When I first started delivering fresh, hot pizza from the Pizza Palace, I was paid minimum wage and received $1 per delivery (the company itself charged $1.50 per delivery.) This was in November of 2007. It was a pretty good gig at the time. Well, that was then and this is now. There have been a number of changes over the last 6-8 months that have taken away from the glamour of delivering fresh, hot pizza.
When minimum wage was increased, while the inside help all received their raises, the drivers were kept at the old rate, because we made "tips." Also during this time, gasoline prices were soaring to over $4 per gallon, cutting deeply into the amount of money we actually make. (We use our own cars and pay for our own gasoline.) They did throw us a bone and raised the delivery charge to $1.70 and raising our mileage reimbursement rate to $1.10 per delivery.
On Friday night, we found out that they changed the amount we receive per delivery. Now that gasoline prices are back to where they were when I started, they quietly lowered our rate to $0.75 per delivery, while keeping the delivery charge at $1.70. I guess some people assume that the driver gets the delivery charge, but that is not the case.
To sum up, no longer making the minimum wage, plus getting a 25% cut in our mileage reimbursement, combined with a lot of people not tipping as well as before (Two people totally stiffed me Friday night) makes for an unhappy delivery guy.
Once again - follow the bouncing oil prices. When and where it stops - no one knows. Interesting story. You've been there for a while. I'm sure you're honest and dependable Is the turn over high at this location? Could you walk in and say give me a buck and a quarter or I'm walking? I've got a buddy who owns several pizza franchises in Denver. He tells me that business is down... Way down. The only thing that is keeping him above water is a contract he has with the local school system. Hang in there and Good Luck!
ReplyDeleteBusiness is definitely down. It used to be that on a Friday and Saturday night, between tips and delivery charges, I would walk out with $40-$50 per night. Now I am lucky to get $30.
ReplyDelete