An Amazon worker showed off the employees-only restaurant at the location he clocks into, which sparked a viral debate on the company’s treatment of its workforce.
Many who saw the clip took issue that the food in the dining area wasn’t freely available to employees but instead charged them prices that were akin to prices at a fast-casual chain.
@doright.inspirepeople My Amazon has a restaurant in it 🤯 #amazon #amazonworker #fyb #wegoneat ♬ original sound –
In the clip, the TikToker walks towards the Amazon warehouse as a robotic voice filter narrates the text overlay in the clip.
“My Amazon has a restaurant in it,” the voice says. The worker then opens the door to the business and swipes what appears to be an employee ID to get through the security turnstile.
“It smelled so good,” the second text overlay read. The camera then shows off an ordering screen that shows a variety of different meals available to Amazon employees/diners. Listed on the “Sizzle Box” were the following dishes that retailed for $8 each: bourbon chicken, Mongolian beef, and orange chicken. Additional $5 per item side dishes were broccoli stir fry and sesame steamed white rice.
The TikToker wrote in a caption for the video, “My Amazon has a restaurant in it,” followed by an exploding head emoji.
User @spadegucci’s video didn’t end happily for him, however, as the clip transitions to empty trays at the serving stations.
“But I was too late,” he writes, as his camera glides over newly cleaned trays devoid of food.
Viewers who responded to his clip had a variety of different responses. Some were shocked that employees were expected to pay for their own meals at the trillion-dollar company.
“It Should be free,” one user wrote. Another penned, “Crazy how we gotta pay for all the lunches but they give us cookies and hotdogs when they ‘reward us.'”
Others thought that the restaurant dedicated to Amazon employees shouldn’t be considered a bonus.
“This is a way for them to get money back from what they’ve paid you,” one TikToker remarked. Another employee in the comments section thought that the prices of the food items being sold were too high, writing, “We have one too but they too expensive.”
Several companies offer free meals to their employees, like Asana, GlassDoor, Sprout Social, Domo, and many others. Fooda reports that in addition to fully catered workplaces, many businesses offer inexpensive meals to their workers that cost significantly lower than they would at a traditional restaurant. This is because these meals are being sold at cost or are partially covered by an allocated budget set by the company.
This isn’t the first time Amazon has been criticized for how it treats its workers. Another TikToker/employee of the company went viral after revealing just how much physical labor is involved while working as a picker for the online mega retailer.
However, another TikTok user said they enjoy working for Amazon. While her post about working as a forklift operator culminated in tons of negative comments about the company, many users were intrigued by her daily job duties and pay rate.
The Daily Dot has reached out to @spadegucci via TikTok comment.
