Issue date: 4/22/04 Section: TruLife

Media Credit: JoAnn Jorgovan Senior Kyle Hartnett, a Pizza Hut deliveryman, delivers a pizza to Kirksville resident Nancy Peterson on Monday afternoon. He said he received fairly good tips from both deliveries he completed and that college students from large cities tip best.

Rain, sleet and snow won't keep them from making their deliveries.

They aren't the U.S. Postal Service. They are Kirksville's pizza delivery drivers.

This group delivers its delicious cargo regardless of what is falling from the sky.

"The worst weather conditions are during the winter when it snows a lot," Domino's deliveryman and Truman alumnus Tim Roth said. "Last year, when it got pretty bad, I slid off [the road] and had to get pulled out."

Papa John's deliveryman Robert Larsen agrees with Roth.

Larsen said he remembers one time when he had to park his car and trudge four blocks through the snow to make a delivery.

Drivers also deal with other irritations while on the job. Larsen said delivering to a party can be somewhat difficult.

"Sometimes someone will be too drunk and forget they ordered it," Larsen said. "It's kind of irritating at times."

Papa John's deliverywoman Jenny Byars said delivering to the residence halls has its own set of problems. She said that when the doors are locked at 10:30 p.m., the driver has to meet the student at the entrance.

"If they aren't there, we have to come back and try calling them," Byars said. "One night, I had to go back three times to a dorm."

Despite the weather conditions and the occasional misunderstanding, all three drivers said they get tipped fairly well. They said tips average from $1 to $1.50.

Larsen said he has noticed a lull in tips during the past six months, but that they are still pretty good.

"You could easily leave on a Friday with $80 to $100 in tips," Larsen said.

Byars said she has been able to save a large chunk of money solely from tips.

"I've saved $500 in tips since December," Byars said. "That's with spending here and there."

Roth said he received his biggest tip of $15 when he delivered to one of Truman's sororities. Larsen weighed in with a largest tip of $29. Byars, however, took the cake with a $35 tip for delivering 40 pizzas.

Larsen said Truman students are definitely the best tippers. He said this means that drivers often will fight for deliveries to the residence halls.

"When you go to a student, they will tip you at least something," Larsen said.

Delivering pizzas all night is sure to produce some stories worth telling.

"I had to deliver to a guy that answered the door in his underwear," Larsen said. "After I left, I realized that he had [shorted] me $2."

Larsen said he refused to go back to the man's house for the missing $2.

Although this story actually happened to Larsen, he knows an even better one that happened to one of his coworkers. He said his friend delivered to a woman who answered the door wearing only a towel. When she reached for her money, the towel fell to the floor, Larsen said.

Roth, Larsen and Byars all said they really enjoy their jobs.

"You get paid to drive around, give people pizza and listen to music," Roth said.

Larsen said his favorite part of the job is seeing little kids get excited when he shows up at the door.

"That's one of the things I love, nine out of 10 deliveries you get a big smile at the door," Larsen said.

Byars said that although nothing crazy has happened to her on the job, she still really enjoys it.

"I think it's hard on my car, but everything else is fine," Byars said. "I love it."

Something many people might not be aware of is the pizza delivery driver's quasi-immunity to the law.

Larsen said that many times the police are willing to overlook minor traffic violations for the sake of the pizza. He said sometimes the pizza deliverer can get away with doing 35 in a 20, and no-parking zones do not apply.

"They let you go, 'cause they know you're working," Larsen said.

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