"Amazon knows about it,” the driver said, “but does nothing.”
But why should they as long as from Amazon's perspective, the system is working?
But why should they as long as from Amazon's perspective, the system is working?
(1) PR. Right now because of COVID-19, the public is somewhat more attentive to stories about working conditions.
(2) Morale. Happier drivers probably perform better and have less turnover.
(3) Parking. If they incentivize drivers to get as close as possible to some arbitrary point, drivers could take parking spaces that should go to customers. Imposing unnecessary constraints often causes unforeseen consequences.
(4) App/site security. The article says drivers download (third-party) apps that monitor Amazon's sites. It's better to make most users feel like they don't need bot apps. Once they go looking for them, they may find apps that have additional features which are not so neutral. Also, it creates a small industry of developers who specialize in doing hacky things with Amazon's systems.
If I were them, I'd fix this if it's possible to do it without sacrificing other important things.
If a driver has to spend 4 minutes of every hour doing stupid antics to get an order, and can earn $15/hour doing antics+delivering, then effectively $1/hour is going to pay for stupid antics, from Amazon's perspective.
Amazon would like to switch those 4 minutes from "doing stupid antics" to "doing deliveries" so that they can pay the same $15/hour but get a full hour of real work instead of only 56 minutes.