Tips for ordering pizza during the apocalypse!
Hi guys, I work as an insider in a popular pizza chain, and things are just AWFUL working there due to this pandemic and such SO I want to create a quick guide for everyone who’s getting takeout pizza to make the whole process easier on both customer and worker!
If you’re ordering pizza, either pick up or delivery, please try to abide by these:
1. Order Online
If you’re able to, use the websites or pizza apps if available, set up your order from there, instantly send it to us! This is always the BEST WAY to order any food.
Can I still make phone calls?
Yes you can, but please remember:
The phones at our work are all shared and are high contact surfaces. During a rush of orders, there also isn’t always time for us to go and disinfect all of them.
Delivery drivers, who go in and out of the store and door to door, also handle the phones, and thus, the more we pick up the phones, the higher risk we put ourselves. We aim to disinfect them hourly, but if we get 30 orders in an hour, well...
Plus, it can be very difficult to hear you, and the process is longer this way.
How do I get good deals if I can’t talk to a person?
Read the website carefully, check for deals!
On Dominos, for example, things like the Mix or Match 2 or more for $5.99 and large carry-out $7.99 are EXTREMELY good deals! So good that we on the phone are NOT allowed to offer them - you have to tell us that’s what you want!
Alternatively, get a hold of the extension Honey! It’ll automatically apply all coupons available to get you the best deals!
Please avoid coming to the store and placing your order there. We want to minimize how many people we have in our chains and how long they spend there. We want people to come in, pick up their pizza, and go. Online order is the best option, phone your second best - don’t order in person please!
2. Pay When You Order
If you’re ordering online, this is even easier to accomplish! Whip out your card, plug that in, pay!
If you’re ordering on the phone, please speak slowly and clearly - if I had a dollar for the number of times a customer read their card number out to me on our outdated phones either way too fast, mumbled it, or both, I’d have enough to quit working here. Say each digit clearly, and please do NOT rush it - we are humans! Some of us with auditory processing issues (like me) - last thing we want to do is have you repeat it 2, 3 more times because something went wrong.
What if I can only pay with cash?
We want to avoid handling cash because of how many hands money goes through, but if you have to:
Don’t bring bills larger than $20
Strive to bring the exact amount that is due (i KNOW we all have loose change lying around that never gets used)
Be READY to hand the cash over, do not make us wait, do not spend too much time in the lobby fishing out each bill!
By paying beforehand, you save a LOT of time! When picking up, you just walk in, ask for your order, get it, get out. For delivery, they just get there, hand you your food, get out. Boom, easy! No fumbling with cash or change or any of that, and we reduce the amount of time we need to be in contact with each other!
3. Cover Your Face!
If you’re coming in person to pick up your food, please, please wear a mask, or keep your face covered! You’re entering the space where we cook food and serve them to hundreds of people every day - please try not to bring in more germs than is called for!
Other tips for picking up your food:
Don’t stick your head through the order window / get insanely close to the register/computer, you don’t need to be that close (seriously!)
Keep your distance from other customers, ESPECIALLY if the store is small (my location has everyone crammed like sardines and can only allow One customer at a time inside)
If you’re gonna start a fight with the employees over burnt food or whatever, please either 1. don’t, or 2. have the courtesy to do it over the phone instead of in person, yelling WILL spread covid
4. Leave a Tip!
TIP YOUR DRIVERS!
If it’s a contactless delivery, then wherever you requested to have the delivery placed, please leave a tip in either a baggie, or someplace where the driver can find! Use the delivery instructions to let the driver know where to find the tip
And a lesser known/done thing: TIP YOUR INSIDERS!
Paying with cash in store? Or just picking up your food in general? Did you know you can tip the cashier? Do so! They’re working in a hot kitchen crammed together making food for hundreds every day on a flat rate - tip them if you can if you’re not getting delivery!
My location used to have the card terminal allow the option to tip through card. If yours has that, do it
If you brought more cash than your order cost, let the cashier keep the change!
Toss a coin to your cashier
Some delivery drivers are getting interesting tips lately I’ve noticed. A few items I’ve seen drivers get tipped with:
spare gloves
facemasks
corona beer (LOL)
hand sanitizer
toilet paper
I’ve never seen that but you know what? A tip’s a tip LOL you have no idea how much we all appreciate it
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I’m sure this can apply for more than just pizza chains, but I’m mainly speaking from experience. This is what I’ve observed, and are tips I feel that can help all of us achieve a MUCH more efficient system of getting your food to you! Please bear these in mind when ordering in these, dare I say it, ~uncertain times~
Stay safe everyone!
