For one unlucky customer, Michael Lentini, Amazon Flex delivery drivers seem to think his house is open for all to enter. Lentini lives in a large four-story house which is still under construction. The entrance to the house might be confused as an entrance to an apartment building; however, according to Lentini, there are enough signs outside saying otherwise. Also, once a person enters the house, it is obvious that it is a private abode.
This seems to be overlooked by Amazon Flex drivers, where on one occasion a driver walked into the house, wandered all over the first floor and then took an elevator ride to the Lentini's personal master suite bedroom on the fourth floor. When the elevator opened, Lentini expected to see his girlfriend or a familiar face. Instead, he saw an intruder. The first thing Lentini thought was how to protect himself, and then he tried to remember where he put his gun. After which, he recovered from the initial shock and just shouted at the delivery guy: "Get the hell out of my house!"
Lentini called up Amazon logistics to complain, and they assured him that it must have been a one-off incident and that it would not occur again. However, the very next day another Amazon Flex driver arrived on site and entered the property, standing in the doorway for over eight minutes until Lentini's girlfriend screamed when she saw the driver. Lentini looked out of his window and saw the driver entering the car to drive away.
Lentini explained to Amazon Logistics that he is their only customer in the area and that their driver's habit of entering his private property has no excuse. In the end, Lentini canceled working for Amazon and only orders through UPS or FedEx.
This is not the only time an Amazon Flex driver has entered private property unannounced and without authorization. In one incident related to Lentini, a policeman that was involved in the issue told him that an Amazon delivery was made to his (the policeman's) basement unannounced. In another incident in Bradenton, Florida, an Amazon Flex driver entered the home of a customer without permission, setting off the alarm and left the house with the door open. Which was a real major issue in lieu of the fact that all the doors in the house were locked!
http://www.kptv.com/story/37454719/watch-amazon-delivery-drivers-found-wandering-inside-florida-home
In another incident, an even more problematic one, a couple recorded an Amazon Flex driver delivering a package to their porch while stealing a UPS package that was already there.
Bottom line: Not only Lentini but anyone that has experienced such instances realizes that Amazon has not made explicit to drivers the issue of entering a premise without authorization. The issue of theft is unique, and has no reflection on other drivers, but also the screening issues must be looked at. While delivering packages is not the same as ridesharing, there must be some "criminal" background checks in place to assure that certain elements do not get their hands on another people's property.
Amazon Flex claims that it inducts every driver through a specific process and the issues that are being presented in this article are unique and one off.
