At 2 a.m., when students grab their phones, you usually know who they’re calling: the pizza guy.
Some might think the job is simple — grab the pizzas, drive around town, return to the store and repeat.
“Unfortunately that is far from the truth,” said Brent Haily, a pizza delivery person for Bazzano’s Pizza, located on South Catherine Street in Plattsburgh.
Haily said the most aggravating part about the job is when people show how little they appreciate the service by how little they tip — in other words, they don’t tip, he said.
“If you enjoy having it delivered, you should tip the driver,” Haily said. “It happens all the time, but you take the good with the bad. It’s the way it goes really. It’s the luck of the draw.”
“When I was a freshman, my friends and I were short on cash, but hungry for some pizza,” Plattsburgh State student Jon Appel said. “We ended up scraping together whatever money we could find, change included.”
Haily said it is not only preferred that you pay a pizza delivery guy in cash — it is considered a common courtesy.
“The bill came out to about $16,” Appel said. “We paid him $4 in singles and the rest in loose change. The guy was pissed!” Appel said. “We thought it was hilarious. The guy walked back to his car and threw the change onto the floor in total frustration. I guess he wasn’t satisfied with the tip we gave him.”
However, not everyone agrees that it isn’t a simple job.
“I decided to be a pizza guy because of how easy it is,” TJ McCarty, a pizza deliverer for Pizza Hut, said. “But I definitely have gotten screwed over by people who don’t tip.”
Unlike Pizza Hut, Bazzano’s will deliver anywhere in Clinton County, including up near the Canadian border.
“We will go everywhere.” Haily said. “I’ve delivered pizza up to Mooers, which is all the way up at the Canadian border, and have gotten totally stiffed.”
For the good tips, pizza deliverers like Haily rely on regulars who they know will take care of them.
“For a college kid, the tips are phenomenal,” said Sean Petry, who delivers for Pizza Bono. “On a good night, I’ve made a couple hundred dollars.”
In some cases, you might be on such good terms with your local pizza delivery guy that his services will extend further than just supplying a satisfying meal.
“This is a college town, and about half of the time, if not more, I’ll be delivering to a bunch of students,” Haily said. “One out of ten will need a ride somewhere, so it’s safe to say that we do substitute as cabs every now and then.”
Haily said his job demands long days and weeks.
“I work five days a week and 12 hours each day,” Haily said. “I’ve learned that the long nights are some of the most eventful ones.”
“I was delivering to one of the local college apartments one time,” Haily said. “As I’m approaching the apartment I could see some movement through the window. This kid was taking his clothes off and all of his buddies were getting their cameras ready, so I knew right away that it was going to be one of those deliveries. All of the sudden this kid opens the door acting all nonchalant in a blue thong. I’m not going to lie, I laughed a little.”
This didn’t surprise him too much, though.
“But honestly, man, I’ve seen it all before,” he said. “It had to be a freshman; it was a total freshman move.”
Petry agreed. He said during the nights he works from 5 p.m. to 5 a.m. he sees the craziest things.
“Any given night downtown, I see five to six people get arrested,” he said. “Those are the most interesting things I see on the job.”
Pizza delivery drivers constantly have in-store work between deliveries and at the end of the shift. In some cases, a break is exactly what they look for.
“Sometimes the students will be having a party and ask me if I want to come and hang out for a little while,” Haily said. “I have to tell you, man; there are some nights where it’s hard to turn down an offer like that.”
Haily has been working at Bazzano’s doing deliveries for two years and has no complaints. He works from 3 p.m. to 3 a.m. Monday through Friday.
“You might be asking yourself, why pizza delivery?” Haily said. “Money and freedom.”
Chris LaRose contributed to this story.
2 comments