Ever witnessed phones hanging on trees? If not before, now is the time as Amazon contract delivery drivers based in Chicago are doing so. They are purposely hanging their phones on the trees near warehouses and delivery points in an attempt to get more delivery orders.
The strange trend was reported lately, and it all makes sense as Amazon’s system functions in a way that it picks the driver whoever is nearest to the pickup location and assigns the delivery job, respectively. The system is so precise and accurate that the drivers try to be the closest possible and are doing such things to boost their chances to get the offers first.
Another catch for this trend being prevalent amongst Amazon delivery drivers is that they have the Amazon Flex app installed on their smartphones and are synced with phones of other drivers. They show some spirits of helping each other while tricking Amazon, making it difficult to catch the offenders.
Bloomberg writes, “The phones in trees seem to serve as master devices that dispatch routes to multiple nearby drivers in on the plot, according to drivers who have observed the process.” It is believed that an unidentified entity is playing the role of a mediator between the amazon and the product delivery drivers by hampering the systems. The mediator party charges the drivers to get them more routes in return, which in itself is strictly against the amazon service policies.
The people who have witnessed phones hanging around the trees in Chicago near the pickup points are of the view that the retail giant knows this fraud and takes no action whatsoever. In contrast, an Amazon spokesperson marked the Bloomberg story as false and said that the scam is rare and ineffective.
The spokesperson stated, “This story isn’t an accurate description of how they work, and waiting in the parking lot or using the store Wi-Fi is not an effective way to increase one’s chances of seeing an instant offer.”
Amazon committed to resolving the issue but simultaneously said that the investigation results wouldn’t be public as per an internal email obtained by Bloomberg states. It demonstrates that Amazon has been notified time and again by numerous drivers of the practice, which hampers the fairground.
This strange trend has proved that the competition near the Amazon pick-up locations are getting more challenging as the time is passing, and as the retail giant is getting more and more business.
