I've been delivering full time for about five years now, in Illinois and more recently Colorado. Delivered in almost any situation you can think of -- urban, rural, crowded college campuses, rich subdivisions, and the projects. Like everyone else, I have tons of stories. This one is my all time favorite. One summer night in Champaign, IL I had a delivery to the ghetto to an address I did not recognize. I got there in about 20 minutes and pounded on the door for 2 or 3 minutes. No answer. A neighbor walked by and said, "Oh, Rusty (or whatever his name was) ain't home, but I'll try to get some cash from the neighbors for you." I waited while he ran door to door looking for funds, but after all, it was the slums and no one has any money, so I ditched him and drove back to the store. I called the guy who ordered and he was livid. "They said it would be 45 minutes!!" he screamed. The guy was pissed that I was too early! He ranted a bit more. I asked him if he was at his address now. He said he was, so I drove back to his house. Again, I pounded on the door and no one was there. What the hell?
I drove back to the store and found out what happened. After I called the guy, he drove to the wrong store. He drove to Domino's to bitch them out, forgetting he had ordered from a different company! He apparently threw a fit about his pizza at Domino's and they had no idea what the hell he was talking about. He must have realized his mistake at some point and relayed it to the people at Domino's because the Domino's manager called our store to report his situation.
I drove back to his house a third time and he was there. Ultimate white trash and sloppily drunk. He demanded I give him the food for free. Why? because I was too early? I tried to argue my case but he became very belligerent. I was concerned about it escalating to blows, so I just gave it to him. After giving me no tip, he said, "Hey, hey. Thanks man. I'll be ordering from you guys a lot more now." Thankfully, I never saw his address again.
