.... And your little dog tooo

[Racket_Man]

this past year has been the WIERDEST for me with stupid complaints

check these two out as a sample
http://www.customerssuck.com/board/s...ad.php?t=65617
http://www.customerssuck.com/board/s...ad.php?t=65987

on Thursday night I believe I received the ABSOLUTE wierdest/strangest complaint EVER

my last delivery of a long and very boring night. I am delivering to an apt building. this place has an underground garage with entrance in the center of the building below the entrance door. there is a walkway going up both sides of the garage entrance. as I roll up to the building there is a minivan parked on one side of the driveway, so I park on the other side.

as I exit my car I notice there is an older woman on the "porch" of the building. I wonder if she is getting the delivery, but I see that she is trying to move an object around the porch. thinking she is going in the building I hold the door open so as to let her through. meanwhile there is a small purse type dog running around the porch.

I then notice the older woman start to carry the object out toward the car. she calls to the dog to come with her. she puts the object into the minivan and gets inside. I go inside the inner vestibule and my "customer" is waiting at the buzzer door. he signs the CC slip (damn he stiffed me again) and I hand him his pizza.

before I even get back to the store the "customer" had called to make a complaint. he claims that I have brought my WIFE and DOG along with me on the delivery. the MOD tells him that this can not be true, but the customer is VERY insistant that I have brought my WIFE and DOG with me on a delivery. the MOD can not think of anything to say at this point but says he will talk to me when I get back to the store. The customer says he WILL call back to to "my side of the story" and to VERIFY it truefullness

I get back to the store and the MOD asks about the situation. I tell him the story and how uneventful it was. the MOD relays the customers call/complaint to me and I just my brain just went BSOD

about 5 minutes after I get back, the customer DOES called back to "verify" the story. again

now three things.

first I have been divorced for almost 5 years now and seperated almost 6. yes I have a girlfriend BUT having passagers in my car (unless it is for Manager type check-drive purposes) is against company policy and my auto insurance policy

second I do not have a purse type dog. I have a Golden Retriver. bringing pets to work is again company policy and I would not EVER subject my dog to my job. heck he would want to eat my deliveries before I delivered them

thirdly is HOW in the name of the Flying Little Green People of Orian does the Amasing Kreskin KNOW this woman is my WIFE??? I did not talk to or interact with the woman. I really did not really acknowledge her presence except to open the outer door for her. AND she gets into a completely seperate vehicle. AND she finally pulls away from the curb after I am way up the street.

[Marmalady]

Obviously that customer is ordering extra-strong stupid along with the other toppings......

[snugglegirl05]

Obviously that customer is ordering extra-strong stupid along with the other toppings......

Yeah...where is his brain? Does he even have one?

[Jester]

Yeah...where is his brain?

You would have to ask his proctologist for the exact location.

[Gerrinson]

What a nosey jackass. As long as you get your pizza and it's in good condition, why would you even care who else was along for the ride?

You got your dinner, presumably in the timeframe expected (because that wasn't part of the complaint), and it was ready to eat. If that's not good enough, may I suggest a nice side order of STFU?

[EvilEmpryss]

I could see why he would care if there was a dog involved in the delivery of his pizza... but the woman and dog could easily be explained as residents of the apartment complex. His "logic" makes my brain hurt.

Occam's razor, dude.

[Barefootgirl]

What a nosey jackass. As long as you get your pizza and it's in good condition, why would you even care who else was along for the ride?

Precisely. Why would anyone care ? Pizza delivery isn't the most exciting job, would it be so awful if the driver had a friend in the car to chat to?

[Squeaksmyalias]

would it be so awful if the driver had a friend in the car to chat to?

Two points as to why it shouldn't happen and companies don't want you bringing along passengers:
1st
Could be the passenger is casing houses, seeing who is home, is it an apartment with easy entry, teenagers home alone, young woman home alone, elderly person, ETC. Even if you trust your passenger, doesn't mean that they are a good person or they don't blab to the wrong person, they didn't get the background check or what have you, the company doesn't know them. I worked for a company that had those rules, if you felt unsafe going out alone you went with another employee. We had an issue with someone's boyfriend was going with his Girlfriend to work, not going into the client's house but he was telling his friends about it, we ended up dealing with one of those friends who tried to break into a client's house later on after learning they went away for vacation.

2nd
That passenger doesn't work for the company, they get hurt, they sue the company. Why? They aren't employee by the company why should they sue, we all know that answer, it's cause they can.

It's pretty much liability, you are working on company time, it isn't their car but you are working and you shouldn't have someone with you, its like keeping your friend with you while at a store, they shouldn't be hanging out behind the counter while you check people out.

That's why people shouldn't be along on the ride, I did work in houses where there was no one home not as a delivery person, but still it's along the same lines, they have no need to be there.

[Kristev]

Right. It's one thing to have significant other/spouse stop by your workplace to bring you the lunch you left behind by mistake. (Or as a loving gift that they went out to eat earlier that day, picked up something for you while there, and brought it to you kind of thing.)

Having someone alongisde you for more than a quick visit, who doesn't work there themselves, is quite another.

[Jester]

why would you even care who else was along for the ride?

Having someone alongisde you for more than a quick visit, who doesn't work there themselves, is quite another.

There are times when it is appropriate.

For example, years ago when I was DJing weddings, at one point I had a broken wrist. So for a few weddings, my girlfriend came along to help me set up. Ever try lifting an 80 pound speaker with one hand? Good luck with that. She was along for the ride purely to help me set up and break down. Because, for a few weeks, I was physically incapable of doing that part of my job. I could do the entire wedding part...selecting music, playing music, talking on the microphone, taking care of all the little events that comprise a wedding. But the set up and break down, I honestly needed help. Not a lot of help, but enough where she came along with me. Keep in mind, every time she came along with me, I had told the client ahead of time that she would be, and why. And none of them had a problem with it. And at at least one wedding, they encouraged us to dance, which we did with each other, to our particular song (which is a great song for weddings anyway).

Short of physical incapacity (or training, but that's within the company), though, having someone along on your job seems sketchy, I'll admit.

[Racket_Man]

Two points as to why it shouldn't happen and companies don't want you bringing along passengers:
1st
Could be the passenger is casing houses, seeing who is home, is it an apartment with easy entry, teenagers home alone, young woman home alone, elderly person, ETC. Even if you trust your passenger, doesn't mean that they are a good person or they don't blab to the wrong person, they didn't get the background check or what have you, the company doesn't know them. I worked for a company that had those rules, if you felt unsafe going out alone you went with another employee. We had an issue with someone's boyfriend was going with his Girlfriend to work, not going into the client's house but he was telling his friends about it, we ended up dealing with one of those friends who tried to break into a client's house later on after learning they went away for vacation.

2nd
That passenger doesn't work for the company, they get hurt, they sue the company. Why? They aren't employee by the company why should they sue, we all know that answer, it's cause they can.

It's pretty much liability, you are working on company time, it isn't their car but you are working and you shouldn't have someone with you, its like keeping your friend with you while at a store, they shouldn't be hanging out behind the counter while you check people out.

That's why people shouldn't be along on the ride, I did work in houses where there was no one home not as a delivery person, but still it's along the same lines, they have no need to be there.

very good explaination Squeaks. the auto insurance thing is one of the primary reason for no passangers. esp in pizza delivery most drivers only have regular auto insurance. even this most of the time will NOT cover an accident and most certainly NOT cover passagers. I did not want to get into the whole detail of the whys.

there are only 2 situations where I will have a passanger

1. if a manager is doing a quality check type ride-a-long
2. if I am training a new driver or I am doing a check type ride-a-long

the customer has been a real jerk in the past so this situation does not surpise me in the least.

[Daemonmonkey]

the customer has been a real jerk in the past so this situation does not surpise me in the least.

He's trying to get freebies, I suppose...

[LillFilly]

Sooo...Did the Customer finally accept reality, or did he get a discount or something to shut him up?

[Squeaksmyalias]

very good explaination Squeaks.

Thank you. That was the reasons for the company I was in, I had to explain it every time I trained someone new, but it pretty much is the same for any situation when you have to drive for work. You are right auto insurance is also another one.

I understand having the jerk customer who questions anything they think is off, I always hated dealing with those people while training. We ALWAYS got calls from them when we were training new girls, they thought we were bringing friends along with us, half the time we hadn't even been to their house, just across the street at another client's home. Understandable question but at the same time annoying when we were training several girls a week.

* I say girls because we very rarely had men working for the company.

[Racket_Man]

Sooo...Did the Customer finally accept reality, or did he get a discount or something to shut him up?

The last time the MOD talked to the "customer" it seems all he wanted was an "explaination" of my side of the story ie. the lady and her dog had no relation to me. suprisingly Mr Grumpy did NOT ask for any discount or freebies