LaserShip is a regional last mile delivery company that services the Eastern United States. Founded in 1986, LaserShip is based in Vienna, Virginia and has sortation centers in New Jersey, Ohio, North Carolina, and Florida.
As of 2016, LaserShip has 63 distribution centers and four sorting centers servicing 22 states and Washington, D.C. Lasership handles deliveries for Amazon and others from New England to Florida, specifically Amazon's Same Day Service. According to New York Magazine, LaserShip "Might Be the Most Hated Company on the Internet".
Video LaserShip
History
LaserShip began as a document delivery service in 1986. In the 1990s, LaserShip landed in the small parcel business during the dot-com boom. In 1999, the company partnered with Barnes & Noble to provide same-day shipping services in New York City.
Maps LaserShip
Disputes and settlements
As of March, 2017, there have been over 6000 posts on Amazon, most of them negative, about their shoddy delivery services: packages not being delivered, drivers stealing packages, manhandled packages, etc. The company has hundreds of complaints filed against them with the Better Business Bureau, where as of November 2017, they hold an "F" rating, with 191 negative reviews, 3 neutral reviews, and no positive reviews. An anonymous Amazon Prime user was so dissatisfied with LaserShip's service that they set up a parody website entitled LaserShit.
Package tossing
Numerous news reports backed up by surveillance camera footage depict LaserShip delivery drivers recklessly tossing packages onto customers' property. A New York article entitled "LaserShip, Amazon's New Shipping Partner, Might Be the Most Hated Company on the Internet" features a compilation video set to the tune of Yakety Sax. The video depicts numerous such incidents at over a dozen different households, with packages ending up on porches, in front lawns, and on driveways. In one incident from 2016, a LaserShip delivery man was caught on tape tossing a $500 camera lens several yards onto a poured-concrete porch. In March 2017, a customer caught a delivery man tossing a package containing a router on tape, damaging the contents, and reported the incident to LaserShip. After the complaint, the delivery man then returned to the customer's residence four times, prompting the customer to call the police. The customer, identified as Robert Blake, spoke with the Vice President of LaserShip, who noted that the employee had been with the company for 10 years. Reacting to this incident, New Haven-based attorney Tara Knight stated: "That really raises eyebrows. There could be an innocent explanation, but it's kind of creepy and there could be a nefarious explanation as well."
Misclassification and nonpayment of drivers
In April 2014, the company reached a class-action settlement of $800,000 with drivers in Massachusetts who accused the company of misclassifying them as independent contractors to save money. In November 2015, a class action lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York alleging that workers were denied overtime payments, were unlawfully denied earned compensation, and for other violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act. The results of this litigation are pending.
Cigarette settlement
In September 2014, LaserShip reached a $5 million settlement with the city of New York over deliveries of untaxed cigarettes. The original suit alleged that LaserShip had delivered more than 120,000 cartons between 2011 and 2013 violating federal and state laws and resulting in tax losses of $1.9 million. The case was prosecuted under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act. Under the settlement agreement, LaserShip ended all cigarette shipments.
References
Further reading
- "Macy's expands same day delivery to 17 cities as it challenges Amazon". Reuters.
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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