Every night before I go to bed, I ask the Alexa-enabled Lenovo bedside clock what the weather will be like. Last night, just after dutifully announcing the freakishly mild weather, Alexa informed me that I could tip my Amazon driver $5 by saying, “Alexa, thanks to my driver.”
Currently, there are approximately 275 Amazon drivers (opens in a new tab) delivering over a billion (opens in a new tab) boxes of holiday gifts and making the holiday dreams of consumers and, of course, of course come true. Amazon. But what do motorists who carefully place these precious boxes in front of our doors get out of it? Other than around €000 an hour, not much. Tipping one of my drivers seemed like the least I could do.
"Alexa," I said, "thank you, my driver." I waited a while to confirm that a hard-working driver would get some encouragement. Instead, Alexa informed me that she didn't understand the request.
I decided to contact Amazon because I had some questions. Also, when I posted the news on Twitter, people peppered me with their own questions about who gets paid and how.
Amazon representatives apologized for the initial Alexa misstep, insisted the feature worked as promised, and urged me to try again.
Who was paid?
Apparently, Amazon based the €5 tip on your last delivery. It might be a good idea, as soon as you see a package at your door, to ask Alexa to thank the driver. Otherwise, the thanks could go to the next delivery, and one that isn't even for you (maybe it's for another member of the house).
How long is the show?
I have good news and bad news. The good news is that you can continue to thank your Amazon drivers as long as they deliver packages. The bad news is that the €5 tip promotion period, which was a US-only event, has ended.
"Alexa, Thank My Driver has exceeded our expectations. We're happy to see customers interested in thanking their drivers and encourage them to continue doing so. Drivers will continue to be notified of the gratitude received," Amazon told me. by email.
There are still a few rules regarding the Alexa gratitude system:
Amazon drivers can receive your thanks once per order. If they place multiple orders in one visit, you can thank them for each order. We envision a long thank you list on an Amazon driver's mobile device.
The program, which began on December 7, was to provide up to €1 million in €5 tips to Amazon Flex delivery partners, delivery partners employed by Amazon delivery service partners, and Hub DP drivers. who deliver Amazon packages in the United States.
Finally, while you can open your front door and say thank you directly to your Amazon driver, there's no other way to send thanks through Amazon without the Alexa system. Fortunately, you can use it on Echo devices, Alexa on the Amazon app, and through the Amazon Alexa app on your smartphone.
On the other hand, it's encouraging to see that so many people jumped at the chance to financially thank their hard-working Amazon drivers, but on the other hand, perhaps Amazon could have spent a little more than €5 million to delay the transition from free. to the pure thanks
As I finished writing this, another vacation package arrived at my door. I didn't see the driver, so I walked over to my Echo device and said, "Alexa, thanks to my driver." She immediately responded, "I'm glad you enjoyed her latest installment. We'll share her appreciation with the host."
I guess it's better than nothing.