Walmart Employees To Deliver Products?

I think they should have a dedicated team of people to deliver and not just drop things off on the way home. That's what local general stores do, and not huge companies.

I feel Wal-Mart really need to start to treat their staff with some respect, and give them actual jobs rather than use them. While it maybe extra money, it's not a job and that's what America needs, companies that provide actual jobs.

 

Regardless of whether this is a good idea or not, i feel like it will be much harder to execute since it will require a lot of effort from the employees and there could be some mistakes that will happen.

 

I depend on how the workers might view this latest development. There have been complaints that this company treatment of its staff is less than desirable Was this arrangement an amicable agreement between management and staff or was it just forced on the workers? This arrangement could bring a bit more income to those reported underpaid workers. On the other hand, it could be a sore point because some workers may probably be inconvenienced because of the after work requirement.

 

@thisnthat To follow up, I think Wal-Mart trying to cut corners is wrong and it will lead to more issues. What if the staff member can't make it because they are stuck in traffic or have an emergency to go to? With delivery drivers they have a job to deliver the item and if someone isn't in then what? Does the employee have ti take it home and keep it or what? Look at the insurance issues there.

It just seems so badly thought out and being such a big company they can afford to do it properly.

 

I am not really sure that this is the sort of service that I want from Walmart. That said though, I am betting that they researched this and that there are a good amount that will use it.

 

@thisnthat I think this is very telling as we also know many items online are dropshipped too. I remember wanting to buy some stuff and it was so confusing as there were different lead times for delivery. It's sad that a company so large can't dedicate itself to a delivery service and cut corners with outsourcing. People need A job and not several here and there, and in the end the customer gets poor service too.

Side gigs are couriers that use their own vehicles and it's not always secure. This happens in the UK too and they showed undercover footage of how it works; basically a big van drops things off in a car park and then the side gig drivers pick up stuff and load it in their vehicles to deliver when they can.

 

I think that this might be a good service for Walmart customers, and also a good way for the employees to make some extra money. I would assume that the employee can decide whether they want to also deliver products on their way home or not, and whether it close enough and payed them enough to be worth the time that they travel.
Walmart already has grocery shopping where you can shop on line and then drive through a delivery area to pick it up without having to get out of the car.
I think that something like this would also be a viable option for picking up the drop-off orders instead of having to park, and then go to the service desk to pick up the item you ordered.
I have done the local pick-up a few times, and it does save shipping costs and is sometimes faster. However, if Walmart charges to have an employee drop off your order, then you might as well pay shipping costs and be done with it.

 

There is a classy supermarket here that makes deliveries. Rustan’s Super Store is patronized by the wealthy and they acceded to the requests of their customers. Now you can call the supermarket for what you want to buy and have it delivered to your doorstep. You can pay via credit card or to the delivery personnel when your purchases are delivered. I understand that Walmart is trying to be in stride with the trend otherwise they may be left behind. As of the latest, Amazon is already testing the drone delivery which is faster.

 

@thisnthat The testing of Amazon with their drone delivery is not a secret although they don’t publicize it. From the looks of it, the drone delivery is for novelty purposes only and I don’t think it will prosper in the common idea that drones will someday take over with deliveries. Don’t forget that drones are like airplanes so they will soon be restricted with the air traffic regulations and probably would need a flight schedule like a real airplane. And when that happens, the idea of saving time in drone delivery will be defeated.

 

I'm always for something that helps to make other people's lives better, and this sounds like an easy way for those Walmart employees to make a little extra money. I don't know if this idea will work on a large scale, but I can see why they thought it was a better plan than the drones when it comes to saving money and time. I just think that Walmart is too big a company to be able to pull this off and coordinate everything without hitches.

 

Because it's America I wonder about the insurance side of things, for instance if the employee is delivering and gets injured say knocked over is that in the line of work and will they be covered? What if the care gets broken into while they are delivering? There are all these things to consider and not just a bit of extra cash.

Here in the UK, if you use your car for business except for commuting then you may have to pay more insurance. Of course you could 'forget' and claim ignorance but if you needed to claim it would be denied. I hope employees are made aware of this or if they are covered then great. Why? Because if people know they are delivering packages then they are targets for thieves sadly in this day and age and a couple of dollars worth the risk if uninsured?

 

Like any other business that has its own delivery system, I'm sure the "employees" that are mentioned will be a special branch of Walmart and not merely an off duty cashier.
There certainly might be an option for associates to deliver products in order to garner some extra money but I am again sure that the employees that wish to be delivery people as a second job will be paid on a separate time card.

As far as insurance goes, when an associate is on company time and performing company based tasks, they are still covered under workman's compensation and any other liability or personal insurance the company may have.

Personally, I think it would be a good and a profitable move for Walmart to start its own delivery system albeit not much of a threat to Amazon. I do fear however, that smaller businesses that are already struggling to survive against the giant will have to face an even greater challenge when Wallyworld starts delivering.

 

I think that having food and other items delivered is probably the direction that we are headed, at least here in the United States. We have a lot of elderly people from the 1940-50's Baby Boomer generation, and many of these people no longer are able to drive.
Then there are the working people who do not have time to shop, or to cook regular meals anymore, and they either order delivery, or pick food up already prepared on the way home.
Once Amazon gets going with the drone delivery, I think it will mainly be sending out food delivery to homes or businesses, and not so much products that people order from Amazon. Since drones do not fly very high, they should not be any problem with regular air traffic. They will be above the cars; but below airplanes, providing they are not sent near an airport where planes would be taking off and landing, and there is no reason for drone delivery at an airport.

 

@preacherbob50 Yes, but would their vehicle be covered? I'm assuming some items will be big and bulky hence why people wish them to be delivered, and how can vehicles be insured when they maybe the employees own car?

It's unlike say a DHL van that would be covered or a USPO worker who uses the vehicle expressly for those purposes of carrying out their job. If the company covers them, then fine, but just how do they do that? Here in the UK the insurance has to be registered per vehicle, or a contractor has to pay for their own additional insurance.