This one may be lengthy as I try to recap my entire Amazon experience which started in 2012. To quote Danny Glover in Lethal Weapon, “I’m getting too old for this shit.”  On my last shift, during an all too brief lull in the action, the guy across the lane from me asked how I was doing. I replied, honestly, that it was killing me. He responded that he knew exactly how I felt. I looked at him and said “No you don’t. How old are you?”. He actually had to think for a few seconds before he said “27”. When I told him I had 40 years on him, he thought again and said 28. Well, don’t that make all the difference?

I just finished an almost 3-month gig in Mt. Juliet, Tennessee (MQY1), just east of Nashville and had lots of time to reflect on the sum total of my Amazon work. It now covers time spent in 3 different departments – picking, packing and ship dock.

I started as a picker in 2012 in Campbellsville KY (SDF1), a non-robotics facility. That was under a program (since discontinued) called CamperForce. I actually talked to the program manager on the phone before taking the job. The program was very well run at that time. We got actual training, including in lab areas where we could scan products and deal with problems. We had mentors who checked in on us after the official training period ended. Senior staff periodically gathered at the exit doors at end of shift to thank us. It’s the only Amazon Fulfillment Center where I felt like they really wanted me to succeed. In my humble opinion, SDF1 set the gold standard for Amazon jobs.

If you want to work for Amazon now you have to go through the regular hiring process, often referred to as blue badge by former CamperForce workers. They have 2 different websites to search for jobs. If you’re just looking for hourly grunt work, look here: https://hiring.amazon.com/#/  If you’re looking for Operations, IT or Support Engineering, you can look here: https://www.amazon.jobs/en/job_categories/operations-it-support-engineering

Amazon has changed quite a bit in the 11 years since then. At that time, you could request the job and the shift you wanted. Now you’re allowed to select the shift but not the job. All Amazon wants now is a warm body in the spots they need. That would explain why 90 pound weaklings are assigned to physically demanding jobs and weightlifters are put in jobs that only require the ability to count stuff. I worked with one guy in Murfreesboro, TN. He was about my age and had a similar history with Amazon, except he had been a stower at his previous jobs. That time around Amazon forced him to be a picker. Totally different physical requirements (another non-robotic facility) and he quit after only a few weeks.

I don’t know if Jeff Bezos will actually admit this, but the Amazon business model is predicated on an endless supply of unskilled labor. Their turnover rate must be astronomically high. When I onboarded here at MQY1, I was one of five people assigned to ship dock. Within 3 weeks, I was the only one left. IMHO, if Bezos changed his business practice to attract and retain quality people, he could be a trillionaire instead of just a billionaire.

So, after that brief digression, back to working conditions. Ship dock is HARD work, more so if you’re a palletizer. Boxes just fly down chutes all day long and you have to stack them on pallets or in carts. It was tougher still watching younger and fitter people doing less strenuous jobs. Minimal training was provided, mostly along the lines of this is how everything should work. Naturally, things didn’t always work as planned and we had to stop to find someone for help. I was told during orientation for this job that ship dock did not have a rate to meet. It was nice not having people constantly on my back to pick up the pace, but it also allowed slugs to keep their jobs. There weren’t many of them but they sure stuck out like a sore thumb. Then there are the couples. At this location, people are just assigned to general areas and told to move where the work is. This rarely happened with couples. They like to stay close, regardless of the amount of work. I estimate that Amazon got the productivity of 1.25 people for the pay and benefits of 2 people where couples were involved.

One of the things that has been more pronounced in recent years is the difference between classroom Amazon and warehouse Amazon. During the onboarding process, you’ll spend a few days in a classroom learning all about the executive approved way of doing things at Amazon. As soon as you start on the floor you learn that nobody really pays attention to that. A supervisor can be briefing a safety requirement at start of shift, with a dozen violations in plain sight, and just ignore them. The item was briefed; the box was checked. There is zero innovation in the warehouse. Everybody who could possibly make a difference is just keeping his or her head down and playing the game to keep a paycheck.

And speaking of paychecks, that is one of the main reasons to work for Amazon. They do pay well and on time. You can usually get as much overtime as you want (up to 60 total hours/week). I discovered something different this time around as a blue badge employee (instead of CamperForce). I initially hired on as a fulltime employee. The first couple of weeks weren’t too bad but then we had back-to-back mandatory overtime weeks that resulted in strained back muscles. I used up all my PTO and vacation time and swapped a couple of shifts to give it time to heal. The back healed but I was still very leery of injuring it again. I’d seen flyers about switching to Flex Part Time and gave it a shot. Under that program, you’re no longer eligible for benefits or vacation time but that was OK with me. You can work as little as 4 hours a week or as much as 60 hours a week. They advertise the coming week’s available shifts every Friday evening at 6 PM. Pick what you want. Sometimes they even offer increased hourly pay for certain hard to fill shifts. You still work in the same department, or any other department that you’ve been trained in. I did a few easy weeks, then remembered I was here to make money. My final full week was a 60 hour week. The timing was just right since the AC on my truck quit on my last day, so at least I’ll have money to fix that.

And last but not least, I never had a sense of accomplishment with Amazon. No matter how many items I picked, packed, or stacked, there were always more to take care of. At least at the sugar beet harvest, I could see the beet pile grow as we offloaded the constant stream of trucks. If the sugar beet harvest lasted 3 months instead of a few weeks, I would do that every year and take the rest of the year off.

After all the recent maintenance costs it was great to build up the bank account again while getting our campground partially reimbursed. This was HOU2’s first year with CamperForce, and it showed. I won’t go into all the gory details but it didn’t take more than a few days to determine that I wouldn’t return to this fulfillment center except in a dire emergency.

Shortly after we left, however, I saw a few posts in the Facebook Amazon Camperforce Community group about the website disappearing. I had no desire to return to Houston but there were other locations that I might have considered so I sent an email to the CamperForce address with the following question:

Some of us have noticed that the CamperForce webpage no longer exists and CamperForce doesn't even show up in google searches anymore. Is the program being disbanded? It would be nice to know now since many RVers plan their yearly travel based on work availability later in the year. 

To their credit they responded within a few days (notable since I emailed on New Year’s Eve). And without further ado, here is their response:

 Thanks for reaching out.  This is a valid question.  At this time the program is being reviewed for further seasons and a decision will be made soon. 

As of 1/23/23, I’m not aware of any further announcements but any search for CamperForce only returns blog entries from people who have worked there previously. Many of us will be disappointed if the program dies an ignominious death. My personal opinion is that it’s going away because the original program manager retired about a year ago and his successors just didn’t support the program like he did.

It’s not really that wonderful. I just felt like being alliterative.

I’m currently finishing up a seasonal warehouse gig at JC Penney in Haslet TX. I’ve seen a new method of picking that I never knew existed. It’s called ‘pick to lights’. Each picker is assigned to a zone, approximately 45 feet long with 3 levels of totes in a rack system. When you scan your tote, LEDs light up telling you the quantity you need to pick from each bin. You pick the required number of items, then extinguish the LED at that bin. When your hands are full, you put all the items in the tote you scanned. Typically, similar items are contained within a zone. I’m sure the system was designed by some efficiency expert to be as simple as possible, and it is. It’s also mind-numbingly boring. It’s very easy to let your mind wander just enough to pick the wrong number of items, or from the wrong bin, or put them in the wrong tote – because there are no built-in safeguards.

It’s also a lot more physical than I anticipated. Not as much walking as Amazon but just enough to feel it at the end of the night and a lot more tote slinging to make all the upper body muscles sore. Totes weigh about 11 lbs empty. They’re nested in threes and sometimes need a bit of persuasion to get out of the nest. Full totes aren’t usually a problem since you’re just sliding those around on the conveyor. Maybe I was sore since I’d just finished another warehouse job before coming here.

Oh well, I have a week to go and reached my goal – paying for the next 4 months in the RGV, plus a little sightseeing money between here and there.

Of the 3 warehouse jobs I’ve worked, I still consider Amazon the gold standard. For all the hit pieces you read about Amazon work online I enjoyed all 3 of my seasons there – mostly. There were a few bad shifts but it was mostly good. They treated me well and did everything they could to make sure I was successful. They also tried to make the best of the situation. Upbeat music over the speaker system on late shift, providing holiday meals and free snacks on breaks, contests during the shift.

DigiKey and JC Penney? Not so much. There are individuals at each location that make you feel like part of the team and help you to succeed but I never felt it was part of the company culture. JCP in particular has a very high turnover rate.

I may add a few more details after I’ve rested for a few weeks but this should suffice for now.

As I was mapping out my activities for this year, I decided to skip both Amazon and the sugar beet harvest. Amazon was kind of a no-brainer since they’d made some changes that made it tougher for CamperForce folks to secure affordable camping.

The sugar beet harvest was a different story. I was already going to be in the right part of the country but I had to balance that with my memories of previous harvests, mainly unpredictable weather. I opted to continue working for DigiKey (good pay, inside, consistent hours) instead of the harvest. And as I sit here watching the weather (very warm for this time of year) I slyly pat myself on the back. While the sugar beet harvest workers are still waiting for the harvest to start, I’m still getting my regular hours.

The other advantage is I’ll be out of MN before the middle of the month, instead of committing for entire month with the harvest. And it couldn’t come too soon. The job itself is very frustrating. For you FB folks, you can check out my review in this group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/765664136797525

Beyond that, the wind almost never stops up here and TV reception is terrible. We’re ready to head south.

My plans for the spring/summer/fall were pretty much set when I left the RGV for Utah. Or so I thought. The job in Utah went as planned but while I was there I started calling around Salem Oregon for monthly sites. I was going to try working for Amazon as a regular temp in Salem until August, then quit 30 days prior to my Amazon CamperForce assignment in Troutdale Oregon to finish up the year there.

Well, it seems that with the pandemic, many RV parks are filling up with fulltime residents. In very old fashioned terms, monthly sites are harder to find than hen’s teeth 🙂 Just as I was ready to give up on Amazon for the summer, I got a text from a temp agency that I’d previously worked with. They were starting a new program for warehouse jobs with a company in Minnesota. Not only was the pay higher than Amazon but this company also picked up the entire campsite fee, non-taxable. Overall, much better than Amazon.

So, I did some new trip planning and off to Minnesota I went. I even had a few days to stop over in Grand Forks ND and visit my favorite Chinese buffet there while camping at the nearby Air Force Base. I did my orientation and drug testing right there in Grand Forks, then left the next morning for Thief River Falls. And that’s where I almost ran out of options.

They’d known for awhile the size and power requirements of my RV. I arrived at assigned campground, found the reservation tag on my site and just started shaking my head. It was a 50 amp full hookup site but would be fairly challenging backing in to since the sites were crowded so closely together. I commenced my maneuvering and quickly discovered that the site was just too short for my 5th wheel, by 3 or 4 feet. Getting out of the site when the neighboring sites were occupied would’ve been impossible.

I called the temp agency (since the camp host was still nowhere to be found) and they offered another site elsewhere in the same campground. That site was certainly long enough for me but had no water or sewer. The temp agency said they would deliver water and a pump-out truck twice a week. While not ideal, I could live with that. Unfortunately, the electric service was only 30 amp. With daytime temps frequently in the 90s, the inside of the RV would’ve been unbearable with only 1 AC at a time running.

Already thinking about where else I could spend the summer, I called the temp agency again and explained the predicament. To my surprise, they had 2 other options for me. I quickly unhitched and checked out the other 2 places. I settled on a place only a few miles away and got settled in. The TV reception isn’t great but I have my full hookups and a quiet park.

Now, I just have to decide how long I’m going to stay here and whether or not I’ll work for Amazon this year. Just finished my first week of training so that decision will certainly wait for a month or 2.

I just finished my recent assignment for Amazon a couple of days ago and wanted to write about it before I start forgetting stuff – a common old-age malady.

Why then vs now? Well, this is where I worked my first peak season for Amazon back in 2012. It was a lot more personalized then. The head of Camperforce actually came to the rec center in the RV park to give us our initial briefing. He provided lots of information and answered lots of questions. We knew who to approach with additional questions. Now? Not so much.

We all received emails to report to the fulfillment center (FC) on a certain date and time. Virtually all of the required paperwork had already been completed online. Yet, they managed to screw that up this year. I was one of several people who did NOT get their initial paycheck direct deposited. I provided all that information a few weeks before my start date. For some reason I checked the ADP website a few days before that first payday and discovered they did not have my direct deposit info. I quickly input it. I noted the test deposit the day before payday, too late to do any good. There’s an active CamperForce group on FB and I had warned others to check their info. Someone else advised that paper checks would be held by HR at the facility for pickup. Great! I went to HR the day after payday and asked for my check. The young lady went through the entire stack twice before telling me it wasn’t there. If they had mailed it to my FL address I really didn’t want to wait 2 weeks to be able to cash it. I called a central number for Amazon, they opened a ticket to have a specialist call me. They called and agreed to cancel the paper check and reissue as a direct deposit. What really ticked me off about all this? After all this, someone more senior in local HR contacted me via FB and told me my check had been there the whole time, even provided a pic of the envelope. Suffice it to say that nobody in CamperForce was very impressed by SDF1 HR.

Anyway, back to the work aspect. Training was minimal and abbreviated, mostly because of the coronavirus. They were trying to minimize the possibility of getting infected throughout the building. They still had Learning Ambassadors who would shadow you while working to help and answer questions. I didn’t need any hand holding so my ambassador was able to spend more time with other newbies.

Since I’ve worked previous peak seasons, including here, I was pretty much working at full speed the first week. I was mildly surprised that they were offering overtime that soon but gladly took advantage of it. They allow CamperForce to work a max of 60 hrs a week and I did that a few times, Probably would’ve done it more but I did need some time to shop, do laundry, take care of the RV, etc. Physically, it hasn’t been as bad this time around. The first time I had all sorts of blisters and chafing rashes. Maybe I was just trying to work too fast then. This time I was only bothered by rare, minor foot problems. I made an effort NOT to work as fast. They have performance metrics, which workers are able to check for themselves. If you fall into the bottom 3% of the entire building, somebody is going to come talk to you. I never heard of anyone being talked to and I never got anywhere close to bottom 3%.

The coronavirus precautions were very prevalent but not always enforced as well as they should have been (in my opinion). We had a small percentage of Covidiots who would wear their masks properly and behave when they were in areas where they might get caught by a supervisor, but were much more lax in the far reaches of the building. I stayed as far away from them as possible and apparently did well. 3 days before my last shift I took a free Covid test in the building and it came back negative.

It got very lonely this season, again, mainly due to the coronavirus precautions. It’s tough to have casual conversations while wearing a mask and maintaining 6 foot separation so I mostly just worked, ate and slept. The money was definitely good although I’m still waiting for the end of season bonus money.

I will probably not return here next year. My current travel plans will have me in the Pacific NorthWest over the summer and that’s just too far to drive back to work. I might work for CamperForce again in Portland if they offer that again. Or I might just sign up as regular employee at the facility in Salem OR. We’ll see as the time gets closer.

For starters, this is my third peak season working for Amazon and the first that I didn’t work the sugar beet harvest just prior. Amazon changed their start dates so the sugar beet harvest workers would be excluded. That was OK by me. I got a start date that was earlier than a harvest start date, I don’t have to worry about freezing weather (at least not yet) and don’t have to be responsible for anyone other than myself.

The reason I came to Campbellsville is because this was the first place I worked for Amazon, way back in 2012. We (the RVers) were treated very well. Apparently, the shine has come off that relationship. We’re pretty much like any other temp, seasonal workers now.

Training and mentoring definitely left a lot to be desired. Part of that was certainly coronavirus related. Trying to maintain social distancing and wearing masks would make that difficult for any company. I can’t remember if we picked at all during our first day of training, but the second day they pretty much turned us loose. There were a number of changes to the facility but parts of it still looked familiar to me. A mentor checked with me a few times and just said ‘you’re doing great’.

One of the big differences this year is we’re allowed to keep our cell phones on the floor. I loaded a pedometer app on mine and have been hitting 22k steps per day on a regular basis.

They also made an announcement that production ranking would be reinstituted. I guess they backed off while getting a handle on how to work during a pandemic. I asked about that and was told that if you’re in the bottom 3% of everyone in the building (not just your department), you’ll get talked to. Well, I’ve seen some real slugs in the building and I’ve also seen older folks with some mobility problems. I shouldn’t have any problems being in the upper 97% but I’ll curb my competitive nature so I’m NOT trying for the upper 3%. Actually, I’ll be satisfied if I’m one production unit above the lower 3%. The pay is still the same.

Last year I had problems with my near vision. I would wear my reading glasses to check a barcode or read the scanner, then push them up on my head to walk to the next bin. That got old real quick. This year, I ordered a pair of bifocal readers. Clear on top, reading strength on the bottom. They’ve done a world of good. Just keep the glasses in place all the time. The only problem is the mask, which causes some intermittent fogging.