As threatened...
Here is my diatribe on what to do when you want some food delivered. I have wanted to compose this for a long time.
How To Be a Good Delivery Customer
Home/individual delivery
1) When placing an order:
--Know the phone number, street address and any other important info for where you are. If you’re at a college or business, tell them, and give the building or dorm name and room number. If you’re at a hotel, find out the street address. If you’re at a hospital, tell them the room number, department, floor, anything that’ll help them find you.
--If you’re in an apartment building, give them the info they need to find you: apt. number, security code, your last name, everything that is relevant. If the buzzer has listings by last name and a code, and you just gave the store your apt. number, the driver still won’t be able to reach you. If the buzzer system is out of order, tell them so the driver knows to call before leaving the store, or when he pulls up out front if he has a cell phone.
--Try to plan what you want to order before you call, if at all possible. They may have lots of calls on hold to deal with.
--Most places can take credit cards for delivery, but you should tell them when you place the order. If the driver shows up and you whip out the card, chances are good they can’t do it without a slip already rung up for you to sign.
2) Once you’ve placed the order:
--Get your payment ready, including having a coupon cut out and ready to go. Most places will automatically quote your total when you place the order. Don’t think, “Oh, I’ll find my purse/wallet in a few minutes,” when you hang up the phone, because next thing you know, they’ll show up. One of the worst things to hear as a driver is, “Oh, I have to write the check, it’ll just be a minute.” That usually means two or three minutes, and chances are, there’s another delivery or two in the car just getting older for someone else because you weren’t prepared.
--DO NOT LEAVE. I can’t stress this enough. If they gave you a time estimate on the phone, that’s generally the longest it could take. Don’t make a quick run to the video store or take the dog around the block, because if it’s not busy, they could show up much quicker than the time quoted on the phone. If you must go get milk or whatever, leave someone there with the money, or don’t go. Period. (Real emergencies do happen, but if you can call the store to let them know, you still may save someone an unnecessary trip.)
--If you live in an apt. building where the security system is dependent on your phone line, don’t tie up your phone line by getting online, don’t make any calls and keep it short if anyone calls you. That is the only way for the driver to reach you when they arrive.
--Be where you can actually hear the doorbell or a knock on the door. If you can’t hear these way up in the attic or down in the basement, don’t go cleaning them out when your food’s on the way. Also, don’t have your music on so loud you can’t hear the doorbell.
3) When the order arrives:
--If you’re paying by check or credit card, have ID ready for the driver and do not be offended if they ask to see it. In this day and age, you are certainly not being insulted. This is to protect you as well as the business you’re ordering from.
--Do you have a dog? Put it in another room. I know, you think you have the best behaved dog in the world, but really, you don’t. The delivery person is trying to do a job. They should not be subjected to a dog trying to bite their pants leg or jumping to knock the food out of their hands or sticking a nose in their crotch. It’s very inconsiderate to allow this kind of thing to happen.
--Are you on the phone when the delivery person shows up? Ask the person on the phone to hold for a moment while you make the exchange. It’s usually very quick and this is simply a matter of courtesy.
4) General helpful tips:
--If you live in a house, try this experiment. Wait until after it’s fully dark out, turn on the light on the front of your house, go stand on the curb or sidewalk on the opposite side of your street and look at your house. Try to pretend you don’t already know where your house numbers are. Are they nice big numbers, easy to see and read? Does your light even work? Does it actually light the numbers, or are they shadowed or backlit, making them almost impossible to see? Are they a color that doesn’t really stand out against the background, like bronze against natural wood? Are there holiday decorations covering them?
--If your doorbell is broken, tape a little note on or over the button that says so. Then people will know to knock immediately, instead of wasting time waiting after trying a bell that doesn’t work anyway.
--I know the idea behind delivery is that you don’t want to leave the house, but shovel your walk and steps in winter. Again, this is a matter of courtesy. Delivery drivers shouldn’t have to go mountain climbing or tromp through several inches of snow to reach your front door because you wouldn’t shovel your walk.
--If there’s any kind of problem, stay calm and pleasant. It was an honest mistake, businesses don’t succeed by intentionally screwing up people’s orders. They will try to remedy it as quickly as possible. Flying into a rage or acting unreasonable is generally going to annoy someone, not make them want to help you.
Business/large group delivery
Many of the things already mentioned are relevant, but here are a few more tips for large deliveries to businesses for meetings and such:
--Make sure they know how to reach you. If there’s a receptionist, let them know you’re expecting a delivery and where you’ll be if not at your usual desk or number.
--If you’re meeting them somewhere at a certain time, be there on time. Better yet, be five minutes early. If they’re not there yet, you get to relax for a few minutes and if they are, you get your food that much sooner.
--If you're going on vacation or are going to be out of the office for any reason, be sure to include a contact phone number of someone who will actually be able to accept the delivery. Please let that back-up person know that a delivery is coming.
--Decide where you'd like your food set up before the delivery actually arrives and make sure there’s a decent amount of space for the order you’re receiving. $500 worth of food will not fit on one small, round table.
--Clean off table surfaces of all debris, rubble and leftovers from your last meal ahead of time. Your delivery person may have a rag to wipe off table surfaces, but doesn't know where to put the stuff.
--If your building is a huge complex and your delivery person will be traveling for ten minutes to your conference room and ten minutes back, please let them know when you place their order so that they can accommodate that in their schedule. This will help the timing for other customers as well as you.
--If there’s a change in plans, location, delivery instructions, etc, call immediately to let them know, even if it’s close to the scheduled time. In this day and age, most drivers have cell phones and their business can likely contact them to prevent a wild goose chase and still get your food to you on time, or close to it.
How To Be a Good Delivery Customer
Home/individual delivery
1) When placing an order:
--Know the phone number, street address and any other important info for where you are. If you’re at a college or business, tell them, and give the building or dorm name and room number. If you’re at a hotel, find out the street address. If you’re at a hospital, tell them the room number, department, floor, anything that’ll help them find you.
--If you’re in an apartment building, give them the info they need to find you: apt. number, security code, your last name, everything that is relevant. If the buzzer has listings by last name and a code, and you just gave the store your apt. number, the driver still won’t be able to reach you. If the buzzer system is out of order, tell them so the driver knows to call before leaving the store, or when he pulls up out front if he has a cell phone.
--Try to plan what you want to order before you call, if at all possible. They may have lots of calls on hold to deal with.
--Most places can take credit cards for delivery, but you should tell them when you place the order. If the driver shows up and you whip out the card, chances are good they can’t do it without a slip already rung up for you to sign.
2) Once you’ve placed the order:
--Get your payment ready, including having a coupon cut out and ready to go. Most places will automatically quote your total when you place the order. Don’t think, “Oh, I’ll find my purse/wallet in a few minutes,” when you hang up the phone, because next thing you know, they’ll show up. One of the worst things to hear as a driver is, “Oh, I have to write the check, it’ll just be a minute.” That usually means two or three minutes, and chances are, there’s another delivery or two in the car just getting older for someone else because you weren’t prepared.
--DO NOT LEAVE. I can’t stress this enough. If they gave you a time estimate on the phone, that’s generally the longest it could take. Don’t make a quick run to the video store or take the dog around the block, because if it’s not busy, they could show up much quicker than the time quoted on the phone. If you must go get milk or whatever, leave someone there with the money, or don’t go. Period. (Real emergencies do happen, but if you can call the store to let them know, you still may save someone an unnecessary trip.)
--If you live in an apt. building where the security system is dependent on your phone line, don’t tie up your phone line by getting online, don’t make any calls and keep it short if anyone calls you. That is the only way for the driver to reach you when they arrive.
--Be where you can actually hear the doorbell or a knock on the door. If you can’t hear these way up in the attic or down in the basement, don’t go cleaning them out when your food’s on the way. Also, don’t have your music on so loud you can’t hear the doorbell.
3) When the order arrives:
--If you’re paying by check or credit card, have ID ready for the driver and do not be offended if they ask to see it. In this day and age, you are certainly not being insulted. This is to protect you as well as the business you’re ordering from.
--Do you have a dog? Put it in another room. I know, you think you have the best behaved dog in the world, but really, you don’t. The delivery person is trying to do a job. They should not be subjected to a dog trying to bite their pants leg or jumping to knock the food out of their hands or sticking a nose in their crotch. It’s very inconsiderate to allow this kind of thing to happen.
--Are you on the phone when the delivery person shows up? Ask the person on the phone to hold for a moment while you make the exchange. It’s usually very quick and this is simply a matter of courtesy.
4) General helpful tips:
--If you live in a house, try this experiment. Wait until after it’s fully dark out, turn on the light on the front of your house, go stand on the curb or sidewalk on the opposite side of your street and look at your house. Try to pretend you don’t already know where your house numbers are. Are they nice big numbers, easy to see and read? Does your light even work? Does it actually light the numbers, or are they shadowed or backlit, making them almost impossible to see? Are they a color that doesn’t really stand out against the background, like bronze against natural wood? Are there holiday decorations covering them?
--If your doorbell is broken, tape a little note on or over the button that says so. Then people will know to knock immediately, instead of wasting time waiting after trying a bell that doesn’t work anyway.
--I know the idea behind delivery is that you don’t want to leave the house, but shovel your walk and steps in winter. Again, this is a matter of courtesy. Delivery drivers shouldn’t have to go mountain climbing or tromp through several inches of snow to reach your front door because you wouldn’t shovel your walk.
--If there’s any kind of problem, stay calm and pleasant. It was an honest mistake, businesses don’t succeed by intentionally screwing up people’s orders. They will try to remedy it as quickly as possible. Flying into a rage or acting unreasonable is generally going to annoy someone, not make them want to help you.
Business/large group delivery
Many of the things already mentioned are relevant, but here are a few more tips for large deliveries to businesses for meetings and such:
--Make sure they know how to reach you. If there’s a receptionist, let them know you’re expecting a delivery and where you’ll be if not at your usual desk or number.
--If you’re meeting them somewhere at a certain time, be there on time. Better yet, be five minutes early. If they’re not there yet, you get to relax for a few minutes and if they are, you get your food that much sooner.
--If you're going on vacation or are going to be out of the office for any reason, be sure to include a contact phone number of someone who will actually be able to accept the delivery. Please let that back-up person know that a delivery is coming.
--Decide where you'd like your food set up before the delivery actually arrives and make sure there’s a decent amount of space for the order you’re receiving. $500 worth of food will not fit on one small, round table.
--Clean off table surfaces of all debris, rubble and leftovers from your last meal ahead of time. Your delivery person may have a rag to wipe off table surfaces, but doesn't know where to put the stuff.
--If your building is a huge complex and your delivery person will be traveling for ten minutes to your conference room and ten minutes back, please let them know when you place their order so that they can accommodate that in their schedule. This will help the timing for other customers as well as you.
--If there’s a change in plans, location, delivery instructions, etc, call immediately to let them know, even if it’s close to the scheduled time. In this day and age, most drivers have cell phones and their business can likely contact them to prevent a wild goose chase and still get your food to you on time, or close to it.