Amazon Worker Bees!

Monday, November 16, 2015

So here we are finally experiencing what we've heard about since before we started full-timing. “Well, if we ever need to make some money to keep this lifestyle going, there's always Amazon.”


With our decision a year ago to extend our two year sabbatical into an “early retirement”, we needed to find ways to supplement our income, so last summer we took the job at Geneva Point Center in New Hampshire. Our plan for the year was to try working at Amazon after the family wedding in October. We waited a little longer than we should have, not realizing the slow pace Amazon moves with their hiring practices. (Compared to their fast shipping!)


Everything finally came together for us to start at the Jeffersonville, Indiana warehouse on November 10^th. Peak, as it is called runs until 12/23, and if we want to earn our extra $1 an hour bonus, we need to stay until then. So, six weeks should be enough time to make some money and decide if we can handle the physical workload.

The Amazon building is a mile long!

Amazon pays for our camping two days before starting, so Sunday we rolled into the campground we selected from their approved list. There were only 3 choices. The KOA about 6 miles from the warehouse, that had bad reviews and was sandwiched between the interstate and the rail line. Another campground 30 minutes away, and the one we chose, Silver Lakes Mobile Home Park about 6 miles away.


The manager took a while to show up and we drove around a bit to try to find where our spot might be. This is an older park, a bit long in the tooth, with old mobile homes and some work camper rigs scattered about. We were finally given the choice of four sites. Only one was in good enough shape for us to use, but the two narrow concrete pads for mobile home wheels were too far apart for our rig. We managed to get two tires on the edge, but our rear inside dually wheels had to have blocks under them to get them level with the other wheels. The water and electric were a bit far away, and we stretched our lines to reach them, but the sewer is on the wrong side and sort of under the rig. Okay, the sites are spacious and we are under a big oak tree, and surrounded by the pricier work camper rigs. The other drawback is that there is no shower house or laundry. We are showering in our tiny RV shower like we did all summer. The next job will have a shower house!


We were greeted by a few neighbors. Work campers are a friendly lot, and we settled in. Laundry and groceries got done on Monday, and Tuesday morning we made the short drive to the mile-long Amazon warehouse for orientation. We were in the last class for the season and there were only 14 of us. Lots to go over. Everything is very standardized so every employee has the exact same knowledge. We had our health and safety orientation and HAZMAT training, learned how to protect our bodies from injuries and were instructed in Amazon stretches which we do as a group before every shift.

Wednesday through Saturday we were “work hardened” with five hour shifts. The hardest part for me was getting up at 5:45 am! We trained with an Amazon Ambassador on Wednesday and then we were on our own the rest of the week. Since we are hired as “pickers” we range through the four floors of merchandise bins with carts, totes and hand scanners. The scanners tell us what to pick, and when the totes are full they go on a conveyor belt. Then we grab a new tote and start all over again.


The 15 minute morning break went FAST! We left for the day at the beginning of lunch, but will have a half hour for that and another 15 minute break in the afternoon. The scanner always knows where you are and what you are doing. Highly regimented, but necessary with the huge number of employees. Saturday mid-morning we got called off the floor due to a problem with the conveyor belt. Our manager asked for volunteers, so a bunch of us newbies, thinking that “maybe” we'd get sent home early with pay, volunteered. We were led off to train in inventory, but before we could really learn much, the belt was back up and we were back to picking. Frankly, I liked picking better.


Greg keeps comparing picking to hunting and gathering. Brings out the primal instincts in him! It's great for introverts. We don't have to work with anyone else and move at our own pace, which is expected to be swift. We will start having quotas to meet this week, but they seem to be lower for work campers. Then we start with four 10 hour days. When the building hits Peak, we will go to mandatory overtime of five ten to eleven hour days. After that there is still voluntary overtime available up to 60 hours a week total.


So far our toes have been a little sore, but no other complaints. But, with 5 hour days we weren't walking the 10-15 miles we will be walking this week. I was concerned about a lot of stair climbing, we don't do much in an RV, but most of the time we spend a good long time on one floor before sometimes being moved to another, so that hasn't been a problem.


With three days in a row off we have been getting the rig organized. We bought a slow cooker, and an electric burner and emptied out the shower so we can use it. Life in this small rig when we are stationary for any length of time means being creative with our use of space. Last night the built-in microwave/convection oven died, so Greg spent the day getting it out of the cabinet and trying to figure out what to do with it. Get it fixed? Get a new one? Just get a microwave? Or, just do without and turn the cabinet into storage? No decision yet... For now it has been shoved back into the cabinet. There's no place else for it to sit.


Well, one week down, and five to go! I'll update again as I am able. We are hoping this works out and will evaluate it as a work prospect for next year. It's one of the few ways to make better money than volunteering or minimum wage as a work camper. This location is paying $10.75 an hour for daytime work, with time and a half for overtime and the $1 an hour bonus if you complete Peak. After this we will make a quick rush back to Maryland for our first Christmas there in 3 years and get our grand-daughter fix. Then we will dash down to Florida. We have a volunteer job at Kissimmee Prairie Preserve State Park north of Lake Okeechobee for January, February, and March. In return for our campsite we will work 20 hours a week. I'll be in the office/visitor center, and Greg gets to mow and cut firewood, and we get to stay warm in a beautiful spot!