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Comment by stuart78 | Hacker News Reader

Was coming here to post the same thing. The vans in my area are unbranded, the employees unprofessional and the delivery is sloppy. "Soft" expenses such as uniforms and paint make a difference on perception, as would better supervision and training.

I also wonder, in the drivers' defense, if the delivery schedule is unrealistic. I can better understand lobbing a box on the lawn if you're 10 deliveries behind.

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An unmarked van isn't too welcome in some parts around me. Some people are downright defensive about visitors on their road. On the other hand, a recognizable UPS or FedEx is likely to get a friendly wave.

Amazon would do well to paint their logo on the van, but maybe it isn't their van.

Branding matters.

What area is this out of curiosity?

I can't answer for the grandparent, but it's not an uncommon situation in the eastern Washington/northern Idaho area. Much of it is rural enough that there's very little reason to be on many roads unless it's a delivery driver or something illegal. They're not roads you'd even end up on if lost -- it's a deliberate choice.

NW Montana. People are friendly, but private.

Sounds like contract work done by the lowest bidder. No coherent chain of a command, just get stuff to people's houses no matter what or lose your contract.

I often see Home Depot rented vans being used for this. No idea how that can be profitable.

Amazon used to use ONTRAC to deliver packages to me that did the same thing (complete with the unbranded vans). They stopped after the sixth package was stolen.

> The vans in my area are unbranded

Most of my deliveries have been in cars uber-like.

> "Soft" expenses such as uniforms

They do wear an unlabeled orange vest here. Maybe that is just for safety when crossing roads but it lets me know who they are.

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