The Secret Life Of An Amazon Worker (From Westfield)

WESTFIELD, NJ — If the Maytag repairman was — as the classic commercials from the 1960s through the 1980s said — the loneliness job in the world, being an Amazon supervisor during a pandemic must be at the other end of the spectrum. For the last year, Chris Dennis of Westfield has been dealing with scores of people each day and millions of packages. But it wasn't always this way.

Until three years ago, Dennis was an officer in the Navy; in fact, he had been in the Navy for 29 years. He felt like he'd done every "awesome thing" he could do in the military, he said in a recent interview, so he retired. He was looking for a change of pace and a new challenge.

Amazon has a program called "Pathways" in which they recruit veterans, who sometimes find that their highly-developed skill set doesn't translate to private industry when they return home. (The program also trains MBAs and other leaders looking to switch gears.)

"I think a lot of veterans," Dennis said, "they become senior, they hold high levels of command and have a sense of what they can do, but the rest of world doesn't really share that perspective."

Dennis, who was living in Florida, learned of the Pathways program and was intrigued. He was hired to work in Carteret, N.J. in 2018. But he and his family weren't sure where to move in New Jersey.

His wife, who Dennis says could "create her own cottage industry of moving," took to the internet. Based on her research, they moved to Westfield, which consistently ranks high among desirable suburbs in New Jersey.

Dennis began learning the ropes of his new job. But he didn't realize a pandemic would hit and people would be putting in large orders of everything from weekly groceries to large appliances.

In the Navy

In the Navy, Dennis had learned leadership and dealt with stressful situations. He was involved in some of the most highly sensitive military operations of the time as a base commander in Signorella, Italy, and was involved in the evacuation of the Libyan embassy in 2014.

"The Navy helped prepare me with self-discipline," he said. "I was in charge of a seaport air station, navigating an aircraft carrier. I'm used to holding myself to a high standard, taking safety to the level it belongs. I understand what it looks like when people don't do that."

He also knew how to relate to all different types of people. He was one of the first military officers authorized to approve leave for gay weddings, something he was happy to do (although when asked if he wanted to comment on current political issues, he wisely responded, "No way!")

"The Navy really prepared me well to see people as they are, that we all have our own histories," he said. "Those histories inform the way we respond to challenges. I really appreciated the fairness of the system, how it didn't matter the color of your skin; nobody cared about your religion, who you prayed to. It was probably the fairest place in society. I now work for a company that treats people fairly, focuses on equality, inclusion, gives people an opportunity to grow. There were people who joined in September who are already in high levels of responsibility ... I always appreciate the level of hustle people have. I know people who work a night shift who are going to school for their associate's, bachelor's or master's degree, working this full-time job as well."

After Dennis started in Carteret, he became an operations manager in Staten Island in spring 2019, then moved to a new Amazon delivery station called DJZ-5 in Newark last September.

He said his experience with tough situations, both personal and professional, prepared him for the job and what came next.

Tide comes in

As pandemic deliveries ramped up last spring, Dennis utilized his naval and supervisory experience.

"The tide comes in, the tide goes out," he said. He said after crates arrive, they're put into staging areas, and leave in 20-minute waves, sometimes 200 vans in a series of five waves.

He's known as a "site lead" or station operations manager, always on call, overseeing the flow of goods. On a given day, as many as 50,000 packages can pass through the building.

Dennis said that the company implemented safety measures and personnel rule changes during the pandemic, such as keeping workers socially distanced and letting them keep their cell phones on them at all times in case of a family emergency.

Dennis said that one of the things he learned in the Navy is to deal with sensitive situations. He's seen people struggle through personal problems on the job, especially amid a pandemic that has devastated some physically or financially.

People in his workplace have revealed that they've become homeless, he said, and he was surprised by how equipped his company was to get them the right resources.

One employee told him of the tragic shooting death of someone in her family.

"That's hard to hear," Dennis said. "I was so grateful for her to feel like she could tell me. She was a person who was working in a physically demanding environment and trying to keep that in her head. We helped her navigate her way through a tough time."

Obviously, in the military, he saw tragic situations as well.

An Amazon representative said that Dennis is one of more than 1,600 military veterans working at the company in New Jersey and more than 40,000 veterans working at Amazon across the country.

New Jersey is one of Amazon’s top states for veteran employment, she said.

Criticism

Dennis said he knows that as a large company, Amazon — which revealed that it had more than a million workers as of last October — is subject to criticism. When he tells people where he works, "Most people are curious," he said. "Amazon is this pretty awesome big thing. They say, 'What's that like?' " He said he's never gotten an overly angry or strange response, though.

But what about the idea that Amazon could be taking away business taking from smaller companies selling merchandise?

He offered that the company sometimes helps small businesses by delivering their items, or in others ways. "I get it," he said, "I see both sides. The fulfillment centers are amazing sites, and carry all sorts of things [from small businesses]. I also understand that people have strong feelings. I come from a small town, and Westfield is a small town."

He said, "I think any business in any arena will find a way to appeal to customers. There are things a local business can do that an online business probably can't do."

(Related: Westfield's 15 Glo-Seesaws And Chocolate Tour Draw NJ Residents Downtown)

Amazon announced last month that it would be adding five more delivery stations in New Jersey. Read More: Amazon Announces New Delivery Station In Lawrence Township

Find out more about the Pathways program here.

Want to be the first in your neighborhood to get breaking news alerts, or a daily morning newsletter of news in your town? You can sign up for Patch alerts and/or a free a daily digest of news here: Sign up and choose your preferences.

Got news? Email caren.lissner@patch.com. Got photos? Please include express written permission from the photographer for us to use them. To be the first to get free news alerts with breaking stories in your town, or to get a free local newsletter each morning, sign up for Patch breaking news alerts or daily newsletters.