Amazon.com Reviews

Pros

Great pay, benefits, advancement. Benefit from being able to be part of a team that encourages economic growth and employment.

Cons

Lack of interest in employee's emergencies. Will fire you if need be just like any other employer who is large.

Advice to Senior Management

Listen to your employees. Dont fire them because they have an emergency that they have no control over, especially when times are tough for all families.

Pros

Physical. I love physical work. Makes it less like work and more like working out. For the light headed or weak might not be so fun.

Cons

Management clearly sucks. I have mentioned several idea's to upper management about how they could improve productivity. But they never listen nor do they bother to do their basic responsibilities that will also improve productivity. They expect all of us to do all of the work while they sit back and chat with everyone in the office.

Advice to Senior Management

Do your job. Really it is your job to help out everyone. Yeah I can do your job like fix all faulty equipment, because it would be slower to get you. But it is slower for me to leave my station in order to do your job. And if someone can't keep up with their job allow me or someone else who can do all jobs amazingly do it.

Pros

1. Excellent People
2. Opportunity to learn new technologies

Cons

Totally screwed up work life balance

Advice to Senior Management

Try to respect employees and their personal lives.

Pros

Been at Amazon for 6+ years and every day have felt challenged and felt empowered to make important decisions. Though the work is challenging, I've never felt like a victim and have always felt that I can make things better. The brand is very strong and I get very positive reactions when I tell people I work for Amazon -- there a lot of happy customers out there!

Cons

Amazon is very fast-paced. Tons of change and though most of it is for the good, company could do a better job thinking through the impact of some of its decisions.

Pros

Unlimited Overtime
Friendly Co-workers
Safety Oriented
Drug Test

Cons

little recognition
favoritism
poor communication
Managers always too busy

Advice to Senior Management

Treat others the way you would like to be treated.

Pros

It is a great atmosphere, people are genuine. even the GM will get out on the floor & do the hardest jobs. LOTS of overtime at peak!

Cons

You will work really long hours during the peak season but you know this going into it. You are worn out by Christmas day.

Advice to Senior Management

There could be more personal recognition & rewards for those doing a great job, making rate, staying safe, and attending.

Pros

Amazon is well structured with plenty of room for advancement. The management, I speak for the building I work in alone, are competent and help/encourage people to do their best.

Cons

During a building start up there is little work.

Pros

Smart people. Fast paced. Amazing problems to solve. Huge business opportunities to pursue. Big jobs. Great experience. Made me better.

Cons

Philosophy of getting the most out of people and paying them as little as possible. Survival of the fittest with no focus on people development. Too few people. Not supportive culture. High turnover. I see many employees who are not growing and who are developing very bad people management habits due to the example provided my their management. No end to the work you are ased to complete. No celbration of success - instead on to the next problem tosolve. Nothing is built to last. Things are built with duct tape because insufficient time invested to make things bullet proof.

Advice to Senior Management

We are among the most successful businesses ever, yet we are not in any lists of Top Places to Work (whereas our key competitors are) because of the below average people leadership, no commitment to work/life balance and the lack of investment in the work environment.

Pros

Fast paced delivery to customers - customer centric truly is the core of the company
Opportunities to break new technical ground and solve big problems in short (often too short :)) timeframes
VERY smart co-workers (particularly the new ones who aren't yet completely burned out and spiteful)
Jeff is a visionary - he really does have a talent for making very smart (on the big scale) decisions, and is in the details a lot (which is also a con). If he only was even 1/10th as smart in managing people and culture this would be a great place

Cons

The list will be long and read like many others...
First and foremost, the core truth is that this company cares nothing for any employee without SVP or higher in their title... You are a replaceable part in the machine, and you will be told so. With the current market and their rising stock - it is true... there are lines of people waiting to work here and put this on their resume. You should be prepared to have a 2 year absence of a life outside work and be aware of that being the cost for putting this on your resume.
Second, what isn't fully clear until you see the review process is that you will actually be penalized for the stock doing well. They have a target for what you should be paid (and it's not at the top of the market :)) and if the stock appreciates more now, you will simply receive less in the future. If this stock ever has a significant falloff half the people working here will be gone the next day.
Third, micro-management is extreme - (from VP/SVP on down). You will be measured on taking ownership, but not ever truly allowed to have it. You will own any of the mistakes from your management chain on down - your management (director up) will own the success.
If you come to work here you will learn things - some about technical skills, solving big problems - some about how not to run a company populated by human beings, but make sure you have a long term plan to leave before you start - as the compensation and value will start to rapidly diminish after 2 years.

Advice to Senior Management

I will give some - but I think the way the company is is EXACTLY as the senior management want it to be. They are too smart to have this situation be by anything but design. They want to bring in new blood, drain it dry, and then throw out the husks every few years - that is their management plan.

But, my advice would be to be careful about the ongoing top/bottom grading process, as you are starting to reach a point where the negative perceptions are hurting the ability to hire... you are 'raising the bar' with people who actually lower it and the long term future of the ability to compete in the tech sector is diminishing with this.

Pros

when you do not have a job in Dec or in Nov. you can make money for 2 months only

Cons

they will keep only 5% out of 1500 worker each year. if you are luck and so powerfull they will keep you, you need luck because if you were powerfull you still need luck to make all the work enviroment perfect.

Advice to Senior Management

If you do not have a job at the end of the year or at chritsmas time try this job.