As stowers our job is to get a U-Boat which is a cart of 12 totes full of merchandise. We push the U-Boat through the aisles crammed with stuff and find places to stow our items. At break time and lunch time, you leave your U-Boat to go to the break room. I finally figured out that not only are the rows numbered but they also have different sections which I try to remember so I can be reunited with my boat. After breaks it's not uncommon to see people wandering around peeking into the different boats hoping to find theirs.
If you lose your boat, you have to go to the Problem Solver and they drop your totes and you can start over. Not a big deal, other than going to the person (they are all very nice) and saying "I can't find my U-Boat", which is a little embarrassing.
During our first two weeks, Chris lost his water bottle twice (the second time appears to be permanent) and his U-Boat twice (the second time he lost both at the same time which seems to have lead to permanent loss of the water bottle).
Of course, I mocked him over this and considered putting up missing posters for the water bottle. Did I mention the water bottles were $8 each?
And yes, on the next break I lost my boat and water bottle and had to do the walk of shame to the Problem Solver.
In my defense, I think I made the mistake of parking my nearly empty boat near the area where the people who gather the empty totes work and blame them for moving it.
That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
So....our new plan is to buy a case of water and refill our bottles each shift, then start over again next time.
The other funny thing. The big deal at Amazon is your rate, which has to do with how many items you stow on your shift and were you are in relation to expectations. The goal is to be at 100. Each day the rate sheets are posted, there are about nine of them with small print and several columns and everyone crowds around to try to see how they did. Those of us with older eyes have to get closer to read.
A few days ago, my rate was 19. Yes, 19! I was shocked. I hadn't been breaking any records, but still 19? Yikes!
So I kicked it into gear and stowed my freckled heart out. The next day...29. An improvement, but still a failing grade as far as I was concerned. How much were these other people stowing if I was busting my ass and still not even halfway to my goal?
When no one else was around, I went back to look at the sheets more closely....turns out I was reading the hours worked column and not my rate. No wonder it went up by 10 each day.
Hahaha!
Enjoy your posts! So how close are you to the magic 100? - Robin
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by so faithfully!
DeleteI'm in about the 65% range and Chris is in the 75% range. Varies each day. But we have been getting some tips for how to improve so I'm optimistic. I'll keep you posted. LOL.
In part it depend on what you have to stow. A case of cd's or dvd's is easy and fast so that's good. A cuisinart toaster can slow you down. The bins are full of stuff and the bins are different sizes, so trying to find space for big things is time consuming.
More than you ever wanted to know about stowing. :)
Why is a toaster harder? Because it's big? Which job do you prefer--the campground or stowing? - Robin
DeleteImagine a giant grocery store...the size of a couple football fields, filled with shelves. Each shelf is divided into bins that are about 12-14 inches wide. Some are taller than others, but they are all about the same width. Each bin is crammed with as many products as you can put in without blocking (too much) the other items. But, when I go to stow my case of widgets, it's not like the bins are empty and waiting for me to just stack the stuff up...everyone else has been stowing their stuff too so you have to find space w/in the cramped bins. It's crazy, but I assume it works since Amazon is going strong.
DeleteFinding space for bigger things is sort of like playing Giant Jenga. :)