# WH worker warns driver to trim beard or be deactivated?



## DeathByFlex (Nov 29, 2017)

Never a dull moment... Overheard the tail end of a WH worker telling a driver to trim his beard or risk being deactivated. WTF? I have no idea what sparked that nor the context but I don't think Amazon gets to dictate hair styles/grooming to us since we're independent contractors. Or do they?


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## Nekoosa (Nov 28, 2017)

DeathByFlex said:


> Never a dull moment... Overheard the tail end of a WH worker telling a driver to trim his beard or risk being deactivated. WTF? I have no idea what sparked that nor the context but I don't think Amazon gets to dictate hair styles/grooming to us since we're independent contractors. Or do they?


If you see some of the slubs that work out of my primary warehouse; I would say no. Makes the rest of us, collectively, look like slobs and thugs. If we all want amazon to keep flex then we need to present better to the customers. I'm not saying we need to be business casual or above. But clean clothes and hygiene should be a given


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## Amsoil Uber Connect (Jan 14, 2015)

They do have expectations in conducting one self in a professional manner. That includes hygiene.


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## grams777 (Jun 13, 2014)

New flex warehouse check-in procedure caught on video:


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## Movaldriver (Feb 20, 2017)

I wish they would tell a couple of drivers at our warehouse to bathe or be deactivated!!


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## grams777 (Jun 13, 2014)

Movaldriver said:


> I wish they would tell a couple of drivers at our warehouse to bathe or be deactivated!!


Already covered in part two of the new flex check in procedure at the warehouse:


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## DeathByFlex (Nov 29, 2017)

I agree that drivers should present themselves in a professional manner. However the incident raises some questions such as is this an official Amazon policy or is it a single WH worker speaking out of line? If it is policy then are we really independent or are we looking more like pseudo-employees with greatly reduced rights/protections. The point being that this is getting close to crossing a line set by the government and the IRS. If I own a small business and hire a person as a 1099 but then do things like set their schedule, give them a desk to use, supply them with a business card, dictate a dress code, etc...then the government says I'm blurring the line between IC and employee. It's one thing for Amazon to decide to not do business with a driver for unknown reasons but it's entirely different for them to cut ties and imply it was for violating unwritten dress code policy.

Slightly off topic, as an independent delivery company it's not as if I have any other clients or would be able to easily get them. I'm a delivery company because Amazon created nearly every aspect of my business; again blurring the line between IC and employee. I personally conduct deliveries in a professional manner and I wish for Flex to continue, however this is an interesting topic worth discussing.


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## rozz (Sep 7, 2016)

I have seen way too many slippers and tank tops at our warehouse.


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## Tank_Driver (Sep 30, 2017)

Although personal hygiene is important and we all wish more would understand such a basic concept, I agree that I don’t see how this could be allowed unless it’s explicitly stated in the terms of service.

Having said that, there’s always a difference between what the book says and how things play out in real life.

Let’s just be honest that many of the Amazon vests look down on us Flexers, something you can just observe by the way many of them talk to us. I experienced such firsthand this week, when a new vest I have never met before threw his arms up at me like it was a police checkpoint as I was pulling out of the warehouse. He then proceeded to give me a dressing down and told me to not move my car until directed to do so.

This in spite of the fact that I had already checked out with him, and I was one of two cars left in the entire lane. It was a power move, plain and simple, and I snapped back at him letting him know that I’ve been at this for some time and never encountered such instructions or hostility.

He backed down by saying “sorry if I sounded mad, but I just need to make sure blah blah blah,” but this post reminded me of the incident you describe.

I really hope this specific Flexer shot back in a polite but firm manner. Sure we have to obey warehouse rules and regulations, but I think a few of the vests need to do the same.


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## ScubaMark (Oct 5, 2017)

DeathByFlex said:


> If I own a small business and hire a person as a 1099 but then do things like set their schedule, give them a desk to use, supply them with a business card, dictate a dress code, etc...then the government says I'm blurring the line between IC and employee.


As an independent IT contractor to two very large telecommunications company's, working as 1099, 
I had a dress code, set hours, a desk to work from, (no business cards) but did have a "contractor" ID badge. 
Me and about 3000 other contractors in Richardson alone, for the first firm, no telling how many for the second. However also had a contract stating those things. 
Us Day Laborers for Amazon, Uber , Lyft, etc can just be sent packing in a whim. Does not have to be any specific perceived infraction.


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## rozz (Sep 7, 2016)

ScubaMark said:


> As an independent IT contractor to two very large telecommunications company's, working as 1099,
> I had a dress code, set hours, a desk to work from, (no business cards) but did have a "contractor" ID badge.
> Me and about 3000 other contractors in Richardson alone, for the first firm, no telling how many for the second. However also had a contract stating those things.
> Us Day Laborers for Amazon, Uber , Lyft, etc can just be sent packing in a whim. Does not have to be any specific perceived infraction.


People seem to equate IC with do whatever the hell you want as long as the product gets delivered. Instacart keeps sending its drivers very detailed instructions on how to interact and behave with customers. A dispatcher here has told a driver how to interact with the app, lest he wants to be punished with a block. The only thing independent about the job is how you handle your taxes.


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## DeathByFlex (Nov 29, 2017)

ScubaMark said:


> As an independent IT contractor


You and I have similar day jobs... Over the past 20 years I've watched the tech industry go from fantastic high-paying jobs with benefits and stock options to contract work via head hunters and finally to gig-style 1099 work. At least with the agency work people were still employees but 1099 can be downright abusive. At the minimum, the employer gets to treat you like an employee (almost) while offloading their portion of the taxes to the worker (~7.5% for social security and medicare). It's a less visible way to reduce wages and save on benefits and L&I premiums. Amazon is no different in this regard and I suspect the same is happening across many other sectors.


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## rozz (Sep 7, 2016)

DeathByFlex said:


> You and I have similar day jobs... Over the past 20 years I've watched the tech industry go from fantastic high-paying jobs with benefits and stock options to contract work via head hunters and finally to gig-style 1099 work. At least with the agency work people were still employees but 1099 can be downright abusive. At the minimum, the employer gets to treat you like an employee (almost) while offloading their portion of the taxes to the worker (~7.5% for social security and medicare). It's a less visible way to reduce wages and save on benefits and L&I premiums. Amazon is no different in this regard and I suspect the same is happening across many other sectors.


You know, I wouldn't mind some standardization regarding appearance and behavior at our warehouse. I work PN so one driver's interactions with customers affects us all by means of future tips. There are no rules regarding what type of dress and appearance Amazon should require us. Since they already set some prerequisites, why not deepen it by laying out some ground rules regarding other aspects? What's wrong with telling drivers not to play obnoxious music at the warehouse or when they're at the customer's house?


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## BezosSucks (Nov 5, 2017)

We had a country girl at our Prime Now location that never wore shoes! She was a hard worker and they never said anything to her about her being barefoot. One time she locked her keys in her truck, so she smashed her window in order to not lose her block. True story in Tampa. They actually made a sign for her joking that she was "employee of the month"


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## Nekoosa (Nov 28, 2017)

Death, can you give some insight... doesn’t really change much of discussion thou. The dudes beard in question, what was it willie Nelson type? Or snaggletooth? Or what?


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## DeathByFlex (Nov 29, 2017)

Nekoosa said:


> The dudes beard in question, what was it willie Nelson type? Or snaggletooth? Or what?


Younger hipster look'n guy who certainly had no problem growing facial hair. From what I could tell the main issue was the hair on his neck poking out from the neck line of his shirt. It wasn't neatly trimmed but I didn't think it was that bad and I've seen some homeless look'n dudes in there...


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## DeathByFlex (Nov 29, 2017)

BezosSucks said:


> We had a country girl at our Prime Now location that never wore shoes! She was a hard worker and they never said anything to her about her being barefoot. One time she locked her keys in her truck, so she smashed her window in order to not lose her block. True story in Tampa. They actually made a sign for her joking that she was "employee of the month"


I like this comment for a couple of reasons. If one WH can dictate grooming then what prevents another from dictating a shoe policy, or taken a step further, a steel-toe boot policy (as a way of raising the bar for entry)? Also, I don't know if you were being clever but that employee of the month bit really stood out to me. It probably cost as much or more than the block was worth to repair that window. The sign they made for her was quite the backhanded compliment in that the term 'employee' is what she likely wished she was but the honorary nature is a cold reminder that she is not, despite her amazing work ethic and commitment.

Companies have paid for laws that have distorted our economy to the point that we're all scrambling for positions that, when really examined, are quite bad; so much so that many are willing to make unreasonable sacrifices in the hopes that the system won't spit them out just yet.


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## Nekoosa (Nov 28, 2017)

It’s just a blue vest pulling a powertrip. Not much they can do; in reality they are bottom barrel fish like us. 

Each warehouse has their own rules. In Chicagoland, dch3 checks dl everytime. They also say flexers have to have a safety vest and doesn’t back cars into spaces. But gives a ratass about cars running and radios playing. Then dch4 occasionally ask for dl but if you leave car on or Radio playing they are on you. 

What I’ve learned and it should be simple for everyone... don’t be an ass and you get more from warehouse. There’s been time I finish a block and go up to blue and ask if there’s anything going out. They will stand next to me and count down when they are going to send out blocks so I can grab it. Or yesterday. I worked 12 hours at my real job and overslept my block. I rolled in over an hour late. They just overode the system and let me work. But last week there was a girl causing a ruckus about how long we had to wait to get inside. Next day same girl came 10 minutes late. Blue said you’re not working. It all depends on who you buddy buddy with.


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## Chicago-uber (Jun 18, 2014)

Nekoosa said:


> It's just a blue vest pulling a powertrip. Not much they can do; in reality they are bottom barrel fish like us.
> 
> Each warehouse has their own rules. In Chicagoland, dch3 checks dl everytime. They also say flexers have to have a safety vest and doesn't back cars into spaces. But gives a ratass about cars running and radios playing. Then dch4 occasionally ask for dl but if you leave car on or Radio playing they are on you.
> 
> What I've learned and it should be simple for everyone... don't be an ass and you get more from warehouse. There's been time I finish a block and go up to blue and ask if there's anything going out. They will stand next to me and count down when they are going to send out blocks so I can grab it. Or yesterday. I worked 12 hours at my real job and overslept my block. I rolled in over an hour late. They just overode the system and let me work. But last week there was a girl causing a ruckus about how long we had to wait to get inside. Next day same girl came 10 minutes late. Blue said you're not working. It all depends on who you buddy buddy with.


I also work out from DCH4 as a van driver. Never had an issue with blue vests. They're always friendly to me. Only one of them gets on my nerves. The girl with the screechy voice who likes to scream at everyone. But I don't really deal with her


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## CatchyMusicLover (Sep 18, 2015)

They don't allow music on inside the WH here. I don't see how that's much different from a restaurant not allowing smoking, or whatnot.


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## jester121 (Sep 6, 2016)

I have no problem with a No Music rule. If some jackwang can't go 10 minutes loading up without hearing some tunes, throw in some earbuds and problem solved. 

If it takes you more than 10 minutes to get loaded up and on the road, then quit.


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## Poolepit (May 17, 2016)

rozz said:


> I have seen way too many slippers and tank tops at our warehouse.


Wtf, it not freezing there? Lol


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## Movaldriver (Feb 20, 2017)

Poolepit said:


> Wtf, it not freezing there? Lol


In Riverside it's been in the 80's


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## Chicago-uber (Jun 18, 2014)

Movaldriver said:


> In Riverside it's been in the 80's


What da??

It's 30s here and I think it's warm


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## Movaldriver (Feb 20, 2017)

Yeah it kind of kills the holiday spirit lol. Santa is going to be in board shorts out here!


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## UberPasco (Oct 18, 2015)

BezosSucks said:


> We had a country girl at our Prime Now location that never wore shoes! She was a hard worker and they never said anything to her about her being barefoot. One time she locked her keys in her truck, so she smashed her window in order to not lose her block. True story in Tampa. They actually made a sign for her joking that she was "employee of the month"


You forgot to mention that she locked herself out a few more times, but all she had to do was pop out the cardboard.  And I believe she threatened to punch it out if someone in the wh didn't give her a hammer.


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## Nekoosa (Nov 28, 2017)

UberPasco said:


> You forgot to mention that she locked herself out a few more times, but all she had to do was pop out the cardboard.  And I believe she threatened to punch it out if someone in the wh didn't give her a hammer.


Off topic... but I grew up in the Richeys in the late 80s Uber pasco


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## UberPasco (Oct 18, 2015)

Dad lives in NPR, family friend owned Po-Pibbly-Pub late '70s early 80's.


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## Poolepit (May 17, 2016)

Movaldriver said:


> In Riverside it's been in the 80's


Yeah been a warm winter here in so cal. Think his location was Seattle.


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