Does Amazon Have a Delivery Driver Uniforms Problem? Ice T Thinks So

By Brendan Menapace

Amazon's fast delivery has become the cornerstone of its business, especially now that its ownership of Whole Foods has allowed Amazon Prime members to order groceries from their local stores without having to leave the house. You can get just about anything you want from Amazon, and it usually comes within two days.

The weird thing about Amazon, though, is that its super-powered delivery capabilities come with the problem of decentralized and seemingly inconsistent delivery services. And in the latest extension of that issue, some people are complaining that Amazon's drivers aren't properly marked, either via vehicle signage or uniforms.

One of those critics is legendary rapper and "Law and Order: SVU" star Ice T, who almost "shot a MF keeping up to [his crib] last night" to deliver a package:

Message To Amazon: Now that you have regular people making your home deliveries.. Maybe they should wear a Vest with AMAZON DELIVERY on it..... I almost shot a MF creeping up to my crib last night.... Just sayin.

— ICE T (@FINALLEVEL) May 21, 2019

Just sayin.

Ice T wasn't alone, either. Other Twitter users chimed in on the thread, sharing their own experiences with inadequately uniformed Amazon deliver drivers:

100% agree. Pulled up to an unmarked van in my drive and wasn’t sure whether to leave or park. Thankfully driver held up package & explained. driver was great but it’s a bit terrifying to come home alone w a stranger and unmarked van. Protect the driver AND customer safety.

— Tanya Hipson (@Tanya_BHP) May 22, 2019

I called @Amazon about this general concern too! Thanks for tweeting this.

— IrritatedWoman (@irritatedwoman) May 22, 2019

In the replies to Ice T's tweet, someone enlightened him on the different levels of Amazon delivery:

There are 3 types of Amazon delivery drivers:
1. DSP driver's- may or may not be uniformed, depending on the 3rd party company
2. Amazon employee driver's- uniformed
3. Amazon Flex drivers - use own vehicle and have to by own swag.

— Joel Manzer (@joelmanzer) May 22, 2019

Those first drivers, DSP drivers, are the ones who aren't in any sort of Amazon uniform or easily recognized gear. This also happens to be the very type of delivery Amazon is looking to expand, even going as far as offering current Amazon employees incentives up to $10,000 to start their own delivery services to meet demand.

If they do, they'll be able to get some of the official-looking vehicles and clothing customers like Ice T want to see.

Tech Crunch writes:

Employees—or any other entrepreneur—who want to become a delivery partner, are able to lease customized blue delivery vans with the Amazon smile logo on the side, and take advantage of other discounts, including fuel, insurance, branded uniforms and more.

The key words to pay attention here are "lease" and "discounts," insinuating that these branded vehicles and uniforms are not given to them for free, and also not mandatory. While this hasn't caused any major problems yet (aside from near run-ins with Ice T), it seems Amazon is taking the feedback seriously:

Thanks for reaching out with your feedback! I'd like to escalate this to our Logistics Team for review; please leave us your details here: https://t.co/U0DzwbqbzY, and we'll be in touch with you soon! ^PF

— Amazon Help (@AmazonHelp) May 21, 2019