First Day

The title of this post may be a little misleading. Today was my first day to deliver, which is, as you all know, my main job description. However, this was my 4th consecutive day to work. So, let me give you a brief overview of my REAL first days:

Well, actually, they were pretty boring. I had to watch about 11 hours of videos and take quizzes on them and stuff. But I met a bunch of the people I'll be working with, and they're awesome.
So the first guy I met was Cosmo. I actually met him when I went to turn in my application...he's this short man shaped sort of like a pear, with long grey hair tied up in a low pony tail under his visor. The first time I talked to him he told me about how great the huge map is on the store wall for showing me how to get where i'll need to go. The second time I talked to him, he told me he was old enough to be my grandpa, and that he was still working because he lost money in the stock market, and then he complained about socialists and giving people money, and told me everything that was wrong in Europe, and why Germany is obviously the best European country (because they are the hardest workers, which is actually true...everyone else gets more vacation time and great unemployment benefits, but Germany won't put up this that stuff, as Cosmo would say). He usually works during the daytime, making sauce and deliveries.

The second guy I met looks just like Will Ferrell. Like exactly like him. He was making sauce with Cosmo and was pretending to be Martha Stuart, or really just any cook on a cooking show. "Make sure you get those spices really stirred in good...it's the secret to a tasty sauce, and it's what keeps headquarter's customers calling again and again!" And he was saying it in a feminine voice...it was pretty funny. He's super cool though. He just got back from Las Vegas where he was doing real estate and was working as a taxi driver. His shift started at midnight, and I think he has a lot of great stories from that job.

And there's one lady I worked with tonight who goes by Matilda now, but her name used to be Dana...apparently she changed her name because at some point she really changed the way she was living and wanted to leave a bunch of it behind, and really start off fresh. Like with a new name fresh. She wears these brown hiking looking shoes but they have springs on the soles of the heel. Like Air Jordan's on steroids.
                                            

And last but not least, there's this guy named Tim. He has tattoos on both of his forearms (I forgot to ask him what they mean, but that's our next conversation for sure), is married, and has I think like 3 kids. He's super awesome...his kids are homeschooled and we were joking about homeschooled kids and he said they made fun of most homeschoolers. Tonight we talked about Keynesian vs. Austrian economics (after he found out I was an economics major). He's really smart and is the most normal guy out of them all. Well...maybe not...I left out almost everyone else I work with. Because they're mostly normal.

Last night, I didn't have any more videos to watch, but I learned how to answer the phones and take orders on the computer. I picked it up pretty quick (I didn't have much of a choice...when the phone started ringing they were like Rachel you start taking calls now). I had a little bit of everything...regular orders, complaints, wanting to change a cash payment to a credit payment, and I had this one annoying guy who I took his order and repeated everything to him at least once, and then he called back after it was delivered and told me he had asked for something different than what he really asked for, and that he wanted a free pizza next time because of it. And our policy at headquarters is to give our customers what they want, so I had to give it to him. I didn't make any pizzas though...I'm not experienced enough for that yet.

But PTL (praise the Lord) I am and driver and not a customer service expert (aka insider). That means I get to be on the road. And that started tonight. Nothing all that exciting happened, really. Here are the highlights:
I took 2 pizzas and some parm bites and a Dr Pepper to a group of people who were too stoned to look at me. I pulled up and they were all standing outside, like totally spread out from each other, none of them talking to each other, and I got out of the car and looked around and one girl sort of met my eye and so I walked up to her and she handed me a wad of bills and was like 'keep the change' and turned around and walked inside, and the other guys followed her in. It was weird.
I went to this neighborhood twice in a row where I got a $1 tip the first time and a 40 cent tip the second time. I hate that neighborhood.
On my way back to headquarters one run, I passed a Pizza Hut delivery guy. I tried to wave at him, because I felt like we had this special bond or something. But he avoided eye contact and sped up! Apparently the pizza delivery business is a lot more competitive than I expected. But really I think he was just taking it way too seriously.
I got ready for one delivery and my boss told me that this lady has a dog named McNair and that if I talked about the dog the lady would give me a $5 tip. And I was like this is great. So I got out of the car ready for some doggy talk and a man answered the door, and barely talked to me. I mean, we said what was needed, you know? But anyway I got in the car a little disappointed, and looked at the receipt (he paid with a credit card) and he had given me an $8.18 tip on a $15.82 tab!! That was definitely a good highlight.
The last delivery of my night was this guy who I can't remember his name, but he lives with his mom in a retirement neighborhood right down the road from headquarters. Apparently he orders something every night, and always comes to the door in his boxers and usually tips pretty well. So I prepared myself for the boxers part, pulled up to his door, and he walked up and held out his hands for his order and I noticed that he hadn't clipped his fingernails in I have no idea how long.

I have a feeling a lot of the weird things I will see will have to do with people's hygiene, because those have been the things that have stuck out the most so far. Which is super weird and kind of gross and odd. But it is what it is.

So, the pre-game jitters are over, I've learned a few handy tricks:
Never ever get yourself in a position where you have to turn left at lights in busy places (it doubled my route time once tonight) - ALWAYS plan your route so that you can make right turns.
Make small talk with every customer every single time they are about to sign their receipt if it's a credit payment or when they're giving you cash so that they feel like they connect with you. That's where the money comes from.
Keep snacks in the car.

I now have a few days off, and I'm going to enjoy them by reading a lot and spending time with well-groomed people.