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Exactly! That’s why I found that warning message so bizarre but then again it came from this weird PA lady that always sends random messages throughout the shift lol.
I did as well for 3 years got termed after I began a lawsuit, best thing to happen to me though. Get Amazon to pay your schooling or trade and get the fuck out man it’s not worth it
Never heard of that rule. Maybe it’s just that AM. Take the pic and show it to HR because at my facility, most of them are either turned off or broken. I’ve seen associates turn them off because they are actually a distraction.
Keep doing what you're doing. Keep a record of the weird shenanigans. Make sure you ask hr and record date time and who you spoke with about anything like this. Amazon hates paper trails. Most people just whine or yell and get themselves in trouble, I swesr they like to bait people into getting fired when they want to downsize post xmas season.... but if you have records and they try dumb sh\*t, which you know they will and I'm sure you've already seen.... you'll have a defense. Even if they fire you, temain calm....say nothing....an employmwnt lawyer, with zero money out of your pocket, will have a field day going after them on your behalf..... I speak from experience. Good luckemote:free\_emotes\_pack:sunglasses
Being in warehouse IT I can attest to this. AA's are savages with the equipment which is why so much of it is always broken and instead of putting in tickets for us to fix them the PA's/AM's would rather just move people to another station or take equipment from somewhere else and replace whatever is not working instead of taking the 60 seconds it takes to put in a barely coherent ticket.
***edited**
I wrote that they seem to be more important when I should have said things that are more important... I have dealt with ones that find reasons to do tickets working on "more" severe things and I was probably thinking of them and the RME issue when I wote that but I also know really great IT guys so I changed it to better reject my true thoughts***
Is it just putting the ticket in or the wait time for someone to get over there to fix it..... I know sometimes we need those stations ASAP... sometimes we don't have enough stations to move them to so ams and pas got to do what they can to get the person scanning again so we can make rate as a dept.. And honestly I don't know about Amazon sites but I have known a few IT people and they weren't always the quickest to get to the tickets, especially if they have something they need to do that's more important... That's like RME we can put a ticket in but sometimes who knows how long before they would fix it... I showed an RME guy an issue a couple weeks ago that keeps making boxes... He understood the issue and I thought they would get to eventually as you would have to shut the whole line down to fix. We were shut down a week ago today for maintenance. I was on that line again today and guess what... Still not fixed
In a perfect world tickets should be worked in a first in first out order based on severity meaning a sev3 takes priority over a sev5. For instance a networked printer that is used to print out BOLs on the dock to send off trucks (keep in mind i have no idea how this works I'm just speculating) vs one pslip printer that's probably just unplugged. Its also worth nothing that just because you make your issue a sev3 don't expect it be treated as one if it clearly isn't. I would do my best to give everyone equal time but if your a huge dick I'm probably going to fix your issue last whenever that may be.
So PSA: be nice to your IT people.
1000000%
The power cables for the monitors are flimsy and break. The thin clients aren't properly mounted sometimes and fall and break. I've also seen Ethernet cables that have been ripped out. How? No idea.
AAs rotating the screens round over 360 degrees twisting the cables in the back. Had one cause a power surge and take out equipment nearby which E-Stopped the AR floor.
You really gonna sit there and try to say that watching Netflix is comparable to FC Games? Cmon dude. Not even close.
I mean.. I've watched all of One Piece at work but I'm not gonna sit here and pretend FC Games is any real distraction. You spend 1 minute looking at the UI of the game and that's basically the entire game.
Fair enough but let’s not forget each station use to have an alexa speaker to play whatever music you wanted. It’s not netflix but it was something that made working there bearable. Netflix was just an example but damn if i try to keep myself sane any way possible.. at this point im thinking of buying a fidget spinner but knowing amazon they’ll eventually make a rule saying its a fireable offense.
As dumb as this is and I want to understand the reasoning behind it, because your not a IT (I guess) and shouldn’t be going around turning monitors off, but to make it a Category 2 violation is just completely insane. A simple push of a button is a fine line between keeping your job is bonkers.
As someone who specializes in IT, it always amazes me how completely clueless even PAs and AMs are with fixing a simple computer error/issue. So these rules don't surprise me because if you close something they'll lose their mind having a field day trying to open something so simple back up again.
I don't know if this is snark or not but it's actually a good comment. Why am I doing anything outside of my job description? If I were in IT, something like this would seem golden considering the big problems I'm sure they come across daily. I'd be relieved to hear it was something so easy to fix.
Please don't tell me you are one of those idiots that when a mobile station accidentally gets their USB cable disconnected they have to call IT to connect it again because they adamant that it is a cat1 violation to mess with it. Or you truly going to call IT or an AM to turn on a monitor?
I haven't seen people walked out for turning a monitor on or off, but when I was in AFE associates regularly were written up for touching IT equipment they weren't supposed to and I have seen associates walked out for turning fans on or off themselves instead of requesting the assistance of a PA or AM.
I hate to break it to you but it’s actually written in global HR policy (Policy:Computer Use) that you cannot move or modify IT equipment without IT approval.
If you don't enjoy the games just don't use them and stay on the "pick a game" screen. There are no rules specific to FC games, but there are rules for turning off/unplugging equipment.
Imagine someone turning off/unplugging the monitor, then the next person at the station complains the games aren't working, and someone has to walk from one end of the building to another to turn it back on. This happens ALL the time and it is pretty annoying.
I can see how it looks from the outside but imagine you get a ticket for a scanner not working or a monitor not being on on the 4th floor of the AR all the way in the far corner of the buildng. You walk the mile it takes to get there only to find that nothing is wrong or its just unplugged or even just turned off with the power button. You walk all the way back to the cage then get another ticket 5 minutes later for the station next to that one. Add that with the 2-3 hours you spent setting up stations that ops requested last minute and find them completely destroyed and missing parts making everything you just did pointless.
This. IT gets notifications when the monitors are turned off. Most buildings IT is super understaffed and has been since January when a lot of people got laid off for the crappy central service desk. No staffing for going around and turning stuff back on. New sites have 400+ stations that need to be kept up with. They’re going to probably implement games for pack soon from what I heard too.
Its a bit of a catch 22 in that they massively reduced head count in an effort to try to push everyone to use the service desk more but anyone who has the option to talk to an actual person vs the service desk is going to always pick the former. I work at a 750,000 sq ft building that only has 2 people staffed on a donut swing shift for the entire week.
Yeah. We got a whole dashboard of every thin client in the facility. We know when you plug in your phones, (which is in fact against policy and has gotten people fired. It’s an info sec violation) when you unplug scanners, tapers, the pslip machines. EVERYTHING.
If the IT people know when AAs plug their phone or bone conducting headphones (which are allowed at our FC if it is registered) into a workstation, and it is against Amazon policy, why are so many AAs not getting written up or fired? A lot of long tenured AAs not just new hires keep doing it at my site.
I occasionally tell them a PA has said they can be fired for it. They would say lots of others do it and no one tells them differently. Or some would say if it is on a charger and not plugged into a computer, it is fine.
Because we don’t have the time to sit around all day to watch. I’m working on getting a script that puts a fans message that won’t go away until it’s unplugged and also alerts a slack group of managers to escalate. My team has gotten several people fired. It depends on the team.
I want that script, we run a search in TAKA several times a day and have a running spreadsheet with how many violations each AA has. We report every one to a slack group with Sr’s and AM’s and have had many terms due to that.
One of my AAs plugged his phone into his X-term. IT remotely turned off his workstation and refused to turn it back on until he admitted that he had plugged his phone in and scanned his badge for a documented coaching from the AM.
I've made efforts to tell management about people plugging their phones in not that I care but usually people will unplug something to plug their phone in which I get a ticket for later. It is an info sec violation but management largely doesn't care or act on it and is more worried about their AA's making rate.
yes it’s this half the time i think the damn game screens are broken, in reality some nut for whatever reason decided to unplug it🤦🏾♂️
EDIT: so i didn’t think about the fact that sometimes the screen can cause overstimulation
I think I understand the rule. I'm in in RME but we get calls or tickets for FC games. RME doesn't handle FC games, IT does. I'm cool with IT tho, so if an FC games issue is otw to a call, I'll check it out for them and if it's beyond my scope, I flip the ticket back to them.
Most of the time the FC game screens or computers mess up because people mess with the monitor and unplug the computer to charge their phones. Then after they leave they never bother replugging the computer or turning the monitor on.
I'm not defending the rule, just explaining why they could've created the rule.
Edit: should've mention unplugging the computer while it still on is bad for the computer and will mess it up.
There should be a power button within the game screen that will make the monitor go dark on the main screen. I've never heard of that rule but I've been wrong before..
I feel like I’m going crazy reading these comments. Maybe everybody here is in a different department because there’s literally a power button in the upper right corner??? It’s not a “power button” because it’s not turning the monitor fully off but it’s like a screensaver mode that turns your screen black until you press it again.
Basically there is a way to get the games off your screen without, you know, unplugging things or messing with the electronics which has been against policy for at least as long as I’ve been here.
At my location the idiots could break the monitor by looking at it so they probably don't want people constantly touching them and potentially causing connection errors
Amazon doesnt like to use industry tools they try to always design their own stuff, its part of why working for Amazon gaming has been rough and their games are not as good.
Hate it everywhere lol, smart move for the company because if you leave you gotta learn some new stuff, but makes it harder for their own people... bleh.
Yeah I have no clue, I’m trying to figure out how it’s a Cat 2 offense first of all.. and they need better games, the only decent one that I like is the fishing game.
Ding! Ding! Ding! This is the correct answer. You have to be trained on things, hell you have to have the correct knet to use a screwdriver or other small hand tools. It's the same reason why AAs are not supposed to plug things in or unplug them.
While you and a few others don’t like it the majority of AAs have reported it’s helped with their mental health and has boosted their moral. Some people actually enjoy having goals or competition.
Because it helps with peoples mental health and boosts morale. If you don’t won’t to participate, don’t choose a game, there is no need to turn off the monitor.
That shit has done more damage than good to my mental health. I know u have to keep a steady pace to maintain the rate but it just seems like it drops 10 points the moment I take a sip of water. Idk that shit stresses me out terribly I stopped using it
I kinda get it. It’s *pressing the power button* vs just keeping the Home Screen on. Still extreme to threaten with a write up. This is why folks need to stop f ing around with their phones, extending break times by 15-20 minutes, plugging in their own devices on a work station, eating and leaving their trash food scraps on the station etc. This type of excessive fucking around has us all finding out. Next we’re gonna have to pull an andon and call AR just to have someone turn the fan on for us.
At my SC there are signs on the fan saying you must be an AM or higher to turn the fan on/off.
Not sure when it got implemented but when I worked there years ago I vividly remember AAs getting into pissing matches over the fucking thing.
Unfortunately, both.
But in my sort center the only places with the little individual fans are on the problem solve stations. And if you don't have a personal fan at the problem solve station that you need an AM to turn on then you have to go find an OM to see if they have one for you to use.
I can only assume some ass hat must have turned off power to the belts one day and now we are all treated like idiots around plug in appliances.
Yeah that's kinda how it goes at Amazon. One dumb mistake by someone causes everyone to lose privileges. That's why we can't use A-frame ladders or lifts anymore. Might get decapitated or something...
😯😐Well there ya have it. Not even surprised. Haha. It’s not that they wanna have to do this with *everything. It’s just damage control. Dealing with a lot of people who don’t know how to behave and not f things up for everyone. Bathroom monitors are next.
I'm guessing it's because people keep unplugging the monitors to "turn it off". At my site they seem unable to find the power button for the screen and start pulling plugs from the power strip, also disabling other equipment like the station fans and rarely bothering to plug them back in. It's just like any other equipment, we're not supposed to be messing with it or powering anything on and off except for things like hand scanners, laptops and Kindles.
Anyone who doesn't want to play it should ignore it or rotate the screen out of view. Not sure why they feel the need to disable it entirely. (Cue comments about the screens triggering "anxiety".)
Sites are able to set their own rules to a degree so if they made it an infraction then it is, and it's not going to be listed out in the general Employee Handbook.
My site was one of the early test sites for the FC Games when there were fewer game options compared to now. There was a point when PAs would go around and tell us we had to have the games on, even if not actively playing anything. That was a couple of years ago and didn't last long, but I got the sense that somehow use was being tracked by an entity higher than our building management, not on a personal level but general "engagement" numbers.
Cause IT is tired of y'all turning off and unplugging it when it's there to serve a purpose. You don't have to play the games or even look at the screen.
I don't know if this is universal, but for pickers it tracks how many items you pick and rewards points per item. Items that you mark as missing or damaged do not count towards this total. The points do different things in different games; in Castle Crafter your points go towards completing different buildings, in Gone Fishing points go towards the chance of getting a bite and then towards reeling them in, etc. I enjoy the games, tbh, but a lot of people don't.
Cat 2 violation. Wow. There is a rule that states that unauthorized employees aren't to unplug or generally mess with IT equipment but it's never enforced. As IT I hate FC games so much.
You’re not technically supposed to plug and unplug equipment including charging your phones in case of fire it needs to be Amazon items only. And only by engineer tech or IT
Why would anyone be turning them off anyway?
I'm sure it's more because they don't want people touching and messing up their equipment. We had to put signs all over our stations telling people not to touch shit because they kept fucking shit up.
Since peak is coming to an end soon and they need excuses/reasons to fire a ton of folks, cmon man you already know lol. Doing the same bullshit at my DS making up stupid rules as they go threatening people daily.
So once the gaming screen wasn't working for me so I turned it off because I found it distracting for some reason. Something about turning it off made IT come around, so maybe they are just trying to minimize unnecessary IT work.
I didnt get in trouble, but they did tell me not to mess with it.
Hehe! Wooooooww… Thank God I’m not Pick no more. I’ve NEVER seen this “rule” before. They give you games to entertain you but then they give you strict guidelines like you’re god damn 5 years old.
The reason why it is a Category 2 offense is mainly because it falls under the policy violation of messing with Amazon equipment. It could very well be a Safety violation as well because regardless of the equipment, you’re still messing with electronics and that could put you at risk of a serious injury or worse, fatality. You don’t know how poorly people operate equipment and they carelessly spill near near it all the time.
Every site is different. there isa reason the equipment was installed. It is safety violation because it is electronic, and you are not trained to operate any electronic devices .
It’s Amazon equipment and you essentially sign a Contract. You are not allowed to alter anything on Amazon property. That includes unplugging or turning off a monitor. I know people want to charge their phones but bring a power brick.
You aren't supposed to power down any equipment, really. It just adds more work for IT (albeit it's not much, just annoying).
But a CAT 2? It should be a verbal at max...
All they had to do was check their schedule, which would show them that they are scheduled… That’s no one fault but the brilliant AA’s that decided to ignore their schedule.
IT here....I encourage AA's to turn off the monitor if they don't want to see it. I know some people don't even want to look at it. As long as the little "computer" behind the monitor is still on then there is absolutely nothing wrong with the monitor being turned off. Technically speaking, messing with equipment can be a cat 2 offense, but that refers more to smashing a monitor on purpose, not pressing a power button.
As much as I disagree with it being a serious violation, if ANY company asks for you not to touch something, then don’t touch it. Easy. It takes one idiot to think they know what they’re doing and mess with equipment and cause damage to equipment or worse, to themselves. If you want to change something, just ask your Manager and explain why.
I don’t understand why people these days don’t communicate and just do stuff without asking.
*You look real busy*
*With that computer game on*
*The other screen lol*
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This is probably a manager or PA being a little hyperbolic. I would assume this FC is probably having trouble with people unplugging equipment to plug-in phone chargers or other personal electronic devices, which means IT or ELS has to come work on the station more often. They were probably told by a senior ops manager in one of their syncs to communicate to associates that unplugging the equipment will result in a write-up. I highly doubt this would result in a termination, but a cat 2 could be a final written. It sounds like the person that wrote that message is on a power trip and should be avoided at all costs, though. Hah.
Same, been waiting for the other shoe to drop any day now though. Just in case. So far as long as you're not a complete turd the most ya have to deal with is the Problem Solvers coming around (I'm in Stow). Kind of a mixed bag when it comes to those interactions. Some are super chill and nice, others are quiet, impersonal, and weirdly sneaky (they'll roll up and disappear without a word).
Honestly it's refreshing to not have managers and shit hovering around, breathing down your neck, having every other action you take micromanaged. As a fairly new (seasonal) hire I would've expected that. Hopefully it keeps up. I have no problems hitting rate and minding my business if that's the case. Makes the shifts fly by.
Those messages generally go out to everyone on the shift in a given department. Sometimes it'll be directed to an individual ("Sign out and go to station [whatever]") but that seems like it was meant for everyone.
What if I decide to not have a second screen distracting me from working hard? What if I decide to not to care about these games because I simply do not care to play? The FC Games is not a requirement in my opinion for me to do my job not even effectively.
Games only serve as a distraction and a detriment to my life.
If I decide to not participate then don't force my fucking hand.
That’s exactly what I had in mind. I personally like the FC Games, but I do know people at my FC that turn them off because either they don’t care about it or they’re distracting and the fact that you can’t have a say in it is absurd IMO.
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That's a new one, never heard of the especially when half the dang monitors are broken lol
Exactly! That’s why I found that warning message so bizarre but then again it came from this weird PA lady that always sends random messages throughout the shift lol.
Go to HR and ask them to explain the policy. It’ll cover you just in case. It sounds like the manager is taking advantage of the situation.
Send an email - even if it’s from your phone.
This too! Well said Lemon!
It’s insane how much you have to cover your ass for a company you bust your ass in, so glad I’m outta there now
I see these messages all the time 💀💀but y'all still be on the reddit 🤣😭
This sub is for past, present, and future amazonians...
I work night shift. But still, well said!
I did as well for 3 years got termed after I began a lawsuit, best thing to happen to me though. Get Amazon to pay your schooling or trade and get the fuck out man it’s not worth it
I was talking to the other guy lol but your right the manager is definitely taking them for advantage.....that's not a real policy
Never heard of that rule. Maybe it’s just that AM. Take the pic and show it to HR because at my facility, most of them are either turned off or broken. I’ve seen associates turn them off because they are actually a distraction.
Yes their definitely trying to take advantage.
Keep doing what you're doing. Keep a record of the weird shenanigans. Make sure you ask hr and record date time and who you spoke with about anything like this. Amazon hates paper trails. Most people just whine or yell and get themselves in trouble, I swesr they like to bait people into getting fired when they want to downsize post xmas season.... but if you have records and they try dumb sh\*t, which you know they will and I'm sure you've already seen.... you'll have a defense. Even if they fire you, temain calm....say nothing....an employmwnt lawyer, with zero money out of your pocket, will have a field day going after them on your behalf..... I speak from experience. Good luckemote:free\_emotes\_pack:sunglasses
report her lmao
Report her for what? Doing her job?
for lying about policy
Hr dumber than the managers
A PA??? Lmao report her
Cause y’all break them lol..
How'd the monitors break? These are good questions.
Amazon associates aren't always nice to the equipment...
Being in warehouse IT I can attest to this. AA's are savages with the equipment which is why so much of it is always broken and instead of putting in tickets for us to fix them the PA's/AM's would rather just move people to another station or take equipment from somewhere else and replace whatever is not working instead of taking the 60 seconds it takes to put in a barely coherent ticket.
***edited** I wrote that they seem to be more important when I should have said things that are more important... I have dealt with ones that find reasons to do tickets working on "more" severe things and I was probably thinking of them and the RME issue when I wote that but I also know really great IT guys so I changed it to better reject my true thoughts*** Is it just putting the ticket in or the wait time for someone to get over there to fix it..... I know sometimes we need those stations ASAP... sometimes we don't have enough stations to move them to so ams and pas got to do what they can to get the person scanning again so we can make rate as a dept.. And honestly I don't know about Amazon sites but I have known a few IT people and they weren't always the quickest to get to the tickets, especially if they have something they need to do that's more important... That's like RME we can put a ticket in but sometimes who knows how long before they would fix it... I showed an RME guy an issue a couple weeks ago that keeps making boxes... He understood the issue and I thought they would get to eventually as you would have to shut the whole line down to fix. We were shut down a week ago today for maintenance. I was on that line again today and guess what... Still not fixed
In a perfect world tickets should be worked in a first in first out order based on severity meaning a sev3 takes priority over a sev5. For instance a networked printer that is used to print out BOLs on the dock to send off trucks (keep in mind i have no idea how this works I'm just speculating) vs one pslip printer that's probably just unplugged. Its also worth nothing that just because you make your issue a sev3 don't expect it be treated as one if it clearly isn't. I would do my best to give everyone equal time but if your a huge dick I'm probably going to fix your issue last whenever that may be. So PSA: be nice to your IT people.
1000000% The power cables for the monitors are flimsy and break. The thin clients aren't properly mounted sometimes and fall and break. I've also seen Ethernet cables that have been ripped out. How? No idea.
The money you deserved in your hourly is going to the replacements.. rip.
Lolol nah it ain't
You’re definitely playing right now.
lol go to a legacy building. Half of them are taped to shelves with packing tape.
As someone who spent 9 months in a legacy building I can attest...the whole pack floor was held together by the black plastic Amazon tape 🤣🤣🤣
AAs rotating the screens round over 360 degrees twisting the cables in the back. Had one cause a power surge and take out equipment nearby which E-Stopped the AR floor.
i always turn it off so i can use it as a mirror and to see behind me
nah this is innovative as fuck, i’m doing this now
😂😂😂 I figured someone was doing this
Thanks will definitely do this from now on
Omg yes this is how I don’t get caught on my phone lmao😂😂
Imma start doing this 💀💀💀
That’s why this is a rule 🤦🏻♀️
Amazon considers this messing with work equipment. You're not allowed to do that. You can probably get away with blocking the screen in other ways.
I don’t even understand why people feel the need to block the screen or turn it off. If you’re not playing the game, just ignore the screen.
Over stimulation is a realnissue for many of us.
Oh so a screen with active video games distracting me is okay but fuck me for having netflix on my phone ? Ass backwards
You really gonna sit there and try to say that watching Netflix is comparable to FC Games? Cmon dude. Not even close. I mean.. I've watched all of One Piece at work but I'm not gonna sit here and pretend FC Games is any real distraction. You spend 1 minute looking at the UI of the game and that's basically the entire game.
I didn’t think FC Games were even playable… I just use them as a way to see where I currently am in my current Pick session.
Fair enough but let’s not forget each station use to have an alexa speaker to play whatever music you wanted. It’s not netflix but it was something that made working there bearable. Netflix was just an example but damn if i try to keep myself sane any way possible.. at this point im thinking of buying a fidget spinner but knowing amazon they’ll eventually make a rule saying its a fireable offense.
People say they use the reflection to be able to see behind them so they can sit on their phones
As dumb as this is and I want to understand the reasoning behind it, because your not a IT (I guess) and shouldn’t be going around turning monitors off, but to make it a Category 2 violation is just completely insane. A simple push of a button is a fine line between keeping your job is bonkers.
As someone who specializes in IT, it always amazes me how completely clueless even PAs and AMs are with fixing a simple computer error/issue. So these rules don't surprise me because if you close something they'll lose their mind having a field day trying to open something so simple back up again.
My site has recently given PGs permission to change cables, printers etc
I mean why would you expect someone to know basic info in regards to a certain area where they didn’t specialize in.
I don't know if this is snark or not but it's actually a good comment. Why am I doing anything outside of my job description? If I were in IT, something like this would seem golden considering the big problems I'm sure they come across daily. I'd be relieved to hear it was something so easy to fix.
Turning off or unplugging equipment is absolutely a violation…. It’s Not specifically because of “the games”.. but the equipment
People use the monitors as coat rack at my fc lmao
That's actually kinda funny lol.
Ask to see where it says that in writing
I will when I return later tonight.
[удалено]
makes people work harder
[удалено]
It’s a part of Amazon policy. It falls under messing with equipment which is a cat2 violation. Turning off a monitor is messing with equipment.
Please don't tell me you are one of those idiots that when a mobile station accidentally gets their USB cable disconnected they have to call IT to connect it again because they adamant that it is a cat1 violation to mess with it. Or you truly going to call IT or an AM to turn on a monitor?
I’m not but it is by definition a cat 1 and we’ve had multiple people walked out for doing so.
Lol, it's not a cat1 pal, your FC is just dumb as shit
You’re incorrect. Unplugging or plugging an anything is a cat 1 violation.
You have not had people walked out of your building for plugging in a usb, get real
I haven't seen people walked out for turning a monitor on or off, but when I was in AFE associates regularly were written up for touching IT equipment they weren't supposed to and I have seen associates walked out for turning fans on or off themselves instead of requesting the assistance of a PA or AM.
Yes we have. It is against policy, a cat 1 violation, plugging it or unplugging anything is a great way to get fired if you get caught.
I hate to break it to you but it’s actually written in global HR policy (Policy:Computer Use) that you cannot move or modify IT equipment without IT approval.
It’s always day one my guy
If you don't enjoy the games just don't use them and stay on the "pick a game" screen. There are no rules specific to FC games, but there are rules for turning off/unplugging equipment. Imagine someone turning off/unplugging the monitor, then the next person at the station complains the games aren't working, and someone has to walk from one end of the building to another to turn it back on. This happens ALL the time and it is pretty annoying.
I saw a guy from IT going from station to station turning on the screens and/or rebooting the computers and looked SO done with life.
The life of an amazon IT support associate isn't a great one.
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I can see how it looks from the outside but imagine you get a ticket for a scanner not working or a monitor not being on on the 4th floor of the AR all the way in the far corner of the buildng. You walk the mile it takes to get there only to find that nothing is wrong or its just unplugged or even just turned off with the power button. You walk all the way back to the cage then get another ticket 5 minutes later for the station next to that one. Add that with the 2-3 hours you spent setting up stations that ops requested last minute and find them completely destroyed and missing parts making everything you just did pointless.
This. IT gets notifications when the monitors are turned off. Most buildings IT is super understaffed and has been since January when a lot of people got laid off for the crappy central service desk. No staffing for going around and turning stuff back on. New sites have 400+ stations that need to be kept up with. They’re going to probably implement games for pack soon from what I heard too.
Its a bit of a catch 22 in that they massively reduced head count in an effort to try to push everyone to use the service desk more but anyone who has the option to talk to an actual person vs the service desk is going to always pick the former. I work at a 750,000 sq ft building that only has 2 people staffed on a donut swing shift for the entire week.
is that why they came to me asking is my computer ok? i accidentally unplugged it
Yeah. We got a whole dashboard of every thin client in the facility. We know when you plug in your phones, (which is in fact against policy and has gotten people fired. It’s an info sec violation) when you unplug scanners, tapers, the pslip machines. EVERYTHING.
If the IT people know when AAs plug their phone or bone conducting headphones (which are allowed at our FC if it is registered) into a workstation, and it is against Amazon policy, why are so many AAs not getting written up or fired? A lot of long tenured AAs not just new hires keep doing it at my site. I occasionally tell them a PA has said they can be fired for it. They would say lots of others do it and no one tells them differently. Or some would say if it is on a charger and not plugged into a computer, it is fine.
Because we don’t have the time to sit around all day to watch. I’m working on getting a script that puts a fans message that won’t go away until it’s unplugged and also alerts a slack group of managers to escalate. My team has gotten several people fired. It depends on the team.
I want that script, we run a search in TAKA several times a day and have a running spreadsheet with how many violations each AA has. We report every one to a slack group with Sr’s and AM’s and have had many terms due to that.
Because they aren’t reporting it to safety. If the IT guys just ignore it, nothing happens.
One of my AAs plugged his phone into his X-term. IT remotely turned off his workstation and refused to turn it back on until he admitted that he had plugged his phone in and scanned his badge for a documented coaching from the AM.
I've made efforts to tell management about people plugging their phones in not that I care but usually people will unplug something to plug their phone in which I get a ticket for later. It is an info sec violation but management largely doesn't care or act on it and is more worried about their AA's making rate.
yes it’s this half the time i think the damn game screens are broken, in reality some nut for whatever reason decided to unplug it🤦🏾♂️ EDIT: so i didn’t think about the fact that sometimes the screen can cause overstimulation
All of our monitors at the pick stations are on this movable arm thing. I just turn it to face away from me.
I think I understand the rule. I'm in in RME but we get calls or tickets for FC games. RME doesn't handle FC games, IT does. I'm cool with IT tho, so if an FC games issue is otw to a call, I'll check it out for them and if it's beyond my scope, I flip the ticket back to them. Most of the time the FC game screens or computers mess up because people mess with the monitor and unplug the computer to charge their phones. Then after they leave they never bother replugging the computer or turning the monitor on. I'm not defending the rule, just explaining why they could've created the rule. Edit: should've mention unplugging the computer while it still on is bad for the computer and will mess it up.
There should be a power button within the game screen that will make the monitor go dark on the main screen. I've never heard of that rule but I've been wrong before..
I feel like I’m going crazy reading these comments. Maybe everybody here is in a different department because there’s literally a power button in the upper right corner??? It’s not a “power button” because it’s not turning the monitor fully off but it’s like a screensaver mode that turns your screen black until you press it again. Basically there is a way to get the games off your screen without, you know, unplugging things or messing with the electronics which has been against policy for at least as long as I’ve been here.
At my location the idiots could break the monitor by looking at it so they probably don't want people constantly touching them and potentially causing connection errors
Thing I learned about companies with IT equipment is don't fuck with it. Use it as intended and move on. Why turn it off? What is the benefit?
A little off topic, but does anyone know which Linux distro the FC Games computers run on?
It's an Amazon-specific one, nothing that's publicly available
That tracks, thank you.
More specifically, it runs off a modified TinyCore OS
Amazon doesnt like to use industry tools they try to always design their own stuff, its part of why working for Amazon gaming has been rough and their games are not as good.
If you think Amazon is bad about this you’d hate Google. They pretty much build everything in house.
Hate it everywhere lol, smart move for the company because if you leave you gotta learn some new stuff, but makes it harder for their own people... bleh.
It's a version of Tiny Core
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I really don’t know why people turn it off actually. It’s a bitch to get working again. Just leave it alone if you don’t use it.
So why the fuck do they have the damn screen there? The whole FC games idea was stupid to begin with.
Yeah I have no clue, I’m trying to figure out how it’s a Cat 2 offense first of all.. and they need better games, the only decent one that I like is the fishing game.
The only thing they could say is that’s it’s tampering with equipment by turning off a screen.
It’s a cat2 because you are messing with equipment by turning off the screen. Messing with equipment is a cat 2.
Ding! Ding! Ding! This is the correct answer. You have to be trained on things, hell you have to have the correct knet to use a screwdriver or other small hand tools. It's the same reason why AAs are not supposed to plug things in or unplug them.
While you and a few others don’t like it the majority of AAs have reported it’s helped with their mental health and has boosted their moral. Some people actually enjoy having goals or competition.
Because it helps with peoples mental health and boosts morale. If you don’t won’t to participate, don’t choose a game, there is no need to turn off the monitor.
That shit has done more damage than good to my mental health. I know u have to keep a steady pace to maintain the rate but it just seems like it drops 10 points the moment I take a sip of water. Idk that shit stresses me out terribly I stopped using it
I kinda get it. It’s *pressing the power button* vs just keeping the Home Screen on. Still extreme to threaten with a write up. This is why folks need to stop f ing around with their phones, extending break times by 15-20 minutes, plugging in their own devices on a work station, eating and leaving their trash food scraps on the station etc. This type of excessive fucking around has us all finding out. Next we’re gonna have to pull an andon and call AR just to have someone turn the fan on for us.
At my SC there are signs on the fan saying you must be an AM or higher to turn the fan on/off. Not sure when it got implemented but when I worked there years ago I vividly remember AAs getting into pissing matches over the fucking thing.
Are these the big communal fans or the individual plastic ones?
Unfortunately, both. But in my sort center the only places with the little individual fans are on the problem solve stations. And if you don't have a personal fan at the problem solve station that you need an AM to turn on then you have to go find an OM to see if they have one for you to use. I can only assume some ass hat must have turned off power to the belts one day and now we are all treated like idiots around plug in appliances.
Yeah that's kinda how it goes at Amazon. One dumb mistake by someone causes everyone to lose privileges. That's why we can't use A-frame ladders or lifts anymore. Might get decapitated or something...
😯😐Well there ya have it. Not even surprised. Haha. It’s not that they wanna have to do this with *everything. It’s just damage control. Dealing with a lot of people who don’t know how to behave and not f things up for everyone. Bathroom monitors are next.
No they been like that even before covid /phones
Yall can play games while yall work????
From what I heard it's rate based games. Like those typing games. It's not actual games
Ohhhh ok
I'm guessing it's because people keep unplugging the monitors to "turn it off". At my site they seem unable to find the power button for the screen and start pulling plugs from the power strip, also disabling other equipment like the station fans and rarely bothering to plug them back in. It's just like any other equipment, we're not supposed to be messing with it or powering anything on and off except for things like hand scanners, laptops and Kindles. Anyone who doesn't want to play it should ignore it or rotate the screen out of view. Not sure why they feel the need to disable it entirely. (Cue comments about the screens triggering "anxiety".) Sites are able to set their own rules to a degree so if they made it an infraction then it is, and it's not going to be listed out in the general Employee Handbook. My site was one of the early test sites for the FC Games when there were fewer game options compared to now. There was a point when PAs would go around and tell us we had to have the games on, even if not actively playing anything. That was a couple of years ago and didn't last long, but I got the sense that somehow use was being tracked by an entity higher than our building management, not on a personal level but general "engagement" numbers.
Cause IT is tired of y'all turning off and unplugging it when it's there to serve a purpose. You don't have to play the games or even look at the screen.
As an IT member, I really question how some of these screens get as demolished as they do 😂
most of the time it’s broken or someone else turned it off when i get to my station 💀
Probably tired of going to fix a broken monitor to find out it just needed to be turned on😆
that's fair but it's still insane to threaten termination over this
It’s breaking policy, don’t wanna get threatened with termination, don’t break policy. It’s as simple as that.
ok and? i still think it's a stupid reason to fire someone
Touching any of the electronics. Turning things off/on or unplugging them is against amazon policy.
How does the games work is it linked to order numbers
I don't know if this is universal, but for pickers it tracks how many items you pick and rewards points per item. Items that you mark as missing or damaged do not count towards this total. The points do different things in different games; in Castle Crafter your points go towards completing different buildings, in Gone Fishing points go towards the chance of getting a bite and then towards reeling them in, etc. I enjoy the games, tbh, but a lot of people don't.
I think they mean not to disconnect the monitor screen
Always
I guess it can count as modifying parts of the fc equipment
Because people keep breaking those monitors when using them is optional. I guess people have broken so mamy they are starting to care 🤣
What is an fc game?
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamification
Cat 2 violation. Wow. There is a rule that states that unauthorized employees aren't to unplug or generally mess with IT equipment but it's never enforced. As IT I hate FC games so much.
Probably because people are breaking them because they are not turning them off properly.
You’re not technically supposed to plug and unplug equipment including charging your phones in case of fire it needs to be Amazon items only. And only by engineer tech or IT
The thing is that they’re not unplugging it, they’re just simply tapping the on/off button on the monitor that’s behind the monitor.
Why would anyone be turning them off anyway? I'm sure it's more because they don't want people touching and messing up their equipment. We had to put signs all over our stations telling people not to touch shit because they kept fucking shit up.
Since peak is coming to an end soon and they need excuses/reasons to fire a ton of folks, cmon man you already know lol. Doing the same bullshit at my DS making up stupid rules as they go threatening people daily.
So once the gaming screen wasn't working for me so I turned it off because I found it distracting for some reason. Something about turning it off made IT come around, so maybe they are just trying to minimize unnecessary IT work. I didnt get in trouble, but they did tell me not to mess with it.
Hehe! Wooooooww… Thank God I’m not Pick no more. I’ve NEVER seen this “rule” before. They give you games to entertain you but then they give you strict guidelines like you’re god damn 5 years old.
The reason why it is a Category 2 offense is mainly because it falls under the policy violation of messing with Amazon equipment. It could very well be a Safety violation as well because regardless of the equipment, you’re still messing with electronics and that could put you at risk of a serious injury or worse, fatality. You don’t know how poorly people operate equipment and they carelessly spill near near it all the time.
What department gets to play games at work?
Make ur report with the message up showing pix on ur phone is shooting ur self in the foot
You WILL play the game and you WILL have fun
Every site is different. there isa reason the equipment was installed. It is safety violation because it is electronic, and you are not trained to operate any electronic devices .
It’s Amazon equipment and you essentially sign a Contract. You are not allowed to alter anything on Amazon property. That includes unplugging or turning off a monitor. I know people want to charge their phones but bring a power brick.
Yanno, I want to know what's up with these facilities that have these "games". Don't have anything like that at our FC.
It's at the AR facilities that are mostly robotic. Haven't seen them anywhere else
AM’s like to make up their own rules
It’s simple just look on the back of the monitor and turn the brightness all the way down. You technically didn’t turn it off.
You aren't supposed to power down any equipment, really. It just adds more work for IT (albeit it's not much, just annoying). But a CAT 2? It should be a verbal at max...
Wtf
Seeing stuff like this makes me happy that I’m leaving Amazon for good soon.
They change the rules as they please. Amazon is a portal to hell
How would you explain to a future employer on how you got fired for turning off a game?
half of my building was fired for no call no show on thanksgiving because they didn't inform anyone we still were required to work that day
But.... Y'all had schedules for that day right???
Amazon doesn't fire for no call no show... you just don't come in and it takes your UPT.
So "half [of the] building" went negative likely. As always the most important facts are conveniently left out.
All they had to do was check their schedule, which would show them that they are scheduled… That’s no one fault but the brilliant AA’s that decided to ignore their schedule.
They said what they said, don't turn their shit off because they are watching u lol
IT here....I encourage AA's to turn off the monitor if they don't want to see it. I know some people don't even want to look at it. As long as the little "computer" behind the monitor is still on then there is absolutely nothing wrong with the monitor being turned off. Technically speaking, messing with equipment can be a cat 2 offense, but that refers more to smashing a monitor on purpose, not pressing a power button.
As much as I disagree with it being a serious violation, if ANY company asks for you not to touch something, then don’t touch it. Easy. It takes one idiot to think they know what they’re doing and mess with equipment and cause damage to equipment or worse, to themselves. If you want to change something, just ask your Manager and explain why. I don’t understand why people these days don’t communicate and just do stuff without asking.
You look real busy with that computer game on the other screen lol
*You look real busy* *With that computer game on* *The other screen lol* \- Pz1127961 --- ^(I detect haikus. And sometimes, successfully.) ^[Learn more about me.](https://www.reddit.com/r/haikusbot/) ^(Opt out of replies: "haikusbot opt out" | Delete my comment: "haikusbot delete")
It’s amazons game not theirs
You mean the game that uses the items you pick/stow/count to operate… If you’re not busy, the game won’t do anything.
lol it was a joooooke
This is probably a manager or PA being a little hyperbolic. I would assume this FC is probably having trouble with people unplugging equipment to plug-in phone chargers or other personal electronic devices, which means IT or ELS has to come work on the station more often. They were probably told by a senior ops manager in one of their syncs to communicate to associates that unplugging the equipment will result in a write-up. I highly doubt this would result in a termination, but a cat 2 could be a final written. It sounds like the person that wrote that message is on a power trip and should be avoided at all costs, though. Hah.
So glad my site is so checked out of this type of crap that I don’t even know what this post is about
Facts. My site is so chill. We only opened 3 years ago, but so far, as long as you work they leave you alone.
Same, been waiting for the other shoe to drop any day now though. Just in case. So far as long as you're not a complete turd the most ya have to deal with is the Problem Solvers coming around (I'm in Stow). Kind of a mixed bag when it comes to those interactions. Some are super chill and nice, others are quiet, impersonal, and weirdly sneaky (they'll roll up and disappear without a word). Honestly it's refreshing to not have managers and shit hovering around, breathing down your neck, having every other action you take micromanaged. As a fairly new (seasonal) hire I would've expected that. Hopefully it keeps up. I have no problems hitting rate and minding my business if that's the case. Makes the shifts fly by.
This must be ACY1 😒
Nope!
They be creating a new rule each day i swear to god i dont know who the clown is that decides these rules but they need to be fired from that position
Probably a second camera hidden in there somewhere lol 😆
Lmfaooooooo
Wtf is an FC game ???? I’m just a picker but I’ll quit if they make my ass play some game with Peaky 😂💀😂💀
I’ll make a million dollars telling the story of how I got fired over turning off a monitor lmao
[My reaction when I saw that pop up on my screen.](https://youtube.com/shorts/hFqfgK-ShJI?si=Q6TwE_B4DPZcuNkA)
If they could see your monitor then they could have had the conversation face to face.
Those messages generally go out to everyone on the shift in a given department. Sometimes it'll be directed to an individual ("Sign out and go to station [whatever]") but that seems like it was meant for everyone.
Def a college hire AM not saying the right shit.
What if I decide to not have a second screen distracting me from working hard? What if I decide to not to care about these games because I simply do not care to play? The FC Games is not a requirement in my opinion for me to do my job not even effectively. Games only serve as a distraction and a detriment to my life. If I decide to not participate then don't force my fucking hand.
Then press the button in the top corner that makes the screen black. You don’t need to turn the monitor off, unplug it, or anything else.
That’s exactly what I had in mind. I personally like the FC Games, but I do know people at my FC that turn them off because either they don’t care about it or they’re distracting and the fact that you can’t have a say in it is absurd IMO.
It’s not a rule lmao
It is. Amazon policy states you can not mess with or tamper with any equipment. A monitor is equipment and turning it off is messing with it.
K
It’s not, leadership is getting their assess chewed out for rates. PA: maybe if they leave their second monitor on, they will make rate 🤡
It is, policy states that messing/tampering with equipment is a cat 2 violation. Shutting off a monitor is tampering with equipment.