Everyone has heard about the inevitable college debt issue. Well, maybe not inevitable; but for a lot of college student money starts to become an issue. If you are like me then you pick up some part time jobs to help get some spending money. Over my years in college I have done many jobs but the one that I enjoyed the most was delivery driving. Delivering teaches you a lot of things, but most importantly, it makes you a ton of money! That being said, delivering can also be very frustrating. There are tons of things that can frustrate, but none more than customers. So I decided to gather a list of what every delivery driver wants you to know!
1. Yes we have a delivery minimum.
Like every place you will ever order delivery from anywhere, there will be a delivery minimum. This is not meant to over charge you a ton of money, but to ensure the driver doesn't spend $7 in gas for you $5 order. We didn't set the so no need to yell at us when the order isn't quite enough. Also, some places might still deliver if it is close enough, but not if you are going to be rude about it.
2. Please tip the driver.
It is important to know if the driver gets any of the delivery charge. You can check pretty much every establishments website to find that out. Most give a partial amount, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't tip them. because a partial amount of $2, means you not tipping cost us in the end. Also makes us not want to take your order. I get it, sometimes you may not have enough money, but I think I speak for every driver ever when I say if you don't have enough money to afford a tip, you probably shouldn't be ordering delivery.
3. Yes, that is how much it cost.
You cannot believe how many times I have heard, "That's not how much you said it was." We read the total back to you at the end of the call. Also, the driver has no control over how much the price is, literally zero! We literally just bring you the food. So, between the probably two jobs, classes, and minimal pay we get, the last thing we want is someone yelling at us for something we have no power over. (Also, we are very reasonable so if there is something messed up, we will do what we can to apologize and fix it.)
4. We can deliver 10 minutes before closing, but it is super rude!
So there is 10 min left for the store to be open, and you ordered food. I get it, I really do; we have hours that go till a certain time, but that is not so we can take food to you but rather for you to come get it, or to finish eating it at the place itself. Ordering 10 min before closing means we have to make the food (10-20 min average), then take you the food (20 min average) then finally get back and start the closing process. We all have lives, and while I do get paid to work, it isn't great to have to work late because of you decided that you couldn't order food at a reasonable time.
5. Please be ready for the delivery.
This is often done by accident; you order food and forget to pay attention to the time. I am not blaming you, but on super busy days, taking 10 extra minutes on your delivery means I am taking 10 extra on the next delivery. This sometimes resulting in the next customer being mad at me because I took a while. Once again getting yelled at for something out of my control. Be a bro and be ready for your food!
6. Delivery times can vary.
You are right, last time I delivered to you it didn't take as long, but that's because you were the only delivery I had. Sometimes it gets super busy, we aren't taking more time to deliver to you on purpose, we simply were busy.
7. Don't order delivery if you are in a hurry.
Sometimes delivery is so convenient and nice. This makes it a great choice if you are busy doing other things and cannot cook, but if you need to be somewhere else, do not order! As number 6 shows, delivery times can vary, so we might not be able to make it in time. We cannot guarantee that we can be there on short notice. The road can be unpredictable, whether it is waiting for trains, an accident, or just traffic, your delivery driver has to deal with it. So, if you don't have more than an hour, it is probably a no go on the delivery.
8. Tips in Cash are always better.
I am not sure how it works at other delivery places, but where I work you do not have to claim cash, but you do have to claim credit cards. Taxes aren't fun for anyone, right? So, if you have a few bucks, reach for that instead of the pen for the tip. If that's all you have, I'll suck it up and thank you for the generosity.
9. Leave the light on for us.
Delivering to houses during the day is a breeze after you have been doing it for a while. All houses are numbered, but those numbers are incredibly hard to see at night, so if you have an outside light please turn it on. Your neighbors will be pretty annoyed if they get a knock on their door for something they didn't order. It can also result in your driver wondering aimlessly looking for your house.
10. Don't yell at your drivers.
I have said it a lot in this list, but it is important. At the end of the day, we are just working for money to pay for school, rent, or just plain anything. We are often under appreciated, and often treated like crap. We never intentionally make your food wrong, or bring it late, or really anything bad. We are good people. We are here to bring your scrumptious food and believe me, we can understand that! So, yelling at us not only doesn't fix anything, but it also makes good people take something they do not deserve!
So please take this list to heart and really appreciate your drivers. We want to be your hero with no cape, and if you follow this list, we will be.
