January 6, 1999
Mission: Deliver hot pizza, no matter the weather
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
Through rain, snow, sleet, snow, and snow, snow, snow they deliver.
Saturday night during the peak of the winter storm that dropped more than a foot of snow on Traverse City, pizza delivery drivers were crawling around town on snow-choked roads with a mission: deliver hot pizza to the snowbound. The storm that closed the Grand Traverse Mall hours early that afternoon, sending home shoppers and employees before the worst hit, had employees at area pizza stores hopping all night.
The phones kept ringing and the delivery people kept forging out with pizza after pizza, cautiously making their way around town.
"You just have to be more careful on nights like that, drive slower and watch other drivers more carefully," said Mark Benner of Elmwood Township, who delivers for the Pizza Hut on Front Street. "You have to watch hills and steep driveways, you don't want to get stuck in a strange driveway."
Veteran drivers are enthusiastic about working these snowy nights because the many orders and grateful customers can mean a lot of tips, sometimes more than $40 a night. And they find that customers are more patient and friendly, even with longer waits for their pie.
"Customers are more talkative and friendly in a big snowstorm," Benner said. "They usually ask about the roads and are more charged up and excited to see you, more grateful."
Rob Mazur, manager of Hungry Howie's Pizza and Subs, agreed that blizzards can be a boon to business.
"The more snow the better, we say," Mazur said. "We've never closed due to snow, we just get busier. The cops have never told us to get off the roads."
Because of the weather, most pizza places in town did decrease their delivery area Saturday and Sunday as the storm progressed. Homes up hills, such as Wayne, Lafranier or Cedar Run Road, were off limits as were runs out M-72 or to Holiday Hills. Customers were understanding when they found out they out of the delivery area for the storm's duration.
"We rely on our drivers to give us driving reports, plus the radio," said Ryan McSwain, manager of the Pizza Hut on Front Street, whose delivery service jumped 40 percent Saturday night. "Anytime a driver comes across a road that is impassable, they come back."
Driver safety is the chief concern on these nights, overriding customer service when the weather is so bad. Employees tell customers still in the delivery area that there may be a lengthy delivery time and sometimes even a delivery will be canceled if the road is unsafe or impassable.
"We take all the necessary precautions not to endanger our drivers," said Pat Buck, president of Saco Corporation, which owns the local Little Ceasar's franchise. "We are not going to jeopardize an employee over a pizza. We call the customer back and apologize."
So how to keep your pizza delivery person happy on nights like these? A generous tip is always welcome and_
"It's real nice when the customers keep the porch light on," Benner said. "The house is easier to find because often the numbers on the mailbox are obscured by the snow."