Walmart Is Turning Its Employees Into Delivery Drivers To Compete With Amazon (qz.com) 175
Walmart, which is aggressively investing in e-commerce to better compete with Amazon, is unveiling a new strategy: turning its army of 1.5 million US employees into delivery drivers. From a report: The tactic is being tested at three stores in New Jersey and Arkansas, and designed to shave costs out of the "last mile" of distribution, the most expensive part of getting goods to customers. Under the initiative, store employees will be given the option to deliver packages on their way home after work, in exchange for extra pay. They'll be given an app that allows them to input their routes, and an algorithm will plot the most efficient path. To take part, the employees will have to pass a background and vehicle check.
I have been waiting a long time for this... (Score:2)
Even though it didn't come out quite the way the book had it, at long last we will have - the deliverator [technovelgy.com].
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I agree, I am surprised it took this long to make this happen. There are clearly efficiency savings to be made, and I would not mind driving a different route every once in a while.
Of course Uber also started as a "ride sharing" app, with the same idea. And just like there, I wonder whether this is just once again an excuse to pay less than minimum wage.
Or... (Score:5, Interesting)
Wal-Mart could just hire a miniumum-wage delivery driver for each store and have deliveries all day long. If every pizza and Chinese restaurant can do it, so can Wal-Mart.
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Wal-Mart could just hire a miniumum-wage delivery driver for each store and have deliveries all day long. If every pizza and Chinese restaurant can do it, so can Wal-Mart.
I suspect the difference would be that your Wal-Mart driver (like the Amazon/OnTrac driver) won't be expecting to make any tips, so you'd have to pay them more than minimum wage. Also, Wal-Mart already has a bunch of minimum wage employees that probably aren't normally scheduled for 40hours/week because they work multiple jobs, making them ideal candidates for this task...
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What does Domino's or Pizza Hut do for delivery drivers? Should be an apples to apples comparison. Except for business hours. Plus most WalMarts can deliver groceries and will pay the local sales tax.
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No, it isn't. As the OP pointed out, pizza driver get tips. Wal-mart delivery drivers wouldn't (do you tip the UPS man?)
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No, it isn't. As the OP pointed out, pizza driver get tips. Wal-mart delivery drivers wouldn't (do you tip the UPS man?)
No, but I probably should... maybe a holiday gift card... It's been forever since I stepped into a mall to buy anything...
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Their approach is better, for the following reasons:
1) it provides an extra income to employees with no major additional labor (i.e. win-win)
2) it keeps the costs low, which is a must when the business model is rock-bottom prices
3) a minimum wage delivery driver is unlikly to afford a reliable car so Walmart would have to acquire a fleet of vehicles or a fleet of drivers to mitigate the risk
4) having many employees in the delivery pool increases the odds of packages being delivered, as opposed to having a h
Flexibility (Score:4, Interesting)
Curious if the employee has the flexibility to sign up for (or to reject) deliveries after each shift, and how much flexibility they have in time and direction.
When I am not going home after the shift, I shouldn't have to go out of my to deliver a package to my neighbor.
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Sure they do (Score:2)
No thanks... (Score:2)
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You ordered six small boxes of granola bars from Walmart and had it shipped via Fedex?
My purchase qualified for free shipping. Walmart sent via FedEx Post to my PO box. Since it was sent via FedEx, I had it diverted to the FedEx Store.
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You shouldn't eat so much granola bars.
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You shouldn't eat so much granola bars.
I eat five granola bars per week. Six boxes is a three-month supply.
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Look at how much sugar is in a single granola bar. They may taste great but they're barely more healthy than a chocolate-covered candy bar like Mr. Big [wikipedia.org]. Except the Mr. Big tastes a lot better.
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Look at how much sugar is in a single granola bar.
The granola bars I eat are healthier than a Mr. Big. Besides, I don't like candy bars.
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Maybe, maybe not. Check the amount of sugar.
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Maybe, maybe not. Check the amount of sugar.
I've already checked the labels.
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Plus a power bar or a clif bar. Plus a fiber one bar. Don't forget those.
I only eat ten granola bars per week. This month Fiber One and Power Bar. Next month it will be Fiber One and Cliff Bar.
Eat some eggs instead.
I have a two-egg and tofu omelet each week.
Fuck, have 2 snickers bars instead of your daily allotment of 3 power/fiber/granola bars, and you'll come out ahead in taste & nutrition.
If you ever looked at the labels, the only thing healthy about the candy bar diet is lower salt intake and everything else is bad.
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Above, you claimed "only 5 granola bars per week." So, you eat 5 Fiber One, 5 Power bars, and 5 "granola bars" per week?
I use "granola bars" as a catchall category for Fiber One, Cliff Bar and Power Bars. I only eat ten bars each week.
You'd be better served eating that every morning, [...]
Two eggs a week is enough for me.
I have looked at the labels - any of those bars are substantially the same as a snicker's bar, nutritionally.
Then you need reading glasses.
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But I know, I know - you don't want to actually THINK about what you're eating - you've convinced yourself you're happy being fat.
I know exactly what I'm eating. You don't. If I told you the rest of my diet, you still will scream shit. I've had these arguments with the fitness nuts at work all the time. They're not interested in helping me get healthy. They just want to be self-righteous assholes.
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you claim is only 1500 calories per day, with regular exercise, you're unable to lose weight
I've been losing weight. The problem is that the scales at the gym max out at 350 pounds. I recently got a digital scale for home. I'm 350 pounds, +/- five pounds.
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Maybe you should start working out at the zoo?
That's where Slashdot comes into play.
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I've been losing weight. The problem is that the scales at the gym max out at 350 pounds. I recently got a digital scale for home. I'm 350 pounds, +/- five pounds.
Beer dude, it's beers :) - Half joking there dude, mates I trained with at your weight told me that beer was the biggest contributor to their weight gain.
What workouts do you enjoy? Often I've seen big guys like you rip into weights and get really strong. They never really get ripped, but it doesn't matter, bone mineral analysis of spartan warriors found that they carried a layer of fat on them and were completely healthy.
The main issue is processed foods, that stuff messes you up. It's understandable w
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What workouts do you enjoy?
I'm trying to master the rowing machine. It's kicking my ass and it doesn't help that my stomach gets in the way. I also do the cable row with 150 pounds.
Often I've seen big guys like you rip into weights and get really strong.
Getting big is easy. I want to tone down.
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I'm trying to master the rowing machine. It's kicking my ass and it doesn't help that my stomach gets in the way. I also do the cable row with 150 pounds.
Rows are a great exercise, however I think you'll find that when you put on muscle by using iron your body will start to gobble up the fat stores. If it's cool to suggest, try doing deadlifts, squats, chest an back exercise. Legs will up the testosterone and put you body into build mode, then build your chest. This will make the rows more effective.
My colleague is/was the same size as you and he has been doing the alternating workout style I preach and has trimmed down significantly in the last 6 months.
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You claimed 5 bars a week upthread. Are you a liar?
This is in reference to the shipment I got, which was Fiber One bars. I eat five of those each week. I also eat five of a different kind, either Cliff or Power, each week. That's a total of ten bars per week.
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Snickers wins on total carbs, calories, and sodium. The difference in nutrition is VERY small - moderately higher fat, lower protein, moderately higher sugar content.
If you're the same asshat whom I had this argument about the Snickers Diet, your contention was TWO Snickers versus ONE Power Ball (or Cliff Bar). Having two Snickers is worse than a Fiber One and Power Bar together.
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Your neck is a larger diameter than your head.
You're confusing my jowls with my neck. There's no fat on the back of my neck.
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I've read your drivel of over a week now since you seem to have posting on slashdot as your job.
There are two of us now: "creimer" is my account and "criemer" [slashdot.org] is the unofficial parody account that someone else set up. Enjoy!
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Does it sound like a ridiculous parody to you when someone else repeats things you say?
The parody account is not actually repeating me word for word. Some of my positions are being exaggerated to a great degree. For example, JTAG [slashdot.org]. I know what JTAG is but I don't get many opportunity to discuss electronics because the hardware hackers are long gone on Slashdot.
I note how, it seems as usual, you completely ignore all the actual points made by me and pretend they don't exist.
I'm not obligated to do a point-by-point rebuttal. If I respond to some points but not others, it doesn't mean that I agree with the other points.
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He has a problem staying "regular".
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I ordered six small boxes of granola bars from Walmart a few months ago. Since it got shipped by FedEx, I had the box diverted to a FedEx Store.
This presents more confusing questions than the size of the delivery box...
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This presents more confusing questions than the size of the delivery box...
In what way?
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Like: why did you order granola bars from Walmart and have it shipped to Fedex and THEN complain about the excessive packaging?
I qualified for free shipping. Walmart sent it FedEx (their choice). I wasn't expecting a big box for something that they previously shipped in a smaller box.
If you are worried about the environment why not just to the local grocery?
Walmart has better prices. I used to order these from Amazon before I figured out that the third-party store ordered them from Walmart and charged me an extra $0.50 per box.
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So what is the complaint here?
Oversized box.
Did you think shipping boxes of granola bars to a store to a Fedex store in a truck was environmentally friendly or something?
The granola bars would have gotten shipped by truck no matter what carrier Walmart selected for free shipping.
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But the bars would've been shipped in a much more efficient and environmentally friendly way if you'd bought them at a store. That was the poster's point.
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But the bars would've been shipped in a much more efficient and environmentally friendly way if you'd bought them at a store.
For twice the price than ordering direct from Walmart.
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And now we know what's more important to you. Complaining about the environmental waste of it all doesn't sound that convincing when you don't care either.
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Complaining about the environmental waste of it all doesn't sound that convincing when you don't care either.
I don't know why people keep bringing up the environment. If you're going to ship something, it should be in the appropriately sized box. This past weekend I had to ship a small box via the postal service. I needed a tracking number and $100 insurance. The initial tally was $40. I had to ship a small box inside a much larger medium Priority Mail box to get the price down $16.
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It didn't impact you, and yet you say "no thanks" to using their service over a non-issue?
I take public transit. What I ordered fit inside my backpack. I'm not going to carry an oversized box on the train, especially when that box was nothing but packing paper.
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Like: why did you order granola bars from Walmart and have it shipped to Fedex and THEN complain about the excessive packaging?
Are you being deliberately obtuse? creimer explained this in a post replying to you, 20 minutes before you posted this.
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Were these special granola bars? Some that are not available in-store? Or do you simply not have a Wal-Mart in your town? Is the FedEx store closer than your home? FedEx offers home delivery now.
Walmart had better prices on these granola bars. There are no one Walmart stores that are conveniently near me. The FedEx store is located downtown where I get my groceries and haircuts. Any package delivered to my apartment doorstep would walk.
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Only one layer of excess oversized boxes...pikers.
I believe it's the Register that keeps a excessive packaging hall of shame. HP shipped a piece of paper with a license key in a typical software box. That was packaged in a more or less typical for Amazon shipping box (big enough for a large book), which was in turn packaged in a large cardboard box, big enough for a medium sized appliance like a microwave.
The whole thing was overnighted.
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Yep HP did that to me. 24 license keys of vsphere. Co-workers had the shipper fill my entire cube so I couldn't get to my desk.
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https://www.theregister.co.uk/... [theregister.co.uk]
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Co-workers had the shipper fill my entire cube so I couldn't get to my desk.
At one job I worked at, management taped up the opening to a supervisor's cube and filled it up with packing popcorn (~384 cubic feet). The HR woman gave the supervisor a bag of microwaved popcorn and wished him a happy birthday when he came in the next morning. He spilled his popcorn when he saw his cube. Took him four days to dig it out.
How is Amazon any different? (Score:2)
I guess you've not ordered from Amazon very much, because they have the exact same issue - small items in absurdly large boxes.
In fact, YOU at least got padding as I've also had items loose in a large box that arrived kind of messed up.
The last straw for me was a one-day order I placed for something I needed for a trip. It arrived two days late, long after I had gone... I am pretty much done ordering from Amazon and going to order directly now from most vendors like NewEgg or BHPhoto. At least they take u
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Anecdotal evidence on both sides...but I've had prime for years and order at least a couple things a month.
It's very rare that something shows up late.
The only exception is the stupid USPS Smartpost thing they used for a while. A package would be 'delivered' per tracking but what they really meant was delivered to the local post office. It almost always was at my door a day later, 2 at most. But that's 1-2 days over their guaranteed 2-day delivery. Luckily they don't seem to be using that anymore (or at
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I guess you've not ordered from Amazon very much, because they have the exact same issue - small items in absurdly large boxes.
My problem with Amazon is that they send six items in six boxes. Never mind that I selected the "group everything together" checkbox on the order form.
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[...] wear pants that are drastically the wrong size [...]
What's wrong with the shorts?
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They're about four sizes too small.
Sorry to pop your delusions, but my waist is narrower than my shoulders. No, I'm not wearing a weight belt.
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looking at that picture, delusions aren't the only things about to pop. those biceps, /swoon.
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looking at that picture, delusions aren't the only things about to pop. those biceps, /swoon.
It's one of the reasons why I don't post naked pictures of myself. Fat porn is hugely popular on Slashdot.
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Your fat sticks out 90 degrees sideways above and below the waist. That's because the elastic is far too small.
For something "far too small," it's a comfortable fit. I prefer not to have my shorts drop when I'm working out.
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See what a disingenuous lying sack of shit he is?
The pictures are one year apart. When some reposted the link, I replaced the old picture with the new picture from last month.
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And if you weren't a disingenuous piece of shit, you'd give the files different names!
Why? I can do whatever I want with my website.
Employee puts app on their 'phone ... (Score:5, Interesting)
other than their route home, what else will that app monitor about the employee. "Mr Smith we notice that you did not leave the bar until 23.30 last night ... please report to room 101 for an alcohol test"
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Given the general helpfulness of Walmart employees would you consider a 0.0% bac a pass or a fail?
No liability problems here... (Score:2)
Just ask Dominoes - you can put a company uniform on any 17 year old kid and have them deliver from store to home in "30 minutes or less," all profit, no headaches.
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Old people. Disabled people. People without working cars that have no public transportation. A woman with small kids and no babysitting. Shipping is cheaper than auto insurance not to mention the vehicle cost or a babysitter.
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Maybe for you grocery delivery is pointless.
For those living in cities and/or without cars, lugging 10+ bags of groceries isn't especially convenient. Or those who can't carry them at all. Or those who work odd hours. Or those who have no interest in wandering a grocery store but can click through a website during lunch/work/commute/etc.
There's PLENTY of reasons for grocery delivery beyond just pure laziness...oh, and that's still a valid reason too.
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Grocery chains are either near a person's house or their place of work.
I live quite a ways from a grocery store, and work from home. Home-delivery groceries for a reasonable price would be awesome. Actually, I should say it is awesome. I use Amazon for many non-perishable grocery items.
Also, Wal-mart carries a lot more than groceries, including lots of stuff that is often purchased from Amazon.
Great Googly Moogly (Score:4, Insightful)
And what happens if they don't get enough "volunteers"? After all, the Walmart employees with Cars are the better off ones. I'm guessing pressure, hours cut, etc, etc.
Dear lord the working class is pooched. I mean, if it's come to this what next? I don't even have the words... We're no longer racing to the bottom, we've drilled through, struck oil and it's leaking into our ground water.
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In the flyover states, I can imagine many walmart employees are driving over 20 miles to get to work based on past experience.
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What about insurance?
How do Domino's, UPS, FedEx, etc. deal with it? I suspect the company buys coverage. Note that UPS and FedEx employees occasionally do deliveries in their own vehicles, and AFAIK all Domino's employees do. This has been figured out a long time ago.
This is after their shifts (Score:2)
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I don't see anything in the article to indicate that Walmart is going to try to argue that they aren't employees. And I think that would be basically impossible to get past employment regulators. Uber has something of an argument given the flexible work schedules, etc, but these *are* employees, no question about it.
That's the only way this kind of thing can work and be any different than hiring a run of the mill delivery driver.
Nonsense, unless you think you can hire a bunch of drivers to do just one run per day, and pay them only for the deviation between their delivery route and their normal drive home.
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Honestly, I see a whole lot of FUD up here - slamming this idea as horrible for American workers, etc. etc. Betting it would be a completely different response if the employer offering it was someone more liked than Wal-Mart.
A LONG time ago, I worked for a small computer store .... probably only a few years after I had my drivers' license and a car. I used to beg the owner to let me do runs occasionally, dropping off computers for his larger business clients. It was a nice change of pace instead of getting
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Newer cars are a lot safer (Score:2)
Still it's a time bomb waiting to go off. There's limits to those car's safety and sooner or later somebody is gonna get really hurt.
Background check? (Score:2)
So wait, does this mean they don't have to pass a background check to work at the store in the first place? And what constitutes "passing?"
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probably no DUI's, carrying car insurance, and having a valid license.
compared to simply having a pulse for the regular employment screening.
This should work out well... (Score:5, Interesting)
Given Walmart's legendary addiction to corporate welfare, you can bet this program won't be genuinely voluntary for long. Ways will be found to "encourage" employees to participate that have nothing to do with the few bucks they'll throw at them for using their personal vehicle for commercial purposes.
And given what I've seen of Walmart employees who are virtually out on their feet by the end of a shift, it would probably be safer to hold a "Drunk Drivers 6000" through residential neighbourhoods than to have them looking for some random house after working a 12-hour split shift broken up over 18 hours.
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I'm interested as why your governments don't intervene for workers rights more in the USA. Things like your absurdly low minimum wage and the ability to fire people at will. It is such an uneven one sided relationship and seems immensely unfair, especially in walmarts case where the family are Billionaires.
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"I'm interested as why your governments don't intervene for workers rights more in the USA."
One of the principals in labor law in the USA is that worker conditions are better left to unions and management to negotiate a locally preferable standard rather than have a one-size-fits-all solution imposed from the top down. Of course, the same people that promote that then turn around and undermine unionization.
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I take it you've never seen this video. I don't think it's so much guns, religion, border walls, tax cuts for the rich, etc as you put it as just not wanting to lose a good paying job. I'll let you get back to your Rachel Maddow.
That clip with the coal miner might have a big influence on the election by the way. Never hear it mentioned in the media in that context for some reason. Just my personal theory.
Sick Days? (Score:2)
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Yeah I've seen a lot of people dismissing this but I think it's generally a pretty good idea. There are obvious issues with pay and insurance but i suspect many walmart employees will be happy to make their commute home be payable. Walmart will have to suitably figure out insurance because personal injury lawyers will jump at the chance to list them as a defendant when traffic incidents happen, they've got much more incentive to get that right than the local pizza franchise.
Their real strength in ecommerce
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If Uber drivers aren't covered by their automotive insurance while they're driving for Uber, then nor are these Wal-Mart employees going to be covered while they're driving for Wal-Mart. Any of them who elect to carry a package for Wal-Mart will have no insurance at least between the time when they leave work, and the time when they deliver the last package they're carrying.
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Any of them who elect to carry a package for Wal-Mart will have no insurance at least between the time when they leave work, and the time when they deliver the last package they're carrying.
I double checked for a /sarcasm tag but nope.
Of course w-mart will get an umbrella policy that covers it's drivers while they're on the clock delivering packages. It's stupid to think they wouldn't for many reasons. Just like they will be covered by the various insurances covering on-the-job injuries etc. These people are actively working while making a delivery (even if it's conveniently routed so it's on their way home) so all the normal work protections apply. When you but an insurance policy for (if
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I double checked for a /sarcasm tag but nope.
Of course w-mart will get an umbrella policy that covers it's drivers while they're on the clock delivering packages.
Of course Uber has a policy that covers its drivers while they're transporting a fare. But they wind up without coverage when they're on their way to pick up a fare. At best, Wal-Mart employees will wind up without coverage on their way home from delivering their last package.
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I think you're right. Every insurance policy that covers employees traveling from work to home or visa-versa covers a direct route home, therefore they will only be covered from their last delivery to home. There is also the issue of third parties injured and whose insurance is liable.
I'm certain Walmart will do all they can to offset the costs of this liability onto its employees - it's what they do.
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It's about them one-upping prime-now which has much more limited availability than w-mart would if they leverage this in most of their stores.
Have to remember that Amazon doesn't do delivery (for the most part), they do warehouses. They leave the delivery up to companies that know what they are doing like UPS, Fedex, OnTrac, etc.
Not sure why Walmart thinks they are going to compete with the likes of UPS with a bunch on inexperienced, low-paid, tired at the end of their shift drivers. Regardless, how is it going to work? Oh you want this package rush? Maybe, if you happen to live along the route of an employee and that employee happens to be getti
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I thought about it also. The local Govs will like it. As local sales tax will be collected. Also most WalMarts will have groceries.
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Walmart does this, and they get vilified. some hip Silicon Valley app producing, VC milking shit show does it and they are avant garde.
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The Walmart employees, of course. They have to pay for the damaged goods.
Re: Insurance? (Score:2)
Typically if you are on the clock while driving, then the employer is liable for any damages not covered by your insurance. It varies by state, but in most cases that's how it works.
If you're an independent contractor, (i.e. Uber) then you alone are liable.
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And a chance for the employees to deduct some part of their vehicle-related costs on their tax report?
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Simply, no. They aren't idiots. This is clearly designed for the suburbs. The same can be said of rural locations where people might live 50 km from their nearest store. It's not as if they're trying to convert *all* deliveries to this service, merely supplement their existing system, which seems like an inventive idea. And it's only a trial, which is good. We'll see how it does.
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There are some WalMarts in larger cities where the majority of employees go to work by mass transit. Do they really expect to get them to carry customers' packages home on the bus or train? And when you're commuting by mass transit, another additional mile or so in each direction can quickly make your commute a lot longer in time.
"To take part, the employees will have to pass a background and vehicle check."
Derp. The program will not be offered at stores that can't properly staff it.
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Maybe things are different in the rest of the country but.... a background and vehicle check? Most of the employees at Walmart I've met couldn't pass a sanity check...
For the most part, one has to be insane to work for Wally World as a foot soldier. As such, instituting a sanity check would be detrimental to their employee pool.
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Most of the employees at Walmart I've met couldn't pass a sanity check...
It's a Catch-22 . . . if you would pass a sanity check, you wouldn't be working for Balled-Mart in the first place . . .
Let them eat cake (Score:2)
I'm glad for you if you have the luxury of choosing a more lucrative career, but for many people Walmart is the only option. That doesn't mean they are imbeciles.
And while the pay is low (which is part of the business model), there are things at Walmart that are better than other employers at a same pay scale. For instance, Walmart employees are less exposed to violent crime than employees of fast food chains or gas stations, and for anyone with real ambition and skills there's an actual path to better posi