I’ve been experimenting with certain Amazon features, and wanted to test the new Amazon Locker service in my neighborhood.
This is a new and very complicated add-on that has come to Whole Foods since the company was acquired by Amazon. Basically, you order something at Amazon, and instead of sending it to your home or office, you send it to an Amazon Locker at Whole Foods. That way, it may come quicker, and you don’t have to be around to sign for the package when it arrives (a big issue for some people).
As a test I ordered an Oxford University pocket diary. It was remarkably cheap, and I need a new pocket diary for the coming year. I was to pick it up at the Amazon Locker in the Whole Foods on East 57th Street, between 2nd and 3rd Avenues. I wanted to pick it up at the Whole Foods at Columbus Circle, but I find that is always full, and not available to me.
Amazon sent me an email a few days later, saying shipment was delayed. A few days after that, I got a notification that it had arrived.
I went over to the Whole Foods at 227 East 57th Street. I found I had to enter a code number into the touch-screen panel on the locker-machine. I didn’t have the code.
I went home (maybe a 12-minute walk) and got a printout of the Amazon description of the purchase. It had a big long number at the top.
In the drizzle I trudged back to the locker. The touch-screen wanted a six-digit code, and I didn’t see one on the Amazon printout. A friendly negro who works for Amazon/Whole Foods told me I should have an email with it on my phone (mobile phone). I said I don’t do email on my mobile phone.
I walked back home and sorted through recent emails. There it was, a reminder from Amazon to pick up my item. It had a six-digit code and a bar code as well! I printed this out.
I stopped at the spirits shop for a handle of cheap vodka, and moved on to East 57th.
This time the friendly negro was eager to help me out. He had some trouble entering the six-digit code, so I suggested scanning the bar code. This worked like a charm. A little locker door swung open, and there was my Jiffy Bag with an Amazon smile logo.
Back home, I opened the package, and there was my handsome Oxford pocket diary. It ends in December 2018. I had bought the 2017-2018 version, not the 2018-2019 one. That’s why it was so cheap. I should keep it mint, and resell it in a few years. Or use it as a code/password book.
I’m going to pick the cheapest non-American pocket diary I can find.
