Three Strikes, You’re Out!
After never dealing with an entitled parent in my life, I’ve now had two in the span of a few months. So I am a delivery driver for a major food delivery company in a major college town in Texas where everyone loves maroon. Normally, it’s not bad, pays pretty well, and customers are generally fine, though you’ll always have idiots in every service job.
This, however, surpassed anything I’d ever experienced before. I get an order alert on my phone, a relatively simple but expensive order (we drivers love expensive orders) from a restaurant nearby. In the portion for delivery instructions, the customer explains that I need to call her once I arrive, as ringing the doorbell (as I normally do) would disturb her autistic son.
Okay, no problem at all. I received therapy for sensory issues when I was a kid, so I’m going to be even more sympathetic to that than the average person. I receive the order, and drive over to the house (nice part of town), and give the customer a call. Younger woman answers and tells me to come up to the door. I do so. Enter the entitled mother.
Strangely, she was fairly attractive and did not have the typical Karen haircut. Me: Here’s your order ma’am, is there anything else I can help you with today? Her: Yes. My son is autistic, and people like you don’t understand how difficult it is to raise him. I shouldn’t have to pay this much for food. Can you give me a discount? Me, baffled: I’m sorry ma’am, but the app calculates your order total, not me. It’s already been paid for.
She did not like that answer. Her face changed from a smug smirk into a snarl. I suppose I didn’t realize how ridiculous the idea that people pay for their own food is. Her: Well, why don’t you pay for it then? I’m not sure if you heard, but my son is autistic, and it’s your fault that he’s still hungry! Me: I’m sorry ma’am, but that goes against our policy. If I paid for your order, I’d probably be fired.
Her: Good! You’re a useless driver anyway, you’re disgusting! My son is starving! Since I’ve had to go through so much trouble with you, you should tip ME! So, my app has a setting that while you’re in the process of taking an order to a customer, they’ll assign you another one at the same time if there’s activity. Thankfully, this saved me here.
Me: Can’t do that ma’am. Here’s your order. I dropped the food gently on the ground between us and jogged back to my car. She was shouting something unintelligible (so much for not disturbing her autistic son), but I couldn’t make out what she was saying. Unsurprisingly, she gave me a one-star review (you tip online, so I got a small tip). I contacted support about it the next day.
Me: Yeah, I had a crazy lady yesterday, started demanding that I pay for her order, and even that I tip her. Really rude, not sure what the deal was. Them: Hmm, which order was it? Me: It was (order number) at (address). Them: Yikes, you’re the third person to complain about her. One or two, we take with a grain of salt, but three, you’re probably out. I’ll try to get her deactivated. If so, her review will be off your record.
Me: Thanks! Appreciate it! I feel like the entire world is better off now that she won’t get deliveries from us anymore, but was the cost worth it? That remains to be seen…