Tales From the Industry: Order Up

I was 17 when I got my first pizzeria job. We had this one regular who would always pick up dinner for his family after work on Thursday evenings. He would come straight from whatever job site he was on that day, so he almost always arrived anywhere between 6:30 and 7:15 pm, and he always got the same thing with no variation: 

• One large pepperoni, half with onion and mushroom, and the other half with sausage and jalapenos.
• One medium cheese pizza with extra sauce and extra cheese.
• And an order of cheesy bread.

I had been working there for six months, and he was as regular as clockwork. 

This particular Thursday evening, I decided to go out on a limb. It was 6:35, and I created and fired his order. He hadn’t even pulled into the lot yet, but we were busy that night, and waits were at least 20 minutes from fire to food drop.

I was tracking the order through the KDS that I could see from my station at the order counter. His order was moving through the make line, and he still hadn’t arrived. I had a moment of panic. 

What if this is the day he doesn’t show up, and I’m on the hook for a meal big enough for a family of four? I had already used my meal discount for the day, and even so, it only covered one pie.

Then he walked in. 

It was like pure magic, right as he opened the door, I saw his food hit the expo.

“The usual?” I asked.

“Yep,” he replied as I turned the screen with his totals.

“You’re really on it today!” he remarked as he pulled out his card to pay.

“Doing what I can,” I said conversationally. 

Right as he was putting his card back into his wallet, his order hit the pass, boxed, bagged, and ready to go. I grabbed it and handed it to him.

The look on his face was priceless. He took out his wallet again, pulled out a crisp 50-dollar bill, and handed it to me. 

I smiled.

He nodded.

“See ya next week,”