Making Change

We had a new driver tonight, Ted. He's in his late 30's and has a 2nd wife and 5 kids in all. We can understand each other's reason's for driving pizza! He seems like a good guy and a hard worker.

I drove for 7 1/2 hours, took 18 deliveries, drove 66 miles, and made $38 in tips. That's a pretty decent night, especially volume-wise.

When we check in we are given a "bank" of $15, a $5 and ten $1's. As the night goes on the driver may add another $5 or a few singles to his bank, but he "drops" cash to the manager throughout the night so as not to be a target for thieves.

I had a few interesting things happen tonight while "making change." First off, my first order was for $22.83. I realized that if the customer paid with 2 $20's, I couldn't make correct change, so I borrowed a $5 from the drawer, with manager approval.

Sure enough, the customer paid with 2 $20's and asked for $14 back, leaving me with a nice $3.17 tip. Then the customer asked, "That's not going to short you on one's, is it?" I told him I was fine, but it was odd as I've never had a customer ask that before.

Several deliveries later, I had a customer pay her $7.58 order with a $10 and a $1. Anytime the customer hands me a $1 along with the rest of their money, it's a pretty safe assumption that they don't expect change, as any change (other than coin change which I almost never carry) would include a $1 back to them.

Later I had a delivery for $28.32. The woman paid with 2 $20's and asked for a $5 and five $1's back, leaving me with $1.68 tip. She then handed me $2 more back. I'm not sure why she didn't just ask for $8 back in the first place?

Finally, for the 3rd night in a row I had the displeasure of delivering to 316 S. M., the serial stiffer that never tips. Their check was $9.71 so before I left, I changed in $1 and put 71 cents in one pocket and 29 cents in the other. After the guy handed me $10, I slowly dumped the 29 cents into his hand, before I gave him his food. He had a disgusted "I don't need your 29 cents" look on his face. Well now he knows how we drivers feel!