D's Pizza Delivery

My name is unimportant. Call me paranoid, but there are a lot of crazy people out there. Trust me; I've met quite a few of them.

In any case, you can call me D.

Currently, I work as the delivery manager for a small restaurant called Napoli's. Napoli's is a small chain of three stores located in Allen, Plano, and Corsicana, Texas. They serve not only pizza, but also full pasta, chicken, and veal dishes as well as salads, desserts, and sub sandwiches and they offer all their menu items for delivery. All three stores are owned and operated by the same man, a friendly Albanian named Mike, and his family. I've worked with Napoli's since only a couple months after they opened in April of 2004.

I never even wanted a job as a "pizza delivery boy" (in quotes because the term is actually a bit insulting) and, in fact, laughed at my older brother when he got his job delivering pizzas for Napoli's that April. I for some reason felt above such a job. After all, I had already worked at a restaurant, when I was 15, and had moved on to bigger and better things like retail. In all seriousness, though, I was given the position of a supervisor at a grocery store when I was only 17. I began working two jobs, then, and was given another supervisor position at a Spencer's Gifts store in the mall. Well, I ended up losing both jobs for reasons I don't feel like going into and started working at Toys R' Us as an "open floor associate." That is: I didn't mess with cash registers or ringing people up. Instead I had one of the more important jobs at such a place: actually convincing people to buy our shit. While I actually loved the job, I was glad to leave the next January in order to go to college.

I came back the next summer just in time to say goodbye to my brother as he left for the Army. This meant he had to leave his job at Napoli's, which he had held for less than two months. Well, I did need a job and Napoli's had a spot open, so I swallowed my pride, said goodbye to my ego (and my brother), and went to meet the crew at Napoli's.

On June 5th, my brother worked his last day at Napoli's and I met the crew.
On June 7th, I tucked in my shirt, combed my hair, filled up my gas tank, and went to work.

Now, a lot of "veteran" delivery drivers may say that since I've only been doing this for two years, I'm still learning all there is to know about the job and am, in gaming terms, still just a noob. To them I'd like to say I'm a fast learner. Granted, they've probably seen shit I've never seen on the job, but I'm sure I've likewise seen shit they've never seen.

Here's a breakdown of my current job as "delivery manager:"
I still deliver pizzas just as much as the other drivers at our store, so don't think I'm a sellout. The main differences are that I also help out up front, deal with problem customers, dispatch drivers on deliveries, and write the schedule for all our drivers. I don't perform menial tasks like bussing tables anymore, but I still answer phones, take out the trash, and vacuum the store like the other drivers. My pay remained the same when I was "promoted," but I don't have much of a problem with that because I actually enjoy doing my new duties and often did such duties anyway before they started calling me a manager.

Finally, I'd just like to say that this blog isn't going to be about what I have been through in the wonderful world of pizza delivery, but mostly what I will go through. I'll give you a quick little briefing of some of the shit I've gone through just to give you an idea of the sort of things you'll see on this blog in days to come.

I've been offered beer, liquor, and even the food I'd just delivered as a tip. My car's been egged. My car has been hit. My car has ended up in a ditch. I've met more crazy people in a day than most people will meet in a year. I've become cynical, spiteful, and even a little racist. I've been through the "gas crisis." Prices were around $1.60 when I started this job and have been over $3.00 since then. I've delivered during football games, basketball games, and I've witnessed firsthand the rise of NASCAR. I've delivered to hurricane refugees. I've delivered on many a holiday and two Super Bowls. I'm currently delivering during the NBA finals, of which our local team (the Dallas Mavericks) are a part of.

This job is not a walk in the park, as many people will make it out to be. It's fast-paced, stressful, and intense. I've seen a driver quit after two hours saying he just couldn't handle the job.

Feel free to leave your comments at any time on my blog, though I do ask that they pertain to the subject matter of the post you're commenting on. I especially welcome fellow drivers to join in on the conversations that may be held here.

-D