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13 Things Your Pizza Guy Won't Tell You

Pizza delivery guys share their secrets, tips and best etiquette advice.

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Pizza tips should be 10 to 15 percent of your order, according to the local delivery guys we interviewed.
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Also in this article:1. My other line is ringing, so choose the toppings before you call. Remember: It's a pizza, not a lifetime commitment.

2. We know when kids are prank-calling us. They can't mask their voices very well. The smart ones block the phone number. The dumb ones don't.

3. If I drop your pizza on the way, sometimes I'll shake the box to get the cheese to slide back on right.

4. Patience, please. It takes about 20 minutes to go from raw dough to fully baked pizza. And then I have to drive to your house.
5. In some neighborhoods, a kid getting out of a car with a pizza in his hands is like screaming, "Rob me! I have cash!" That's why we won't deliver to some neighborhoods.

6. When you see me drenched and shivering in the rain, it's not nice to close the door in my face while you search for some quarters in the sofa cushions.

7. When you open the door, please hang up your cell phone or put it down. It's basic etiquette.

8. I'd prefer that you have a shirt on (and definitely some pants).

9. Tips should be 10 to 15 percent of your order. If you order a lot of pizza—say, hundreds of dollars' worth, for a party or something—but give me a $1 tip, well, I'm going to have a problem with that.

10. The more gated the community, the more guarded the wallet. The best tips actually come from middle- and lower-class people who know what we go through.

11. I remember every customer who doesn't tip. I won't do anything to jeopardize my job, but shaking the soda on the next delivery would not be out of the question.

12. I'll knock on your door three times and call you on the phone twice. If you don't answer, don't call later to complain that you didn't get your food. I can't wait forever.

13. A guy once ordered pizza from me just so he'd have some help moving his sofa up a flight of stairs. I agreed to help him. He gave me a few extra bucks. I took it.

Sources: Anonymous pizza delivery people in New York, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania.

From Reader's Digest - April 2009
 
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Also the chain I worked for the driver only saw half of the delivery fee. So while the customer often thought I was getting $1.50 from the delivery fee it actually fluctuated between 65-90 cents depending on the companies review of gas prices the company kept the rest to cover liability insurance. For my car getting around 27/mpg I broke even on gas but there are still oil changes, brakes, tires to cover. At the end of the day you don't have to tip, and we don't have to give good service.

By Chris, on 10/29/2009

If your order is screwed up, or very late we understand not tipping. You shouldn't pay extra if we screwed up. But the delivery guy isn't just bringing your food, they are taking orders, prepping dough, making pizzas, washing dishes, and delivering. The accepted norms in the US are a 10-15% tip for your server at a restaurant the delivery person does the same work or more and has to cover operating costs on a car.

By Chris, on 10/29/2009

2 things a driver will always remember a good tipper and a bad/non tipper. On that note when I was delivering, a family 2-3 minutes drive from the store ordered pizza 3 weeks in a row during blizzards that dumped around 12" each week 1 no tip, week 2 no tip, the next time the pizza sat in the back of my wagon without a bag I drove with all 4 windows down with the heater up high blowing at me. They called to complain about their cold food but I was out and back so quick the manager called BS.

By Chris, on 10/29/2009

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