2 oustanding ones from last night

[Racket_Man]

The cell phone thread reminded me of technology we as a delivery place have to deal with

Dude get a better phone or a step to your right and put your hand on your hipst

Now my town has several places that are semi-dead zones for cell reception. my own house is one of those places. but all I have to do is move to another room or accross the room or go up to the 2d floor and BLAMO I gots decent reception.

had two or three call like the following last night
Cast:
PRPD = Poor Reception Phone Dude
me = GIVE me lots of adult refreshments PLEASE

<phone rings and I answer>
me - <standard phone greeting/opening spiel>
PRPD - delivery
me - OK. May I get your phone number please?
PRPD - %^&%&^ive *&**ur &$$$ ree <silence>
me - Hello???
PRDP - (&*%(**&&*$^&(*(**&(*** en &^&%%%six *&*&^%%^% ght
me - HELLO ???? SIR can your hear me?????
PRPD - HI
me - can I get your phone number please?????
PRPD - (^&*&*^*&^&*^ <silence> **&%^*&&&* <silence> )**&$%@##@#@
me - HEllo????
PRDP - HI.
me - Sir you phone is cutting out and I am unable to understand you. can you please repeat your phone number.
PRPD = (*(^&**(^*&^&^(*&^(*&^* <silence> (*)^%&%&^%&^%^&&^ <silence>


wash lather rinse and repeat 4 or 5 times JUST to get the guys phone number.

<finally get the order and confirm AND....>
me - your total is $25.83 (and I am dreading this next part) and will this be cash or credit????
PRPD - CREDIT
me - may I get your card number please <while really wanting to reach throught the phone and rip the guys tonsiles out>
PRPD _ (()*^&*&^*&^*^))(***&(*& <silence> 0(**&*%&&*&*&^&^ <silence> *&*%&*%^*&&^&^
me - I could not hear you. YOUR PHONE IS CUTTING OUT OR YOUR RECEPTION IS BAD. could you please repeat that card number

< again wash lather rinse and repeat.>

It literally took me 10 minutes to take and process a simple order.

LOOK how simple is this: IF I tell you your phone is cuttin ou, PLEASE DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT and stop wasting my time.

This next one is in 2 parts

(Part 1) At least invest in some cheap rope Dude

I arrive at an apartment for a delivery. I knock on the door and wait. a guy answers. He tells me that the person who actually ordered is not here and he has no money (GROAN), but he will try and call her.

Guy whips out his phone and proceeds to look up a number and attempts to make a call. now while this is happening he is majorly staggering around. I spy many tall boy beer cans on the kitchen table. OK this guy has been slammin beer for a while now.

while he is trying to dial the phone he is staggering around the floor. Now at this point I will point out that he is one of these persons who wears saggy oversized pants. as he is staggering around ---- OPPPPSSSSS pants fall to around his knees. NOT something I really want to see. BUT THEN again he seems NOT to notice right away that his butt is hangin out. He continues to try and "call" the person who ordered.

He finally hikes up his pants and in his frustration he staggers over to the other side of the area. NOW he keeps running into the wall, backing away and running into the wall. still trying to make a call AND stagger around --- OPPPPSSSSSS --- there goes his pants again. FULL on MOONing. Up come the pants again

NOW I really need some in vast quantities with a side of hot pokers.

Continuing to try and make a call and further stagger around it happens again. QUE more

NOW all I want to to just gvet THE HELL AWAY.

It is now established that the person who orders can not be gotten a hold of and I tell him that if they want the order delivered to call the store and I beat a very reapid retreat.



DUDE Belts are your friend or at the very least go to the dollar store and get some rope.

(Part 2) Still searching

Now I have experienced people who will search their couch for change but this takes the cake.

As I am exiting the building a car pulls into the parking lot. 2 women emerge from the car. One asks if I am delivering to 1234 X St Apt. 4. Yes I am. Well that is us. the first woman pulls out some money and turns to the other. the second woman exits the car but stops.

I Can't find my MONEY!!!!!!!!

Cue 2d woman frantically searching the whole of the car for the next 5 minutes. The first woman hands me EXACT change and I give her the order AND boggie out of there.

I WANT BACK THAT 10 MINUTES OF WASTED TIME

[vloglady]

I've never been a food delivery person, but why don't you call the person from the car? to make sure they're really home and have the money?

seems like I've read so many stories of people not being home and/or not having the money or even not wanting the order.

[EricKei]

Well, one can NORMALLY assume that someone who places an order is home and actually has money -- I did delivery for years, too, and it's always just select few idiots who wait until they're on the phone and talking to the pizza place before they begin arguing over whether they even want pizza, the ones who wait until you get there to see if they have money, et al. Calling the customers shouldn't be necessary unless it's one of these morons. It doesn't help that a few too many people who go by "I don't pick up the phone unless I know the number" policies neglect to make an exception when waiting for a pizza to arrive >_>

[Midnight_Angel]

at the very least go to the dollar store and get some rope.

To hang himself?

[Tama]

That's what I thought when I read the title to that...

[retailsweetie]

Re: delivery drivers calling the customer: I think all the places up here in the middle of nowhere do (we've got like 123098875 pizza places and one Chinese place) but that's because 1/3 of the entire town is my university and the drivers can't come in the dorms. I try to tip well 'cuz I know I'm the only one who actually comes to get their order when the driver calls instead of ten minutes later... I can't imagine it's fun to have to call (and call and call and call in some instances) every single time. Especially if the driver has a fixed amount of minutes on his/her phone.

[MoonCat]

Sometimes a rope is no help....I remember this guy that used to ride the bus, real young, skinny dude with long blond hair. His pants used to practically fall off every time he stood up. This was way before all the young guys starting wearing droopy pants. Finally he started using a piece of rope to hold them up...seriously, no belt, just a piece of rope. It didn't work too well, he still mooned people when he stood up.

[Racket_Man]

I've never been a food delivery person, but why don't you call the person from the car? to make sure they're really home and have the money?

seems like I've read so many stories of people not being home and/or not having the money or even not wanting the order.

We as delivery drivers have to assume that the person has enough sense to STAY at whatever location they called from. The problem lies with the customers who think "AHHHH they will not be here for 20 minutes. let's go to the store to do major some shopping, grab some DVDs from the video store, drop off the kids somewhere, go visit a friend up the block, fall asleep, get "busy" with their SO,etc."

The 2d thing is is that me (or any delivery driver) calling each and every customer before each and every delivery costs time and money. Time because of the time wasted getting on the phone and calling (which at sub-sub-minimum tipped wage does add up). I am supposed to get from point A (the store) to point B (the customers location) and back to point A as fast as leagally possible after being dispatched on an order. This is one of the VERY important metrics of the delivery biz.

Plus I am not allowed to use my cell phone while I am on the road (which is a good thing as I drive for a living).

It costs money to use a cell phone. some drivers have pay as you go phone/plans. the more minutes you use the more it costs you. OR if you have a plan that allows only a certain number of minutes per month, going over those minutes costs a LOT esp if you use a lot of minutes.

If we were to use the store phone, that ties up a line that now can not be used while we wait for the customer to answer and then talk to the customer.

[Merriweather]

Dude get a better phone or a step to your right and put your hand on your hipst

OK, now I can't get the Time Warp out of my head. (I'm highly susceptible to music suggestions, sigh)

[EricKei]

OK, now I can't get the Time Warp out of my head.

I'll see your Time Warp song and raise you Bats, Supes, The Joker, and friends in Rocky Horror drag

[Peppergirl]

I've never been a food delivery person, but why don't you call the person from the car? to make sure they're really home and have the money?

And who is going to pay for the wasted cell minutes of the poor driver who is stuck doing this? We know the managers aren't going to purchase them a phone or pay their bill.

[DGoddessChardonnay]

OK, now I can't get the Time Warp out of my head. (I'm highly susceptible to music suggestions, sigh)

Join the club.

Of course I'd probably look pretty stupid trying to dance when I have two left feet.

Back OT, if you know you're ordering pizza, have the money within arm's reach for cryin' out loud. There is no reasonable explanation in my book (at least) why you'd have to search your freakin' car for your money.

That's what wallets are for, folks. Use them.

[BeenThereDoneThat]

I hate getting calls from people on bad cell phone connections especially if they pretty much refuse to admit it's not going to work out and keep wandering around going "Can y--- ---ear me no---". No, I can't!!! Go somewhere else or use a landline!!! Then there are some that I can't hear what they're saying at ALL, there is all kinds of static or something, and I can tell they're talking but I'm saying "I'm sorry, I can't make out anything you're saying, can you please call back?" and then I hear them keep talking! WTF???

[Racket_Man]

I hate getting calls from people on bad cell phone connections especially if they pretty much refuse to admit it's not going to work out and keep wandering around going "Can y--- ---ear me no---". No, I can't!!! Go somewhere else or use a landline!!! Then there are some that I can't hear what they're saying at ALL, there is all kinds of static or something, and I can tell they're talking but I'm saying "I'm sorry, I can't make out anything you're saying, can you please call back?" and then I hear them keep talking! WTF???

that is almost as bad as a loud party going on in the background. between the yelling screaming, loud BOOM BOOM ZZZZZZZZZZ music and the person on the phone having 10 simutanious conversations with EVERYONE in the room .

But then: Drew Carey + The Time Warp