these items also prohibited?

The rules were not quotes from a handbook. They were written down, complete with interpritation, by a specific individual or individuals. I am sure that the lipstick rule is to prevent people from dropping lipstick on items because it can damage it. I am sure that the wrist watch rule is because it is easier for someone to slip on a watch then a shirt or pants or underpants.

[luqmaninbmore]

Originally Posted by CazMar

Welcome to the wonderful world of factory/production line work! All kids should read this article so they know why to really work hard at school, get a good education and never have to put up with these working conditions. At $12 per hour these poor sods are usually cheaper than robots and easier to train than animals, oh, and animals are protected from cruelty by various laws. About the only rules that make a lot of sense are the anti-gum and sticky drink rules, but what about rules for work safety? No restrictions on loose scarves, ties or incorrect footwear? Don't they know human body parts in machinery cause a bigger production delay than chewing gum! (sarcasm, sarcasm)

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

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by ProfCrash

The rules were not quotes from a handbook. They were written down, complete with interpritation, by a specific individual or individuals. I am sure that the lipstick rule is to prevent people from dropping lipstick on items because it can damage it. I am sure that the wrist watch rule is because it is easier for someone to slip on a watch then a shirt or pants or underpants.

- Does the lipstick put on at home fall off your lips when working?
- It's even easier to slip on a ring.

[tubemonkey]

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.

Thank you. Finally, someone else who understands this concept.

I argue this point frequently on political boards and it falls on deaf ears.

[OtterBooks]

I'm sure they got the information and anecdotes from perfectly objective employees..lol

Wristwatches can snag or scratch things people are handling. Most facilities where employees handle merchandise of various size and varying degrees of fragility do not allow them. I'd be surprised if that wasn't part of the reasoning.

The lipstick one seems silly. But once again, I seriously doubt we're hearing the whole story.

[cromag]

Re: the watch rule.

I worked on a few assembly lines in the 70s. I don't know about Amazon, but I'd be concerned about a wrist watch getting caught in the line. (Same with loose sleeves, necklaces, etc., but I guess they're not on the list.)

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by OtterBooks

But once again, I seriously doubt we're hearing the whole story.

True, but we can only comment on what's reported. Otherwise, this thread should've ended with the opening post.

[vulcan_girl]

On the water-only thing, red dye is practically impossible to clean out of things, and it's banned inside of my local library. If there's a program with snacks or a gathering involving beverages, they can't be red or purple. My guess is that Amazon made it water-only to prevent having to employees questioning why drink X is banned while drink Y is okay.

[MikeFromHC]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Here are some stupid rules:

1- no lipstick because Amazon sells lipstick. Amazon also sells clothing, so shouldn't workers be wearing company provided jumpsuits? Whose jeans are you wearing? yours or Amazon's?

"That could be sold from the site." It is not likely that somebody would drop a pair of their pants into a box, but lipstick could be. It could also be that experience has shown boxes being marked accidentally with the stuff.

2- no gum, unless you were already chewing it at the start of your shift. Either no gum period or gum whenever it's safe to start a new piece.

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

3- don't talk too much. If you can talk and still get your work done, who cares how much you do it.

"Why can Bobby talk and I can't" would be one reason.
"How can I get any work done when Bobby will not shut up" is another.
A low margin, high volume business tends to track things like how much time is wasted because two workers finished a conversation before moving on to the next task. (McDonald's tracks their employees to the 1/100 of an hour.)

4- no watches because Amazon sells them. They also sell other jewelry and wallets and pocket knives and other things people wear and keep in their pockets. Are all of these items also prohibited?

It is *very* rare for people to make up rules and apply them for fun. Most of the time those rules come about because of a problem that could only be solved by imposing them.

[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.

[caleb72]

On the other hand - in Australia you seem to be able to be completely incompetent, turn up when you feel like it and cause enormous stuff-ups and you're so protected I sometimes wonder why anyone ever sets up rules in the first place.

Regards
Caleb