Online commenters called out Amazon last week after watching doorbell footage that shows a Florida-based driver making deliveries during Hurricane Nicole.
The footage was posted in Reddit's "Next F****** Level" forum by David Satterfield, the owner of Deadwords Brewing Company in Orlando, Florida. It has amassed over 50,000 upvotes and more than 2,000 comments. You can watch the full video here.
Nicole made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane just south of Vero Beach on Thursday morning with sustained winds of around 75 miles per hour. As it moved through Central Florida, the hurricane weakened to a tropical storm and eventually a tropical depression; cities such as Orlando and Kissimmee experienced wind gusts of 66 and 52 miles per hour, respectively, Fox 35 News reported.
Despite being a low-category storm, Nicole caused significant damage in Daytona Beach and left thousands throughout the Sunshine State without power. Satterfield also told Redditors that his neighborhood sustained more damage from Nicole than from Hurricane Ian, which is why he was shocked to see an Amazon driver working during the storm.
Satterfield told Newsweek that he closed his brewery last Wednesday and Thursday to "keep staff and customers safe" from Nicole.
"However, we are located right next to the venue that [hosted] the Electronic Daisy Carnival (EDC), and we [expected] to be slammed Friday through Sunday. In that regard, I ordered from Amazon ten battery pack phone chargers to loan festival goers," he said. "I needed them by Friday morning, so I ordered them Wednesday to deliver overnight between 5-7 a.m. assuming 'overnight' would be Friday due to the storm."
But Satterfield was wrong.
"I'm a 5:00 a.m. riser, so I went out on my porch [Thursday morning] to check out the storm. As I was out there, the Amazon driver pulled up," he said. "[I] 100 percent did not expect that delivery—the wind gusts and rain from about 2-7 a.m. were pretty intense."
Satterfield said he motioned toward the driver to let her know he'd come to her. But as his now-viral video shows, the driver didn't listen. Instead, she walked onto Satterfield's front porch and hand-delivered the package to him. After a brief exchange, the driver told Satterfield to "have a good day" and headed back to her truck.
Satterfield said he admired the driver's "tenacity." But he didn't think she should've been out during the storm.
"As hurricanes go, this was not massive. But, during those hours, it was sketchy—certainly too sketchy to be out delivering (at least in my opinion)," Satterfield said."[M]y package of battery chargers was certainly not worth the effort and safety risk."
Redditors React
As it turns out, many Redditors agreed.
"The real next f****** level here is how disgusting Amazon is for making them work," u/ExcitementOrdinary95 said.
"This is actually sad," u/94bryanna said.
"F*** Amazon," u/Ametrine87 added. "I can promise you this poor soul isn't making enough to be putting her life [on] the line."
Some commenters argued that the driver likely works for a third-party company, not Amazon itself. They also said she might not have been forced to work, but rather chose to complete a shift. Newsweek has reached out to Amazon for more information.
More Viral Posts
In September, an Amazon driver said in a now-viral video that he made 172 deliveries during Hurricane Ian.
Another Amazon driver made headlines in September after saying he was sent home for using the bathroom "on the clock."
And in August, an Amazon driver went viral after posting about his 180-stop route.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Sara Santora is a Newsweek reporter based in Florida. Her focus is reporting on viral social media posts and trends. ... Read more
