gregster's Profile
Chris Quintero
one of the guys that work Domino's Pizza just said sign the name. so i sign! then he say can you fill the rest out. IT TOOK YOU 1HOUR AND 15 MIN. TO GET HERE I LIVE UP THE STREET YOUR NOT GETTING A TIP! ::walks away with attitude::
My reply:
Hey Chris, first of all, if it took longer than usual for your pizza to arrive, it's almost NEVER the drivers fault. Long delivery times are almost always the fault of the kitchen being overwhelmed with orders and being unable to keep up.
Second of all, just because you live just "up the street" does not mean that you can always expect extremely fast deliveries. Orders are made and dispatched in the order they are received, so if there are many orders ahead of yours, you have to wait your turn like everyone else. Delivery customers sometimes go into a 'food coma' and imagine that their order is the only order that exists in the world and forget that dozens of other people are also ordering food at the same time.
Third of all, customers almost always experience what I call "hunger induced pizza delivery time dilation". What this means in laymens terms is that when hungry people order food for delivery, they experience a greatly distorted view of time passage and then grossly overestimate how much time has actually passed. It is quite likely that if you had written down the time of your order, and then written down the time the driver arrived, that you would find that your order was in fact delivered quite within the time frame promised on the phone...
Fourth of all, what was the quoted delivery time of your order? Was it "30-45 minutes" which is typical of many places. Or was it more like "45 minutes to an hour" or even "more than an hour"? Do you even know? Were you even paying attention? Even if it was a few minutes late, please remember that those quoted times are only ESTIMATES! Many factors beyond a drivers control can cause your order to be delayed, and many times the delay is actually due to the customer. Was your complete address on the order and was it correct? Was your porch light on and your house numbers easily visible from the street? If you live in an apartment, was your apt# also on the ticket and any special instructions to get thru security or gate codes? Did you give a working phone number and were you actually AVAILABLE to be reached on the phone if the driver had a question or problem with your order? Did you actually pick up the phone when that 'strange number' came up on your caller ID? Did it piss you off that the strange number called back 3 times in a row? That might have been your driver trying to call you. Were you taking a shower or at a neighbors house or blasting the stereo when the driver knocked? Were you 'out for just a minute' going to the C store or ATM when the driver first arrived?
Fifth of all and finally, why did you have to give the driver 'attitude' at the door? They were just truing to protect both you and themselves by getting you to completely fill out the credit card receipt. Several people besides the driver handle the CC receipt. Any of them could write a tip in there then just pocket the cash from the store. If anyone ever notice, likely the driver would get blamed for it. To protect themselves they now insist that customers completely fill out the slip so neither of you gets burned. And you bagged on him for it!
Did the driver give you poor service? No? Then why are you taking it out on the driver who likely had nothing to do with why your pizza was supposedly late AND was also trying to protect you? Most people never realize that the driver is actually on your side and really does want your order to get there as fast as possible and to be correct and hot and fresh. Was it really the drivers fault or the fault of the store to get orders out in a timely fashion so that drivers can deliver them? Did you even ask the driver what the problem was? They were standing right there in front of you. You could have politely asked them why your order took so long and let them guide you on how to resolve the issue to your satisfaction. They likely knew that the kitchen screwed up and that if you simply called and complained that you could get your meal for free or at a big discount. Even without knowing that you could have shown your appreciation for the driver at least doing their part correctly and getting your order to you quickly after they picked it up just several minutes before. Wasn't that at least worth a buck or two? And if your order really was late, you could have called an gotten a nice discount or even the whole meal comped on the drivers advice and then thrown him a $5 bill so you booth could be happy?
I hope you know better now and will tip your driver accordingly. Whether you know it or not, your driver (if treated well) can be your very best friend and resource for getting the hottest, fastest, and best deals on pizza delivery. Tip them well (at least $3 or 15%) and they can give you the best advice on the best deals, best products, best ways to order, and how to get your problems solved with ease if they ever do arise. Kick them to the curb with no tip AND an attitude to boot, and you can just about guarantee that you'll never get priority service or money saving advice. The service you get really is up to you.
