Have you
ever had trouble finding someone’s house?
It’s easy
to do in Fresno. Some houses have address numbers that are easy to read from
the street, while others are labeled so badly that they may as well not be
labeled at all.
This isn’t
pleasant when I try to deliver a pizza in an unfamiliar neighborhood. It
doesn’t help that I usually deliver at night, and it especially doesn’t help
that I usually get tailgated by a one-ton truck with headlights that reflect in
the mirror into my eyes.
Even worse
are apartment complexes. There’s nothing worse than walking around building
after building in search of the right apartment, only to find out that the
apartment I’m looking for isn’t the one I found—it’s one of the other seven
with the same number.
Here’s an
example of what I’m talking about:
“Aaron!
Delivery!”
“OK… so
where’s Doon Way at?”
“Check the
map. I think it’s over near the people on Diana Street who never tip.”
“But it’s
not on the map.”
So I drove
over to the area near the people on Diana Street who never tip. By some stroke
of luck, I found Doon Way. But I couldn’t find the house, because the houses on
that street aren’t numbered very clearly. I drove past all of them at about 5
mph, then at the end of the street turned around and drove past them again at 5
mph. I then repeated the process.
Luckily, on
the way back up the street, I saw a man come out of a house and walk to the
sidewalk. When I got there, I rolled down my window and asked if he knew where
the house I was looking for was.
It turned
out that he was the one who ordered the pizza.
At least
that delivery wasn’t bad compared to one I made at an apartment complex at
Minnewawa and Santa Ana avenues. First, I went to the wrong apartment. Then, I
had to get back in my car and drive until I got closer to the right one. After
driving for what seemed like half a mile—I’m glad I didn’t walk—I found the
right building. I then ended up walking in almost a complete circle around it,
but I finally found the right apartment.
But then
the guy got an attitude with me when he gave me a check and I asked to see his
ID. I finally got to see the ID, but not before hearing how he’s ordered more
pizzas from there than I’ve ever delivered.
But the
best one had to be the time I tried to deliver a pizza to an apartment in
Bulldog Village. Either the person ordering the pizza gave the wrong apartment
number, or “152” sounded too close to “162.” In any event, I couldn’t find the
apartment, not even looking on the apartment map. So I used my cell phone to
call the number on the delivery slip, only to find out the number goes to
Sanger.
I ended up
driving back to the restaurant with the pizza. I then got off work for the
night, but I later found out that the person who ordered the pizza called back
later and got things straightened out.
So if you
order a pizza and it takes forever to show up, it might not be the delivery
driver’s fault. Sometimes the directions are bad, or sometimes your house
numbers are invisible at night.
Remember
that before you stiff the driver on the tip.