Amazon a snap at package pics
E-commerce giant says photos aren’t a fix for theft but for misplacement
SAN FRANCISCO – Have you suddenly started getting porch snapshots from your Amazon delivery person? You’re not alone.
Amazon has been quietly expanding a program over the past few months in which some of its delivery providers take a picture of where they put your package. The photo is included in the notice of delivery — either in an email or accessible in their Amazon account — received by the consumer so they know when it arrived and where to look for it.
The program has existed for at least six months but recently Amazon updated the delivery device and app used by delivery personnel in its Amazon Logistics delivery system — called Rabbit by drivers — so all Logistics drivers can take a photo, making the program more visible to a broader geographic swath of Amazon customers. It’s currently available in the Seattle, San Francisco and Northern Virginia metro areas and only comprises a small portion of deliveries.
Amazon Logistics Photo On Delivery is “one of many delivery innovations we’re working on to improve convenience for customers,” Amazon spokesperson Kristen Kish said.
The photo service is only active with packages delivered via Amazon’s Amazon Logistics delivery system, which include Amazon Delivery Service Providers and Amazon Flex drivers. You can tell them apart because Amazon DSP deliveries usually come in white vans while Flex drivers use their personal vehicles.
The photo notifications, meant to help users find packages left by their homes, can also be kind of creepy — especially if customers don’t realize delivery drivers have been taking these photos. That has been part of the Amazon Logistics protocol since May, but a customer could only find the photo by searching on their Amazon account and order history.
The feature rolls out as Amazon increasingly asks its customers to accept its constant presence in their homes, from a voice-activated speaker that records snippets of conversation to a hightech entry system that allows delivery personnel to enter their home.
For those who’d prefer not to have photos of their doors or shrubbery sent to them, customers can opt out of the service on the Amazon website under the help and customer service tab.
Then there’s this problem: Photos still don’t thwart thieves, an increasing problem as more shoppers take advantage of home delivery.
In San Francisco, Annette Hurst recently got a photo of an Amazon package behind the planter at her front gate. Unfortunately, the text from the driver said it had been left on back porch.
The box disappeared before she got home. On the positive side, getting a replacement was no problem and the photo seemed to help when she described the theft to Amazon customer service, she said.
Small share of deliveries
You may be a frequent Amazon customer and never get a photo. Amazon Logistics deliveries make up a fairly small share of overall Amazon deliveries, which mostly come through the U.S. Postal Service, UPS or FedEx. Generally, large urban centers tend to use Amazon Logistics deliveries whereas suburban and rural areas are more likely to use other options.
The service isn’t available for packages delivered by the U.S. Postal Service, UPS, FedEx or OnTrak because they use their own delivery routing and notification software.
Most of the drivers for Amazon Logistics are local companies that have contracts with Amazon for ongoing delivery service in a specific area. These Amazon DSP drivers are usually smaller companies with as few as 10 vans.
The other type are short-term gig worker drivers who use the Rabbit app and deliver through the Amazon Flex program. They typically work three- to four-hour shifts.
In both cases, the photos remain on the Rabbit device or app and are uploaded to the cloud. The driver never has access to them. Amazon said it does not use the photos for any purpose but to send them to the customers and sometimes by its customer service to troubleshot delivery problems.
What if you would like to get photos but aren’t? There’s currently no way an Amazon customer can consult to see which of the multiple services Amazon uses will deliver their package, as it depends on multiple variables, including how quickly the package is to be delivered, where the item is coming from, where the customer lives and whether it’s a Prime Now order.
Those who are getting them says it helps with the treasure hunt that athome delivery entails. Another Amazon customer in San Francisco, Joanne Pearlstein, recently got an Amazon notification showing “a photo of my package ... at my neighbor’s house.”
In Oakland, Jack Whalen likes the feature because it tells him which of several obvious places a package might have been left at his house, on the porch at the side, a gate by the sidewalk or another gate that leads to the front door.
“We have had packages left at them all,” he said.
Amazon says photos are only taken in cases of an unattended delivery, where the package is left for the customer at their home or apartment. Photos are not taken in cases where the delivery is given directly to the customer, a neighbor or a doorman.
Orders shipped to an address marked confidential, such as a Wish List or Registry address, don’t include delivery photos to protect the privacy of the recipient or a surprise gift.
Roiling the delivery waters
The service is somewhat similar to what has been available in transportation management systems for several years, said John Haber, CEO of Spend Management Experts, an Atlantabased supply chain management consulting firm.
As proof of delivery, firms will photograph pallets of freight before they are loaded, when they are loaded onto a vehicle and at the final destination. These photographs are typically used as not only proof of delivery but also for dealing with questions over damage claims.
Offering it to consumers could be a game-changer for the package delivery world because Amazon isn’t charging for it.
“For UPS and FedEx, getting a delivery confirmation signature costs about $5, it’s a huge revenue generator. If Amazon’s just offering it as standard proof of delivery, will the other parcel carriers have to match it?” Haber said.