Delivery story 336 Big T writes: I have been delivering for a company for almost ten years now and suddenly, due to the recession I'm guessing, sales, therefore, tips, dramatically decrease to the point I'm working 15 hours a week and making less than 15 dollars per 5 hour shift. So I decide to go to a much, MUCH busier company. I've been here about a month now and things have been REALLY good. Until last night. First of all, it was the coldest day in this state's history in the last 40 years, a bone chilling -14 with windchill. Second of all, it was in the days leading up to the Christmas season and as we drivers know, robberies multiply in this time especially in a recession. The night started out well. It was absolutely FREEZING but people seemed to understand I was out here in -14 degree weather and they were taking care of me. One VERY kind lady actually prepared a cup of coffee for me to go. Thank you! I had a couple of deliveries to the not-so-nice areas, where people normally aren't so nice about tipping and even they tipped on this night, recognizing that I was putting my health at risk to get them their food. Then I was on a delivery to that same area around 9pm-ish and it was one of the back roads of the bad area. There are no street lights in this neighborhood at all. They have all long since been SHOT out. But, I've been here at night before. So, I arrive at the house. Of course, no lights are on and it's completely dark. I shine my headlights and spotlight at my path and the door per usual. I walk up to this door, and, apparently paranoia set in because I see the eyes staring out the window blinds and running around in the house and hear, "WHO THE $*$&# IS THERE?" as I knock on the door. "***** *** Pizza delivery," I answer. No response. I yell it back out again louder. Now this particular street is known as a "wind tunnel" so I was in LOTS of pain right now with the BELOW ZERO air completely freezing me out. Even in the hotbag, I can feel the pizza losing heat fast. I wait about 30 seconds, knock again louder. "Mother *$&#@# HOLD ON A $@$* MINUTE!" is the response I get. So I wait, and I wait for roughly two minutes and no one at the door yet. At this point I can't feel my feet, hands, nose, ears, etc, so I decide I'm calling this one a day. I knock one more time. This time, no response at all. After about ten more seconds, I walk back toward my truck and get hit in the back of the head with something and barrel to the cold hard pavement, dropping the food everywhere and, unknown to me at the time since I was too frozen to feel anything, breaking my wrist. The pizza is then picked up with the heatbag and they casually walk back in the house, spouting obscenities at me as if I was the problem, adding insult to injury. As I get up and run back to the truck, someone from down the street yells at me to stop and starts running toward me, also yelling obscenities. I make it in my truck and quickly threw it in reverse and I must admit, AIMING for the oncoming adversary, and peel out to get the hell out of there. When I got to a safe area at the corner gas station, I called my store to inform them what had happened. (I still couldn't feel my wrist to know it was broken. I just knew it hurt a lot at this time.) They told me to call the cops to come to my location and fill out the proper reports. I still had another delivery in the truck so another driver came to get it from me and deliver it. Well, long story short, when I got back to the store I found out he was robbed and had two of his ribs broken at the other location as well. Merry Christmas, huh? Everyone should be required to read this entire site front to back before EVER ordering delivery. I am still employed by this company, although now I will be carrying a gun. I am licensed in my state to carry a concealed firearm and I have a wife and two beautiful little girls I have to come home to at the end of each night ... and I WILL protect myself. return to top