[Kirby]

I also used to work at Amazon, and this is all true.

Personally, I like having an ergonomically reasonable desk, and don't miss my door desk at all.

The downside of frugal is, employees don't feel treated as well. Amazon had free coffee and water, and that's it. No sodas, no free vending machines, none of that kind of stuff that are reasonably common in software development houses. The cafeteria on-site is not any cheaper than eating out (though the food isn't bad.) The office supplies are always the cheapest possible - use a bic pen or buy your own if you actually care about your writing utensil. Company swag, like free T-Shirts, are a rare thing. And the 'employee discount' is distinctly unimpressive - 10% off for the first $1000 per year, aka $100.

It's all little things, but it can add up to a feeling of being a cog in an uncaring machine. It wasn't really related to why I left, but I can't say I miss being part of the Amazon family. People vary, but for me, I honestly think things like free vending machines generate more long-term good will than if they'd paid me ten times that amount in a bonus instead.

[tybris]

Personally, I find it silly to get paid in beverages if I could get paid in cash. Then again, when I was at Amazon I was in downtown Seattle with some of the greatest lunch bars in the world (read: Tats) and not on top of a suburban hill.

[gruseom]

That's very interesting. I've always been irritated by the emphasis software companies (or at least, journalists writing about software companies) put on things like free drinks and ping pong tables. Give me great work with great people and you can toss the rest of it; conversely, all that free crap doesn't do a thing for me if the work and the people aren't great.

At the same time, I've heard from many sources that Amazon isn't such a great place to work. I imagine there must be other cultural factors besides cheapness that contribute to that?