Pizza Delivery

I deliver pizzas in Chicago. There is more to the job then just showing up at someones door with the hot pie in your hand. The order has to be taken correctly over the phone by the dispatcher or the delivery person is screwed. Pity the poor delivery person who has an incorrect delivery ticket to deal with.

The name people give when giving credit card information give may not be the name on the bell but as long as the charge goes through they do not think about any delivery problems that might be created. They may innocently charge the delivery to a different name then the one listed on the bell. They may charge it to their wife, husband, boyfriend or girlfriend who is not listed on the bell. They never stop to think that the incorrect name will stump the delivery person

  Also, the phone number of the recipient has to be correct. People have to give their give phone numbers and many times that number has to be called by the delivery person when outside the apartment because the name on the bell cannot be read. So, you call the phone number on the delivery ticket. Easy enough. Only the customer has their phone number in voice mail. Many customers do not think about these details.

So, many times, too many times, you find yourself  standing outside of a house or apartment not knowing how to get in and complete the delivery even though you are at the right address. You are standing outside an apartment and you cannot read the name on the bell or get a call to the customer through. So, there you are with a pizza in your hand which is getting cold and you have no way to deliver it.

 Also, you have to know your way around the delivery area which can be very tricky. Delivery areas can be many square miles. Certain streets only go one block, Others are in in remote areas. Even with a GPS it can be difficult to get pizzas delivered quickly because the GPS does not always give you the fastest way to get to the locations and they waste your valuable time.

The pizza delivery person survives on tips. There is a small delivery charge added to the delivery ticket and some people think that that delivery charge is sufficient as compensation for the delivery person. A delivery person cannot survive on delivery charges only. A tip of at least 10% and better yet 15% is fair.  A tip of 20% and beyond is generous and a few of those can make a delivery persons night.

People just do not realize the difficulty in finding houses, walking up and down countless steps, going in and out of the car and rushing around frantically for nine or ten hours at a crack. Pasting a smile on your face when the weight of the world may be in your shoulders is critical.  That customer staring at the delivery person  cares nothing about the details of delivering. They care that their delivery is hot and the food made right and delivered by a friendly driver.

So, have heart for that pizza person. There is a lot more to it then you may have thought. That delivery person may have put a lot more energy into your delivery then you ever realized.