Shout-outs and Opportunities

 I had what I thought was a promising string of interviews. The job closely matched my previous experience as an individual contributor. Similar workflows, familiar tools and the location was right here in town. I spoke with the team lead, hiring manager and senior HR. The recruiter reported all positive feedback. Then.... nothing. No response. It's been a few weeks now, with no reply to my request for updates. It's disheartening to say the least. And a little confusing; why go through all these steps and then silence? But I have little choice but to move on.

Another interview; this time for an operations role in a local delivery hub. Everything is scheduled through an AI bot; another sign of the times. I show up early and wait in the parking lot. About ten minutes before my appointment time, I walk into the entrance and introduce myself to the employee at the window. There's a flutter of activity as they seek out a manager. After a few minutes a man comes up to the front. He tells my the interviewer has left for the day and there are no other managers available. Could I come back tomorrow? 

No, I let him know my availability. He takes down my information and says someone will call me. This was over a week ago; nothing. What is even happening here?!

Work is starting to pick up again. I've had the opportunity to labor share in Pick; a nice break form Stow. I received a Shout-out for the first time, for Quality. My manager called me into a meeting and gave me a small Peccy pin. Peccy is the yellow mascot for Amazon. For my pin they are dressed like a rock star with a mohawk and slinging a guitar. I'm a sucker for flair!

Of course, like an ironic curse I encountered more quality errors in Stow. I sometimes trip over the master packs and either break them down when they should remain whole or stow them as one unit when they should be separated. It sounds incredibly simple but with multiple barcodes and vague descriptions it can be guessing game. I need to remain vigilant and verify before I complete processing. Not that I'm full time, there's more opportunities for error. But on the bright side, I have more time to perfect my technique. Time to earn more pins!

Slow Day

 My fulfillment center has recently experienced a sharp decrease in volume. The Operations team explained that we were over capacity, and our replenishment department (operated at a corporate level) drastically reduced shipments into the building until inventory levels reset. 

The start of my shift was what I've come to expect in the Stow department: big carts were waiting in the assigned aisle, albeit non of them were stacked full. I stowed my items without issue. When I returned to pick up another cart, the aisle was empty. There was a group of associates gathered on one end; I walked over to join them. An Ops manager instructed us to stand to one side as we wait for work. 

After about a minute, I'm instructed to follow one of the associates to take on a new task; we will be applying new bands to assigned aisles. There's about ten of us. We turn in our scanners and wait in the Start Up area for further instructions. 

Soon we are relocated to our aisles. We're each shown how to apply the thick canvas bands across the bins. They stretch and hold the large items stacked in the upper rows. 

We get to work. I'm a little slow at first, but find my groove. It's tedious work. At break time, I see several colleagues have been re-assigned busywork. They're sweeping, dusting. There are groups scattered about chatting. I'm set to re-band for the rest of the day. I move closer to the back of the warehouse, band after band.

I take the Voluntary Time Off (VTO) available in my last two hours. This allows me to leave early without using any of my time off options. Tomorrow is another day!

More Good News

 I have completed my first day as a full-time Amazon employee. My wife has started her new job as well.

One major concern for us was health insurance. With both of us losing our jobs, we were at the mercy of COBRA or the healthcare marketplace for coverage; including my young adult daughter who relies on us for insurance. While the government marketplace is much more affordable than COBRA benefits, it's still a hefty price tag. The wife's new company has a sixty day waiting period before benefits kick in. While we are all thankfully healthy, we know how risky it can be to go uninsured. An unexpected medical emergency could wipe us out completely.

When my schedule officially switched to full-time on Sunday, I received a wonderful surprise. Amazon counted by tenure as a part-time associate to qualify me for their basic health plan. I was able to immediately sign the whole family up. It's vastly less expensive, and better coverage. We were so relieved.

I'm definitely feeling grateful for our good fortune, and remain optimistic about our future.