There are some situations that I have repeatedly found myself in that I just don't really know what to do with. So I've decided to make a list of them. They aren't in order of awkwardness, like 1=most awkward or anything like that, just in the order that I think of them.
1. When people's dogs slip out of their house and are barking at me the whole time we're doing the pizza/money exchange, and then their owner keeps trying to call them back after I've already said something like have a nice day, or you know just however we ended things. And then the dog will inevitably follow me to my car while the owner is trying to call them back to the house. It's especially little dogs. So after the owner realizes that the dog isn't going to listen/obey, they come walking or maybe even jogging after the dog to try to physically carry it back to their house. And I never know if I'm supposed to like stop walking to my car and just stand there so the owner can catch up to the dog, because obviously the dog is just following me, or whether to just keep walking and let the owner figure it out once I'm in my car. The most awkward part is the whole you've already said goodbye and then you're walking together still/they're following me. And also it'd be weird to address the situation directly by asking 'do you want me to stop walking so you can get your dog?' So I just never know how to act in that particular circumstance.
2. When I can't get the pizza/breadstick/sandwich boxes out of the hot bag at the door, and the customer tries to help me, and I just feel embarrassed that this is literally the main part of my job, to give them their pizza, and I am physically failing at it. It's the worst.
3. One time, I was handing over the receipt for this guy to sign, and literally at the moment the receipt was changing hands, a huge gust of wind blew the receipts away into the bushes in front of his house! And he ran after them and had to get down on his hands and knees and crawl around to get the stupid receipt, and I was just standing there at the door waiting for him to get them. Because it was kind of a one man job, and I didn't have anywhere to put the pizzas anyway to go help him except just hold them. We sort of laughed about it, but it was just also a little awkward.
4. This has happened a lot: I knock on the door or ring the doorbell or whatever, and I'm standing there waiting for the customer to open their door, and it gets to the point where I don't think they heard me. So I knock louder or ring again, and at that moment they open the door. And I just feel like I was too impatient.
5. This has happened less than the previous one, but still, it's happened more than once: I knock/ring and no one comes to the door, and I bang on the door as hard as I can, and still no one answers. So I look at the phone number on the receipt, call them, and they don't answer. I call headquarters and tell them while I'm walking around the house to look in they're backyard to see if they're there, and then headquarters calls them, and they answer then, and headquarters is like our delivery lady has been at your door for like 5 minutes trying to get your attention. Then the exchange is always weird after that. One time it was because a dad was giving his kids a bath. He came to the door and was like 'did the doorbell not work?' And I was like 'yeah, I'm positive I heard it ring, and I rang it like 5 different times, so I'm positive it's working.' I was thinking in my head, I called you multiple times, as well, and you didn't answer your phone. Do you think you're phone's not working? You'd think if someone ordered pizza, they would be ready for me to actually arrive at their house with the pizza. I wouldn't think that someone should be totally surprised when I show up.
I guess #5 isn't as much awkward as it is annoying.
6. When someone invites me inside to sign the receipt in the entryway to their house and I have to say 'no thanks, I'll just stay outside' or 'I'm not allowed to go in peoples' houses', or something along those lines. They are always like oh, ok. And I always feel a little rude.
7. When someone takes the receipt and goes far away inside their house and sometimes even shuts the door while they sign the receipt, leaving me standing on the porch. Why don't they just sign it in front of me? Are they embarrassed for me to see the tip (or lack thereof) that they're giving me? Because I'm going to see it anyway. Or do they really feel the need to sign it on the table? Because I'm pretty sure I've seen using the wall, the door, or the top of the pizza boxes I'm holding work just as well.
8. When I drink too much water throughout the night and get to the point where I'm desperate for a bathroom and can't stand/talk long without being kind of antsy, but I still have to take care of my delivery business like it's normal. It's painful, and I've noticed before that people kind of notice I'm in a weird rush and don't know why.
9. One time I rang the doorbell and the adult of the house was opening the door with a younger kid beside her and as they were opening the door, before he saw me, he excitedly yelled 'pizza man!!' And then he saw me, not a man, standing there and we all kind of paused for a minute, and then in the same voice as he had said I exclaimed, 'pizza lady!!' It was a weird moment for all of us.
10. When people are by their door, or even standing outside, and see me miss their house and have to a. make a U-turn in the middle of the road; b. turn around on another street; or c. pull into and then back out of another driveway very near them to get back to their house while they just are standing there waiting for me. I always feel like they get impatient with me or just think I'm an idiot. Which I guess are both very valid feelings in such a situation. But that doesn't make them any less uncomfortable for me.
You might be thinking this is kind of a lame list. But whatever. I just feel like there are mundane oddities to my job that happen regularly that don't make for exciting stories, and knocking them out in one post might be a little more entertaining. Because you get to imagine me going through these things and just being unsure/insecure in my ability to carry out my job, which I feel should be just extremely simple. But sometimes simple things quickly become complicated. (If anyone thought that pizza delivery would teach me nothing about life, this proves you were wrong.)
My favorites: #2 and #9. I'm alone in the office today and I'm snickering like I've lost my mind. I hope nobody walks in to ask me something.
ReplyDeleteHaha I wish I could like blogger comments. Because I would have liked that comment.
ReplyDeleteNumber 2 made me laugh out loud. "physically failing" haha. hilarious.
ReplyDeleteWould it be wrong to order a pizza, request you to come, and then try to manufacture all of these scenarios??? What if I included a big tip?
ReplyDeleteI love that you responded, "Pizza LADY!"
That would not be wrong. I would do it for you. And the tip. I don't want you to start thinking our relationship is based mainly on money or anything like that. But tips are always nice. Big tips are even nicer.
ReplyDelete