Where’s my tip?
Relations vary between students and pizza drivers
November 5, 2004Michael Melvin
Staff Reporter
It was 9:15 p.m. on a Tuesday night and not much was going on at the downtown Albion Domino’s Pizza. The three drivers working— a woman from Springport named Justina Dillion, an Albion resident named Chris Woods and another Springport resident named Orlando Garcia—had not made more than a few deliveries within the past hour.
Instead, they had been merely sitting around “shooting the breeze” while awaiting calls from college students looking for a late-night snack.
“We don’t normally get real busy at night until around 11 p.m.,” said Dillion, who has worked at Domino’s for nearly two years.
That’s usually the same time that hungry students put down the books and embrace the idea of getting some late-night brain food. Weekends, the three workers agree, are the busiest times, but on any given night after 11 p.m. work can become quite eventful.
“I’d say that the best place to deliver to would be Twin [Towers],” said Garcia, who has worked at Domino’s on and off for nearly four years. “You can make some real good tips there.”
A disagreement broke out, however, when Dillion informed Garcia that she had been short-changed there in the past.
“Well, basically it’s 50/50 anywhere you go,” Garcia said. “But at Twin I’ve always been treated nice. Wesley [Hall], on the other hand, you either get a tip or you don’t. Guys don’t usually tip as much, but girls can be counted on.”
Dillion countered that she always gets tipped nicely at Wesley.
“That’s because you’ve got a pretty face,” Garcia said with a smirk.
College students account for at least a third of the business Domino’s generates in town. The drivers note, too, that they receive more orders from women than men. The drivers especially enjoy delivering large orders to various campus organizations and big groups because of the generosity in tips.
“You can make a pretty mean tip off of those,” said Woods, who started driving this May. “Probably the best part about delivering to the frat houses is dealing with the drunken guys as you try to figure out the bill and how much money they owe you. I always get a kick out of them.”
There are always adventures to be had as a driver in a college town.
“Once a girl offered to make out with me instead of paying for the pizza,” said Garcia with a large grin. “It was at Seaton Hall, too, which was surprising, but I told her that I was married.”
Woods looked at Garcia as if he would have taken the loss on the pizza.
“If they’re half naked they don’t have to tip,” Woods said.
Aside from the perils of dealing with half-naked customers, Dillion said that there is another problem that occasionally plagues the drivers: loose change.
“One time I was paid $27 with a bag of quarters, dimes and nickels,” Dillion said. “But usually we get rolled quarters from the college, so at least that change is easier to handle.”
Rosa Heath, who began working at the store as a driver and has been a manager for six years, said, “Some of the kids at the school are on their own now, away from mommy and daddy, and sometimes they want to be big shots and tip good.”
