An Amazon delivery driver says she was given a warning at work for taking her lunch at Wendy’s and making TikTok videos on the clock.
In her video which has drawn over 57,000 views as of Saturday, Amber (@ambergirts) says she had been on the phone with the company’s driver support team for 45 minutes before doing something she rarely does—take a lunch break.
It was the length of this lunch, in combination with the videos she made on company time, she says prompted the write-up. She claims the notice she received indicated that she was being written up for her videos and “unsatisfactory performance” that day when she allegedly had lunch that lasted over an hour and a half.
@ambergirts Replying to @jordanhollis.writes dont know if its a blessing or a curse #fyp #trending #work #amazondelivery #amazondeliverydriver ♬ original sound – ambergirts
“I asked them to put me on the schedule because my day was pretty open and they’ve been needing help,” she says in the video. “So I got to work in the morning and my driver lead handed me a final notice paper. Basically being like my final warning until I got fired. If you saw my last TikTok about my ‘come to work with me,’ it was in regards to that.” Amber refers to her previous TikTok videos detailing her long workday and how far behind she was on delivering packages.
When she asked her driver team lead about the notice, she says she was told that she is expected to either pack a lunch or opt not to have one at all. She also clarifies that the time it took to drive to Wendy’s and back was included as time taken for her lunch break.
“I had an issue with that because I had an 11-hour day,” she says. “When it comes to taking a lunch, I think I should deserve one. I mean, it’s literally like you need it. But packing a lunch or not taking a lunch should not be my only options.”
Amber says she asked whether the warning was truly about her performance that day, or the fact that she makes TikTok videos. According to her, her lead told her she was a fine worker, leading her to assume it was about the videos.
The TikToker says she ended up “getting worked up” and decided to remove herself from the situation by leaving. Her decision to do so led the company to say she “quit under job abandonment,” she says.
She concluded her video by saying, “Yeah, we’ll see.”
The Daily Dot has reached out to Amber as well as to Amazon directly via email regarding the video.
Some viewers were critical of the idea that her lunch would not be inclusive of the amount of time it takes to drive to Wendy’s and back.
“You don’t get extra time because you have to drive to go get the food,” one commenter wrote.
“I don’t know a single job that would just be okay with you thinking you get more lunchtime cause you had to drive to get food,” another viewer said.
“In most jobs you start your break, stop doing the job and 60 minutes later you are back doing it,” a commenter wrote. “Getting to and from is def not part of the break.”
Others were supportive of the poster and encouraged her to find a new place of employment.
“Get a new job, you will never have a job as bad as Amazon,” one commenter wrote. Trust me!”
“It sounds like you had toxic management at Amazon!” another user said. “I hope this next job treats you better!”
“Me watching this knowing you will find a job who doesn’t treat you like this and will value you and your human needs!” another viewer offered. “Ik its hard now, stay strong.”
