CURBSIDE ETIQUETTE

Through the Eyes of a Delivery Goddess





Below you will find links to dates when new entries are added. The stories will not necessarily be in chronological order, but rather as I remember them. I am dating them so that you can skip to new ones you haven't read since the last time you visited, and so that you are more easily able to find something you found humorous to share with others.



Lean on Me


I know I've spoken in the past about the smaller privately owned pizza shop for which I delivered over the course of about a year. I delivered one night to a middle-aged man who was very intoxicated when he came to the door. He had a very difficult time counting out his money, and an equally difficult time remaining vertical. Most people know that when folks are beyond their limit of alcohol, they've lost a good amount of muscle control and their mid-section seems to turn to rubber. This guy asked me over and over to come in and help him eat his sandwich, and I repeatedly said "no". He had only steps that led up to his door, no real porch or even landing at the top, so I didn't have much choice but to stand on the top step with one foot,and prop the door open with the other. I didn't even wait for him to try and count a tip from his wad of wrinkled bills, once I had enough money to cover the order, I split. He opened the door and hollered, "Wait, what about your tip?" but I never looked back. When I returned to the shop, I told the owner / boss that I absolutely did NOT want to go back there that night, and I had an idea he'd call back since he wanted me to come in and eat with him. While I was there, he made some comment about me being better looking than the normal delivery gal, but I'm not sure how he could even tell if I was a human being or a giraffe. As I expected, he called back for pizza this time, and also as expected, the boss sent me back there. I got to the top step, the hard door was already open, only the storm door was between myself and a man who was now bent over sideways at the waste in an "L" shape. I opened the door enough to slide the pizza in - I was not even going to wait for money, I just didn't care, I wanted to run away as quickly as possible, but the rubber middled man managed to gain enough muscle power to stand vertical for a split second, then fall over forward with his forehead on my shoulder. He had pushed the storm door further open with his hand. I grabbed the pizza and tossed it onto the floor - it landed flat (remember, I've never flipped a pizza, at least not on a delivery) - then gave him a really good shove so he fell backward into his hallway. He started choking and laughing saying something like, "Dude, what just happened?" I turned and ran down the steps, got into the car and laid a patch of rubber probably 20 feet long. When I got back to the shop this time, I informed the boss that I was NOT paying for his pizza, and I did NOT wait around long enough for him to pay me. I tried to explain to her that he was on the verge of overdose on my second visit, and I wanted NO parts of being witness to THAT! I honestly think that she thought I was making it all up. She made me pay half price for the pizza; she said I should have brought it back with me. For what? For you to resell? I should HOPE not! What's the point, it's lost money because I told her I was NOT going back there, and she made the choice to send me back. She swore the person on the phone did not seem drunk, but I know that the person who answered the door was beyond drunk.

Amazingly enough, a few weeks after I quit, she called me one night, asking for the address of that guy who was so drunk he couldn't stand straight and leaned on me when I opened the door. I told her I couldn't remember the exact house number, but described the house to her. She had just been there, and again, the guy was like jello on a stick, but was rude to her, demanding to know where the goddess was that brought his food last time. I think she was hurt. She claims she charged him double, then posted a note at the cash register explaining that no one should take an order from that address any more.

She just was not willing to believe ...
THE DELIVERY GODDESS.