From the early evening and into the dead of night, a college town is home to thousands of very busy students and residents. They're hungry, lazy, or just too busy to always cook something up at home. That's where access to food delivery is a life saver. Although every college town has their local delivery services that cater to all kinds of needs, it's your neighborhood pizza parlors that remain at the top of the charts for late night grub. College towns are guaranteed to have at least four local pizza parlors that work around the clock and all around town to deliver your favorite, and sometimes incredibly odd, orders. Not only do we deal with your pizza needs, but we also deal with some weird situations and encounters as we run around town.
1. The Not-So-Sober Customer
I had a late delivery one night and showed up at a nearby address. I knock on the door and there are a few people talking. Suddenly, I hear a faint, "Come in!" As part of the job, it's protocol to generally have the customer answer the door. I knock again and hear another, "Come in!" I realize that these people aren't going to get up and answer the door, so I opened the door and remain outside.
I call in, "Pizza delivery!" A man shows up to the door and I hand him the receipt to sign. He claims it's his wife's credit card, so he calls her over to sign the receipt. His wife comes over, extends her hand out, and just stands there, trying to hand me her credit card. It's obvious these people aren't sober and are intoxicated in various ways. I stand there for a moment to see if her husband will hand her the receipt, but they both just stand there.
I politely explain. "Excuse me, but you have to sign the receipt, you already gave us your card information over the phone."
She finally manages to sign the receipt and her husband laughs, "Yeah, we're definitely sober. Thank you," and then shut the door.
2. Prank Calls
Prank calls are the worst.
People call in delivery orders for different addresses all the time, but it's when you show up at the door unexpected that you can run into some trouble. We had a large order made for a delivery one night. It included about five pizzas and about four other items—which requires a lot of in-house work.
The guy answers the door and immediately claims that he won't pay for the delivery because it was a prank call. Turns out someone has been calling in multiple prank calls to his address from various local pizza parlors all day.
3. Expect the Unexpected
Every once in a while, life as a delivery driver will throw some curve balls at you. Sometimes you show up at the wrong place, at the wrong time. It was well after closing and I was out for my last delivery of the night.
I drive up to a rather wealthy neighborhood with a big, expensive order. As I get out of my car and turn the corner, towards their front door, I intrude on a very awkward situation. A man, probably in his late 30s, is standing directly next to the front door and I immediately notice that he's urinating next to his friend's front entrance. I slow down and try to avoid said awkward encounter by revealing my presence.
"Hi there!" I shout. The guy turns around and freaks out. He begins to apologize and runs inside to tell his friend that the pizzas arrived.
His friend comes out to pay for the pizzas and the man who just relieved himself outside grabs the pizzas and heads back inside.
It took all my might to stand there and not show disgust over handing him the pizzas, knowing that he hadn't washed his hands.
4. The Porch Light Conundrum
It makes our job rather difficult when we arrive at an address and can't identify a house or apartment because the porch light isn't turned on. It's even worse when the whole street is pitch black and there's no indication that anyone is home. This can also turn into some sketchy situations.
I had one delivery that sent me quite far from our establishment. I show up and find myself on a dark, dirt road. I slow down and drive further down the road and search for the house. After having some trouble, I stop and grab my phone in order to call the customer.
As I'm dialing, I look up on my passenger side to see a man standing and waving through the window. I have to admit, I was startled and found it incredibly creepy that a customer would show up on the street and approach my car this way. Please don't scare your delivery drivers. It's better if you turn on your porch light and let us find you.
5. The Unknown Address
When a customer asks for a delivery, the most important information necessary is their address. If there's no address, where do you expect your pizza to be delivered? We had a customer call in and make an order for delivery. He explains what kind of pizza he wants and I respond, "Yes, we can put in that order for you, can I get your phone number?"
The customer pauses and then says, "Umm, I don't know my phone number."
"Alright, we need your phone number in order to contact you for various reason."
"Okay, okay.." he replies. He hesitates for a moment and then claims he has to search his phone for his phone number. He figures it out and gives me the information. I ask for his name and his address. He then hesitates again and claims, "I don't know my address."
I roll my eyes and explain, "We need your address in order to deliver the pizza." This conversation continues until he manages to identify certain intersections surrounding his address and gives me the name of his apartment complex.
I arrive at the apartment complex and can't find his address. I call the customer and tell him I'm at the apartment complex and that the apartment number he gave me does not exist in this complex. Confused, he decides to tell me to wait and then proceeds to exit his apartment and look for me on the street.
I drive further up the street and find him standing by a completely different apartment complex. He apologizes for the confusion and looked rather embarrassed. I assured him that it was alright and that we require all of that information over the phone for situations where a driver would have difficulty finding a customer's address.
There are countless situations that your delivery drivers encounter every night. Some encounters place us in hilarious situations and others can be quite frustrating, confusing, or just downright creepy. However, it's a fast-paced job and whether or not we leave you with a smile on our face, you're just another story to tell.
