I'm sharpening my sword for delivery guys.....

[Jester]

Not all of them. Not even most of them. Just the pinheads that work for the Chinese place I order from.

Background: Chinese food in Key West is not exactly top notch. My recent trip to San Francisco was a painful reminder of that. (Mmmm....San Fran's Chinatown.....) But one place is, in my mind, the best one here. I realize that is like calling someone the tallest midge or the smartest idiot, but that is besides the point. Since they are the best Chinese food here, I order from them frequently. It helps that they are very affordable and that they get the food here FAST. I mean, really fast.

Being a frequent customer, they should be used to my two special requests by now. I always, no matter what I get, ask for extra duck sauce (for my eggroll). They always do that. My other request is that they call me when they get here.

See, I virtually never hear the door. My bedroom is on the far side of the apartment, and we actually have decent walls here. Also, my roommate is nocturnal, and is usually asleep in the afternoon when I order Chinese food. So I don't want them knocking louder and thus waking him up. And until recently, this has not been a problem. They call, I get my food, I pay, I tip, I eat, everyone's happy.

But the last two times running, the damn delivery guys have ignored my simple request to call when they get here. Last time, my roommate happened to be awake, and answered the door. This time, purely by chance, I heard the light tapping on the front door before it got to loud knocking.

I know, I know. I can hear some of you thinking, "What an SC! He wants the delivery guy to spend HIS minutes on HIS cell phone to call him? What an entitlement whore!" My $2-3 tip on my $5-7 food is my answer to that particular train of thought, thank you very much.

I don't think I'm asking for a lot. Am I? Really? Is it too much to ask that, for a regular, nice, tipping customer that you honor his one oddball request? And how do I go about getting it through to the establishment that their delivery guys are not, to be blunt, delivering what I ask?

[BookstoreEscapee]

I don't think you're asking for too much.

Have you spoken to the manager?

[Evil Queen]

When I was in delivery (Chinese food oddly enough) I didn't own a cell phone. Maybe their delivery guys don't either?

Or you are right. They don't want to spend the money because a majority of their tip money goes into the car. Not the phone.

[Jester]

EQ, this has never been a problem before. Until the last two times, they have always honored the call request. Always.

I don't make this request for the pizza guys because I order from them at night, and my roommate is not only up, but usually in on the delivery anyways.

[Evil Queen]

Are these the same particular delivery guys as they always have been? If they are, I think you should mention the request to the actual delivery drivers.

If they're newbies. Well.. Mention the request to the actual delivery drivers. Who knows, maybe their memories suck from doing a repetitive job?

[edible_hat]

I don't have that problem, if I want chinese food I just go across the street. (and then down a block and across another street, I probably spend more time placing the order than picking up the food)

[Shards]

We have our local Chinese place pretty much trained with exactly how to deal with a call from the YMCA. Both myself and the guy I usually order with place our orders in the order we know they want to hear them ("Hi, I'd like to order a delivery for 677 XXX st., number XXX-XXXX, and we'd like two General Tsao's Dinner Specials, one with Fried Rice, one with Steamed, Extra Soy Sauce, Cokes as the sides, and we'll be paying with cash/debit card, if card, give number") and the delivery guys know to walk in, alert the front desk, and then wait by the pool doors until whoever is paying that night get rotated off the pool deck and walks out to them. We always make sure the front desk knows they're coming, and that our co-workers are ready to give us a temporary rotation to pay when the call comes from the front desk. When the guy I order with pays, they usually don't get a tip, which I then proceed to give him crap for. When I pay, I give them as much spare cash as I have. The lowest I've gone is $3 on a $8 tab when I was alone, the highest was $9 on a $16 tab with said other guy.

I think the delivery drivers know us by face, because they always seem to light up when I walk out, and C never seems to get the same reaction.


OT: Jester, when you get Chinese, what do you order?

[Jester]

Are these the same particular delivery guys as they always have been?

I haven't the foggiest fucking idea, to be honest. I am always focused more on the food than on the guys. Especially when it's early in my day. I am not Mr. Bright-Eyed and Bushy-Tailed at that time of day.....especially when I am hungover and/or hungry.

OT: Jester, when you get Chinese, what do you order?

Honestly, I'm all over the place. My local place has combo dinners, which I always get, which include pork fried rice and an eggroll. Other than the pork fried rice, the eggroll, and of course the extra duck sauce for the eggroll, I'll try anything and everything, for the most part. Off the top of my head, the last few orders have included chicken with garlic sauce, green pepper steak, chicken chow mein, chicken low mein, curry chicken, roast pork with chinese vegetables (didn't like that roast pork, to be honest, won't be getting it again), kung pao chicken....you get the idea. I tend to prefer the stuff where the meat is NOT deep fried, like the sweet and sour pork (love sweet and sour, hate the deep fried crap), and I was not too impressed either with their version of barbecued spare ribs.

Hope that all makes sense. I am doing the Early Morning Jester Babble. Bleah.

Just ordered from the Chinese place. Again.

Let's see what happens, shall we? :lol:

Let's see.

Awesome price? Check.
Food looks good? Check.
Here in 20 minutes, which for them is actually a little slow, but still an awesome time? Check.
Extra duck sauce for my eggroll? Check. In spades. Tons of the stuff. Some is in the fridge for next time. Rock on.
Called me to let me know they were here. Check.

Okay, I'll put my sword away now......

:lol:

[draggar]

I don't think you're asking too much. It's not like you order every day or expect them to jump though hops, just have them make a simple call to you that your food is at where you live (and doubly no problem if you're a good tipper). Looks like they got it right this time, though. :)

Our place has a similar issue.

My wife loves spider rolls but hates wasabi (I don't care for it either). When it is delivered, the wasabi taste gets all over the spider rolls. So we make a simple request - no wasabi.

They have only once granted the request. I even spell it out for them, no wasabi with it, none in the sushi, none in the container, none at all. (You'd figure that they'd want to do this since they're getting paid the same and saving a serving of wasabi?).

[Jester]

You'd figure that they'd want to do this since they're getting paid the same and saving a serving of wasabi?

Well, yes and no.

See, a lot of times we get into the habit of doing things a certain way. And putting the wasabi in is probably habit for them.

I'll give you a similar example. I drink my Coronas with NO lime. But as a bartender, it is purely habit for me to put a lime in the neck of an ordered Corona. Oftentimes, even when someone orders a Corona with no lime, the same way I drink it, I will, out of habit, put a lime in it. It's definitely a :doh: moment, but it does happen.

That being said, they only got it right once? Sad, so sad.

[SengaKitty]

Draggar, I'd be finding a different place to order from... Or stop ordering the spider rolls...

And Jester, I'm glad the service was better! Gah ya'll're making me hungry for chinese food! I'm deffinately gonna have to make a trip to my favourite chinese restaurant when I go to Alabama....

[jedimaster91]

Dangit, ya'll are making me need a Chinese/sushi run, and I have no spending cash till December.

[draggar]

Draggar, I'd be finding a different place to order from... Or stop ordering the spider rolls...

Like Jester, our choices of good Chinese food is limited. This is the best affordable place we've found. I've never been to SF but I yearn for the days of hitting Chinatown in Boston w/ my Vietnamese friends when I was in college. :)

[Dips]

I yearn for the days of hitting Chinatown in Boston w/ my Vietnamese friends when I was in college. :)

You too? I used to work on Kneeland St. I miss those places so much. :cry:

[marty]

All I have to say is: thanks. Now I really want Chinese food--but I can't get any because the money I have is going into the gas tank for Thanksgiving travels.

Aw man. I'd kill for an eggroll and spicy mustard right now. Agh! I hate you all.

That being said, I'd agree that the drivers are probably new. Either that or they've been restaurant-zombified and are on autopilot.

[Primer]

We had a new Chinese place in <Small Town> a few weeks ago, and finally got a chance to try it out on Thursday. Let's just say that while it's better than the other place, I was not impressed. The General Tso's Chicken tasted fishy. Yes, they had some seafood, but nothing FRESH should taste or even smell fishy, especially not the chicken!

I'll be saving my Chinese food experiences for when I'm in <Big Town>.