Editor’s note: We stand by our coverage of this piece that ran in the Feb. 26 editions.

By Steve Kelly, Global Corporate Issues and Media Relations for Amazon

We apologize that readers didn’t have an opportunity to hear our voice in this story – it was a mistake of our own making. The evening of Dec. 23, the author of this piece reached out asking for information about misdeliveries and customer concerns about a change in who was delivering their packages. There was no mention of many of the topics that were ultimately explored in this piece. Unfortunately, during the mad dash into the holidays, this original correspondence got lost in the shuffle. It’s worth noting, however, that in the two months between when the reporter sent her email and the story actually publishing, there was no additional outreach from the Journal of the San Juan Islands team to follow up or fact check.

The piece that published contains several factual errors – not points that are open for interpretation – true factual errors. The piece would have you believe that there was a calculated effort to negatively impact a local delivery company – that’s simply untrue. The fact is that we always balance delivery capacity between our own last-mile network and third-party partners like UPS and USPS in Friday Harbor and across the entire country. We do so to prioritize the delivery speed and reduce the cost to serve customers.

In November, we launched a pilot program with the intent of better meeting those goals in Friday Harbor. Twice a day, one box truck and six drivers who are employed by a Delivery Service Partner come to Friday Harbor via the ferry. Upon arrival, the contents of the box truck are transferred to smaller delivery vans in Lot C – the process generally takes between 30 and 45 minutes. The suggestion that there is continual congestion throughout the day in Lot C is wrong. However, we do understand the concerns of residents – this arrangement to use Lot C was always meant to be temporary in nature, and we are already working on an alternative long-term arrangement.

The article also mischaracterizes the role of DSPs. In reality, DSPs are independent businesses that hire their own teams, run their own operations and have the freedom to work for other companies. Further, the claim that in-vehicle safety cameras are used for “real-time surveillance” is also misleading — these cameras are all about safety and are designed with driver privacy in mind. But what we’re most happy about is that they’ve significantly reduced accidents and unsafe driving behaviors, and that’s good for drivers and for those in the community where they operate. To that point, as of October 2024 and since the implementation of this technology in 2020, accident rates have fallen by 48% across our U.S. network. In addition, DSPs using this technology have seen a 93% decrease in distracted driving, a 90% reduction in speeding and a 96% reduction in stop sign, stop light and U-Turn violations.

At Amazon, we welcome constructive dialogue based on facts, and we will continue to work with local stakeholders to address any legitimate concerns they may have. Our goal is to enhance, not disrupt, the delivery infrastructure that serves the San Juan Islands while maintaining the highest standards of safety and service for our customers and delivery partners. We value our role in the Friday Harbor community and remain committed to providing efficient, reliable delivery services while being a good neighbor.