The Amazon Mentor app tracks and disciplines delivery drivers

Last week, Amazon caused privacy issues when it confirmed it was deploying AI-enabled cameras in vans used by some of its contracted delivery partners. But the company has been using software for years to monitor and control the behavior of on-road delivery drivers.

Amazon requires contracted delivery drivers to continuously download and run a smartphone app, called “Mentor,” that monitors their driving behavior while they’re working. The app, which Amazon bills as a tool to improve driver safety, generates a daily score that measures employees ’driving performance.

The delivery services (DSP) program, launched in 2018, is made up of contracted delivery companies that manage a growing portion of the online retail giant’s retail delivery deliveries. In just a few years, the program has grown to include more than 1,300 delivery companies in five countries, threatening an industry that has traditionally been dominated by shipping partners such as UPS and FedEx.

Like artificial intelligence cameras running on contracted delivery companies, Mentor is framed as a “digital driver safety app” to help employees avoid accidents and other unsafe driving habits while driving. towards its destination. But several delivery drivers who spoke to CNBC described the application as invasive and raised concerns that application errors can sometimes lead to unfair disciplinary action by their manager.

Amazon spokeswoman Deborah Bass told CNBC in a statement: “Safety is Amazon’s top priority. Whether it’s state-of-the-art telemetry and advanced safety technology in last-mile vans, driver safety training programs or continuous improvements within our mapping and routing technology, we have invested tens of millions of dollars in safety mechanisms throughout our network and regularly communicate best safety practices to drivers. “

But Bass did not respond to any of the specific allegations DSP drivers made to CNBC about the Mentor app detailed in this story, nor to questions about how the app uses certain behaviors to score drivers.

Scores generated by the Mentor app are used in more ways than assessing a person’s job performance, drivers say. Amazon is also analyzing the scores, in part, when it comes to classifying the status of a delivery partner, according to drivers, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation from Amazon.

The DSP rating system ranges from “Poor” to “Good” to “Fantastic” to the top level, called “Fantastic +”. A surplus of poor Mentor scores among a delivery partner’s workforce can drag down the DSP’s ranking, which could jeopardize its access to benefits provided by Amazon, such as optimal delivery routes, drivers said .

The app also includes a control panel for “drivers” to see how they face the rest of their team. ”The Mentor scoring-based system raises concerns that the app intensifies work pressure, pitting drivers and DSPs competitive with each other to an unhealthy degree.

DSPs are already under intense pressure due to the ease with which Amazon can reduce contracts with delivery partners.

“The knowledge that you are under this constant level of vigilance, that even if you do a good job in your workplace, an application or an algorithm could make a determination that affects your life or your ability to put food on the table I think your children are deeply unfair, “said Evan Greer, deputy director of the digital rights group Fight for the Future. “It’s incredibly dystopian.”

The Mentor app was created by eDriving, a New Jersey-based technology company that develops road safety tools for the automotive and logistics industry. EDriving representatives did not respond to requests for comment.

Amazon drivers must log in daily to the Mentor app at the start of their shift. The app calculates a score for each driver, known as a “FICO score,” based on their driving performance, and should not be confused with the credit rating of the same name.

The app tracks and measures driving behaviors such as braking hard, speeding up, making cell phone calls or texting, according to a Mentor guide for DSP drivers. The app also inversely tracks seat belt use and driving, but these behaviors do not take into account the driver’s FICO score.

Mentor has a level scoring system, with a maximum score of 800 to 850 considered “Great”, while a score of 100 to 499 is considered the lowest level or labeled by the app as “Risky”. It’s not clear how many points each offense is worth, but drivers say some infractions can hurt the FICO score more than others.

Security breaches don’t have to be serious to drag the driver’s score into the Mentor app.

“I got a call because someone called me and I didn’t answer,” said Devin Gonzales, a former driver who was fired by his Colorado-based DSP last month. The Mentor app had falsely marked the incoming call as an infraction because it believed the phone was in use while driving.

“I had no control over it,” Gonzales added.

In other U.S. DSPs, distribution drivers said they experienced problems with the Mentor app. Adrienne Williams, who drove to Amazon until last July, ran the Mentor app on an electronic package scanner, internally called a “rabbit.” Drivers use the rabbit to indicate when they arrive at each delivery stop on their route, among other uses.

Williams said he was frustrated when he grabbed the rabbit device to mark his stop while his van was idling, but the Mentor app would record the action as distracted driving. As a result, Williams would see his Mentor score drop every time he arrived at a delivery site.

“Every time I said I was at the stop, I felt wrapped up,” Williams said in an interview. “And that means 150 stops a day, so it punctured me at least 150 times a day.”

After that, his score went from the “700s and 800s highs” to the “400s.”[the Mentor app] He said my driving was risky, “Williams said.” I stepped aside and said your FICO score is too low. “

Later, Williams ’DSP gave him another rabbit device, just to run the Mentor app. He said he would keep the device locked in the glove compartment of his van to avoid errors with the app and to preserve his FICO score.

DSPs can use the data collected by the Mentor app for work decisions, including disciplinary actions such as essays. Drivers say that if their score falls below a certain threshold, they may be removed from the program for a few days or a week, lose access to bonuses, and may be denied certain benefits. For example, some DSPs will pay drivers for a full day shift if they finish work early, but if a driver’s FICO score is too low, they will only be charged for the hours they complete, drivers said.

On Reddit forums and Facebook groups, DSP drivers will share tips on how to play the Mentor app and increase your score. Some of the tips can be particularly tricky.

In a YouTube video, a DSP driver instructs employees to wrap the phone with Mentor installed in a sweater and place it in the glove box of the van so that it does not move while the car is moving, which the app may mistake as a driver using your device.

“If the device moves, it will count against you,” driver Juan Ramos says in the video. “You are more likely to lower your score.”

While the Mentor app is designed to make drivers adopt safer driving habits, some DSP employees said it pushes them to take risks, as they are concerned that additional steps may slow them down and reject a recrimination. of managers expecting fast deliveries.

The Mentor app is able to track if a driver is wearing a seat belt if driving an Amazon-branded van. Some drivers fasten their seat belts, but place the strap that normally rests on their chest behind them, so they can move more easily while driving, while avoiding a Mentor app violation.

“Most drivers focus, put on their seat belts, and drive without a seat belt, which is not safe,” said an Ohio DSP driver.

If a driver believes that the Mentor app has flagged it incorrectly, they can answer it in the app. But that doesn’t always lead to a resolution.

“After answering, they’ll email you and say,‘ Sorry, ’and that’s it,” the Ohio DSP driver said. “It’s not a very robust system. I don’t think so [eDriving] understands the importance of a driver’s score “.

The Mentor app is a central focus of the day-to-day lives of DSP drivers at work as they work to maintain their safety score. But the app can also track drivers out of their delivery van and into their home.

Some DSPs provide drivers with a company-issued phone where they can download and run Mentor, but several drivers told CNBC that their company did not provide them with any separate devices, so they were required to download the application. to your personal device.

The Mentor app tracks users’ location using GPS. The privacy features of Apple’s iOS for iPhone operating system allow users, via a pop-up message on the screen, to select whether they want an app to run location services only once, while using the app or all the time. Drivers are told to allow the Mentor app to collect location data at all times.

“When this message appears, you are presented with two options,” Switch to only while in use “or” Always allow, “says the mentor guide issued to DSP drivers.” This setting must remain “Always allow” in order to to accurately record trips. “

Williams said his DSP based in Richmond, California, did not provide drivers with a phone, so they were expected to download Mentor to their own device. Williams said he refused and the DSP gave him a different phone, but most of his co-workers were too concerned to express their concerns, so they agreed to let Mentor track his location without restrictions.

“A lot of my colleagues said I was postponing them, but they didn’t know what to do,” Williams said. “So you’re stuck saying, ‘Allow my employer to follow me at all times on my personal phone.’