Delivery & Drive-Thru Nightmares
It doesn't matter which side of the car you're on. Whether you're in it on the way to deliver food, or handing an order into one, there's one thing that's for sure: working customer service can really, really suck. But these delivery drivers and drive-thru employees have seen the very worst that humanity has to offer. From rude Karens to total creeps, these tales of delivery & drive-thru nightmares are sure to make you appreciate that they had to deal with these horrible people and you didn't.
1. Cut Your Nails!
I was working the second drive-thru window at McDonald's. An order came up on the screen for three large unsweet teas. One of the girls I was working with said, "It's the teddy bear guy! Don't let him touch you!"
I was confused, but didn't think much of it until the driver came up to the window. It was an old man in a big, navy blue van.
He smelled like he hadn't showered in days. I greeted him and handed him the tea. He reached out with his hand and I nearly gagged at the sight of his long, yellow fingernails. I took special care to not touch him at all. After I handed out the third tea, I turned around to tend to another order, when the same girl said, "Look now!"
I turned around as he drove away, and I saw a giant teddy bear in his back seat. It was honestly one of the most bizarre and terrifying things to happen to me in my life.
2. It Was A Dark And Stormy Night
One night I have a delivery to a pretty rural area. A lot of my deliveries are to rural areas, so no big deal. But tonight it's drizzling and especially dark, so I'm having trouble finding the address of the house I'm looking for.
So I roll down the passenger window and use my (really bright) flashlight, pointing it at mailboxes/trees/posts/anything that somebody might have their address on at the end of their driveway.
So I'm driving along at like five miles an hour, pointing my flashlight, when the beam catches a guy wearing a black hoodie at the end of an obviously long gravel road. He’s staring directly at me. More of a glare at me, really. But whatever, he could just be on the phone or something. Then it gets weirder. I finally find the address I'm looking for, pull into the drive, and hop out of the car.
That's when I get the sinking feeling. No cars, no house light, boarded-up windows. If you've ever been a delivery person, you know that this is the time to get out of there because you're about to get robbed.
Right as I'm about to jump in, throw the car into reverse, and nope the heck out of there, I see a man walking across the empty field adjacent to the property towards me.
Dear God. Now, I'm a pretty burly, bearded dude, so I don't worry a whole lot on deliveries, but this scared the heck out of me. When he gets closer, I see him very obviously tucking something into his waistband.
He then says in a thick, menacing southern accent, "I thought you was the law," I guess because of how I was scanning the addresses.
I meekly point to my car topper and the pizza in my hand, and he says in the nicest voice you've ever heard, "Oh, great! Thank you so much! Have a great night!"
He pays me, and proceeds to walk back through the open field, in the direction of no buildings, in the rain, with his pizza. For the rest of my shift I couldn't stop whispering "What. The. Heck.” Strangest thing that's ever happened to me.
3. Just Another Night
I was working at a Taco John's in high school. It was Halloween night. The beeper went off to let me know that there was a car out there. I pressed the button and said, "Welcome to Taco John's, can I take your order please?" I heard some muffled swearing and panicked sounds. Then nothing. I couldn't see the menu board from where I was, so I walked to the back of the store, opened the back door…and what do I see?
A car on top of the menu board. The guy was frantically trying to rip his license plates off, and a woman was yelling at him. The guy then took off, leaving his girlfriend there—but that’s not the funniest part. We call the authorities. The officers saw the car and the girlfriend, then said, "Oh yeah, Deano. We know where to pick him up. Sorry about the menu board. I guess your drive-thru is closed for the night."
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4. Pizza Run
We had a guy and two girls order separately. The order was about $100. The girls had picked the food up and left while the guy was paying. After 30 seconds, the guy bolted.
My manager, who was a frequent gym-goer, leaped over the counter and gave chase. The two girls had gotten into a car with the food, but when they saw my manager, they drove off, leaving the guy.
My manager chased him three blocks and was gaining on him when the girls pulled up, and the guy got into the car. But there was something they didn’t know. They hadn’t recognized this guy working in the back—and he went to school with them. We had their names, jobs, addresses, and Facebook accounts. We contacted them all on Facebook and made them regret it.
We threatened to call the authorities, got them to pay for the pizzas the next morning, and put them on the no delivery list. Hope it was worth it!
