Hello, all!
It's me, Steven, covering for Aunt Gertie for the last official week of 2017! Christmas wore her out a bit, what with cooking and the grandkids, so I offered to help her out and throw in my own tuppence for the final blog post of the year.
It wasn't entirely selfless on my part, though, I must admit. I had something I've been itching to discuss with you lot - something that's going to impact courier jobs in a big way going forward. And what better time than the present, right?
The Amazon Key
You may have heard of it: I'm talking about the Amazon Key.
Aha – you have heard of it? Of course you have. Like I said, this thing could revolutionise courier jobs as we know them – or at the very least, make them quite a bit easier and smoother than they are. And that's from both a driver and consumer perspective.
So what is it, exactly? Well, as the name indicates, it's a key - a door key. Specifically, it's a digital app-based key that allows Amazon delivery drivers let themselves into customers' homes to deliver a parcel when the customer is not at home. This means no more red slips, no more collecting parcels from a depot, and no more missed deliveries or products sent back because you didn't make it home in time. Well, at least it does if you've shopped through Amazon.
I know what you're thinking. No way! Too unsafe, right? Letting some random stranger into my house? What if they steal my things? That is what Aunt Gertie immediately said, and I totally understand it. I halfway agree myself. But I think, in this case, the advantages outweigh the negatives.
The Amazon Key is set to make courier jobs so much more streamlined, at least for their drivers. And, of course, there are safeguards in place.
a) You can watch it all on your mobile phone, just like you can do now with your CCTV when someone comes to your door.
b) Amazon will have some sort of insurance or anti-theft policy in place even on top of your own system. This is no neighbourhood man with a van – they are a huge global corporation and they'll cover all their bases. And, by the way, this is coming from me - a neighbourhood man with a van!
So yes, consider me officially on the hype train for this – are you? Write in and let me know.
Until then, drive safe and take care!
- Steve