I was robbed delivering pizza......

[Disney1fan2002]

This happened a few days ago, and it is slowly starting to bother me. Friday afternoon, I delivered $30.00 worth of pizza, kickers and soda to a house. A kid about 16yo met me in the driveway. I handed him the food, and told him the amount. He told me he had to go in the house and get the money. Oooooh-Kay. Why you would wait for me in the driveway, and not have money,was weird, but maybe he just happened to be out there when I pulled in. I decide to follow him to the door, because it would save him a walk back to my car. He heads to the back of the house, he is a few feet in front of me. He goes around the back of the house, just as I am reaching the end of the driveway, the next thing I know, him and two other boys are running like bats out of hell into the woods behind the house. I yell some profanities at the PUNKS, and threatened to call the cops. I weigh over 200 pounds, there was no way I could of chased them down, plus I had another delivery, and it would not have been smart to run after 3 punks over pizza. I call the manager, and told her to call the cops for me. I go to the next delivery, and she calls me and tells me the cops want me at the address. I go back there, no cops. I call her back, she gives me the phone number to the police. I call it and discovered she called the wrong town! By this time, the kids are long gone, and I have already lost too much time(=money) on this. I go back to the store, and this is where I start getting upset/mad? The manager could not believe I told her to call the cops over this. Before she called the cops, she called the owner to ask if she was supposed to call the cops. I WAS ROBBED!!! It may not of been for money, and I was not "held up" thank God, but a crime was committed. The owner said absolutely call the cops. He knows what should of been done, and I do, but the "kids" in the store just think it is a funny prank. The manager is a "kid" IMO, she just turned 20, but acts 15. If my shoulder did not bother me so much, and I hadn't had to cut back my work responsibilty, I would be the manager, but now I am back to being a driver, and I get to see how the store is falling apart, I get robbed, and because I wanted the cops involved, I am sure they are laughing about me.

What if I was beat up for the pizza? I wonder if they would think it was a joke then?

 

[N&B'smom]

I'm so sorry that happened to you. Sometimes people just suck. I know it's bothering you but focus on the fact that it could have been MUCH worse. You could have gotten hurt. Be glad it was just some idiot kids.

Shelby

 

[RadioFanatic]

you poor thing - that's horrible! In our area, we have had pizza delivery people killed for some pizza and little cash so I'm just thankful you weren't hurt.

 

[Disney1fan2002]

I'm so sorry that happened to you. Sometimes people just suck. I know it's bothering you but focus on the fact that it could have been MUCH worse. You could have gotten hurt. Be glad it was just some idiot kids.

Shelby

I know it could of been much worse, my frustration and anger come from the fact that the "manager" just did not think that the police needed to be involved. After all, she could just delete the order from the computer. She has no clue that a CRIME was involved here. I guess she skipped over the training on how to keep her employees safe when delivering pizza.

The police called and asked her to come into the station, because she was the store manager, and she did not go! Whatever.

 

[Planogirl]

I'm glad that you're OK and weren't attacked. Geesh, I can't stand people sometimes.

 

[lucas]

So, sorry...

 

[UnderTheMistletoe]

I'm so sorry.

 

[TheDisneyTraveler06]

Oh my! I'm so sorry to hear about that! I understand why you're upset.

 

[nkjzmom]

Marie, I'm so sorry that happened to you and that your manager is such a ditz.

My brother delivered pizzas for many years and was robbed 2-3 times. The worst was when he was heading back to his car after trying to deliver a pizza and no one answering the door. A man forced him to the ground and said he had a gun, DB wasn't sure if he really did. He demanded all the money DB had and even went through his car and got all the change he had. It was terrible. I think at that point DB started carrying one of those zappers. I'm not sure if he ever used it or even came close to using it.

I'm not big on revenge but you start to hope it's true about karma.

 

[Imzadi]

This is my advice as a licensed therapist:
First of all, stop saying YOU were robbed. This is one of the reasons why it's starting to bother you. You are making it personal and the reiterating of it is making it worse. It is ingraining it into your brain as such each time.

I am not taking away from what happened to you, it was bad. But there are ways to reframe this so you can move forward with power.

It wasn't personal, they would have stolen the pizza from ANY delivery person, from ANY pizza store. In fact, they had actually PRE-planned it, even before they called. Do you think the other two boys were coincidentally hiding in the bushes and all at the same time, they got the same idea to run?

They stole from the pizza store. It was THEIR items they took. Did the owner or manager make you pay for it out of your own pocket? It was the responsibility of the owner and manager on how they handled that part of it afterwards. The owner obviously wanted the cops called. HE has the problem with the manager who didn't call. She may never take responsibility for her lack of action.

Regardless of whether the manager called or not, ever takes it seriously or not, keeps thinking it a joke or not, YOUR safety is in YOUR hands. Do you think changing how the manager thinks about this situation will protect you if there is a next time? Are you expecting them to go with you on your next deliveries from now on or hire security to go with you? It really doesn't matter what she thinks, (she sounds too immature anyway,) unless she's going to go with you, your safety is in YOUR hands. That's where the point of action is.

You have a problem in that you left it in their hands, when you could have been proactive for yourself & just called. You also have a problem with yourself in that the made the next pizza delivery more important than your current safety, calling the cops yourself, then staying and waiting for the cops to at least, report it & have it on record. You made that choice.

If you had gotten robbed, they would have reached into your pockets and directly physically violated you and taken money of yours out of the pocket & away from you. Until you have been physically violated, assaulted or raped, you got off on this crime easily. (Yes, it was a crime.)

Here in NYC, there has been a recent string of unsolved MURDERS where Chinese delivery men are being robbed, beaten, and their dead bodies tossed in the stairwell or driven miles away & their bodies dumped & they are not found for days.

Thank God you are safe, and now start focusing on what you have learned from this lesson and what you can do to protect yourself (assuming you are going to continue to drive,) instead of staying in learned helplessness. You Do have a choice whether to keep driving or not.

Now, to get out of learned helplessness, if you really do want to do that, and aren't just venting, (venting's okay,) you have to look at the situation that happened to gleen what you can do differently starting the next delivery (if you plan to keep delivering) instead of remaining a victim.

First of all, forgive YOURSELF for not expecting this & knowing what to do. It sounds like it was the first time. Now, you will know how to protect YOURSELF better if there is a next time.

Secondly, never hand over the pizza first without seeing the money directly in their hands. You gave up control of the pizza and gave them an opportunity to run with it, or if they were standing inside the front door, to slam it in your face. If you don't see money forthcoming, you can back away and head to the car. If they pull out a weapon or threaten you, just hand over the pizza, it's not worth your safety. Your SAFETY is more important than the pizza delivery, or the next pizza delivery.

Third: Never leave Crime Scene One and move to Crime Scene TWO. Crime Scene One was when the pizza was handed over. You were still in the driveway, near your car, or at least an open, exposed area to witnesses and passers-by, who, if you had been hurt & left on the ground bleeding, could have called for help.

You are lucky in that the two other boys weren't running with bats, beaten you, and left you for dead, at the back of the house, where no one might have possibly found you, in time to help you. That remote area, away from your car, (where you could have ran to, if you saw them coming at you with bats) is Crime Scene TWO. Crime Scene TWO will always be in an isolated area, away from witnesses & help, where THEY have control.

Next time, stay near the car, with the door open, or directly in front of the house. (Always leave the closest car door open, to where you will be, in case you have to run to it. Lock all others.)

If people say you have to come around to the back of the house, just say FIRMLY, "Sorry, but delivery policy of my store is that I can only deliver to the front of the house. Please bring the money here while I wait & hold the pizza." (Blame it on the Pizza store if it makes you feel better.) They may look at you you funny or grumble over the inconvenience, but anyone who isn't intent on harming you, should understand. Your safety is worth more than the tip.

Carry only enough money directly on you to make change. This way, if you do get robbed, it's only a small amount. Tell them it's your first delivery of the evening. Hide the rest in the car somewhere.

Carry a cellphone on you at all times & charged up, in case you are disabled and need to call 911. Your safety is in your hands. There are many low cost, prepaid cellphones. Or, if need be, ANY cellphone that holds a charge can be used to call 911, even without any cell service. Battered womens shelters hand out phones all the time, when they receive donations for them. You can get a cheap one from a garage sale.

Add to this, any other safety PREcautions you can reasonably think of. If these precautions sound like too much work or an inconvenience, think about how inconvenient lying in a hospital bed for six week will be. Also, after a few times, it WILL become second naute, & you won't even have to think about it. The point of power is in yourself. Be able to deliver from a place of empowerment. If you feel you can't, it's okay to find another job which will be safer for you.

 

[mtblujeans]

It amazes me that people think of stuff like this....ordering a pizza, casually walking to the back of the house, and then running like heck off the property! Sheesh.....I can't imagine having the time or the inclination to actually give this weighty thought. If people would spend half the time thinking of ways to make life better (rather than thinking of how to "get away" with stuff) how much better our society would be!

I agree with the previous post 125%....you are trying to do the right thing for your employer and fellow employees! Keep that in mind....

 

[pfishgirl]

Im sorry this happened to you...
but Im glad you weren't hurt in the process...

 

[Disney1fan2002]

This is my advice as a licensed therapist:
First of all, stop saying YOU were robbed. This is one of the reasons why it's starting to bother you. You are making it personal and the reiterating of it is making it worse. It is ingraining it into your brain as such each time.

I am not taking away from what happened to you, it was bad. But there are ways to reframe this so you can move forward.

It wasn't personal, they would have stolen the pizza from ANY delivery person, from ANY pizza store. In fact, they had actually PRE-planned it, even before they called. Do you think the other two boys were coincidentally hiding in the bushes and all at the same time, they got the same idea to run?

They stole from the pizza store. It was THEIR items they took. Did the owner or manager make you pay for it out of your own pocket? It was the responsibility of the owner and manager on how they handled that part of it afterwards. The owner obviously wanted the cops called. HE has the problem with the manager who didn't call. She may never take responsibility for her lack of action.

Regardless of whether the manager called or not, ever takes it seriously or not, keeps thinking it a joke or not, YOUR safety is in YOUR hands. Do you think changing how the manager thinks about this situation will protect you if there is a next time? Are you expecting them to go with you on your next deliveries from now on or hire security to go with you? It really doesn't matter what she thinks, unless she's going to go with you, your safety is in YOUR hands. That's where the point of action is.

You have a problem in that you left it in their hands, when you could have been proactive for yourself & just called. You also have a problem with yourself in that the made the next pizza delivery more important than your current safety, calling the cops yourself, then staying and waiting for the cops to at least, report it & have it on record. You made that choice.

If you had gotten robbed, they would have reached into your pockets and directly physically violated you and taken money of yours out of the pocket & away from you. Until you have been physically violated, assaulted or raped, you got off on this crime easily. (Yes, it was a crime.)

Here in NYC, there has been a recent string of unsolved MURDERS where Chinese delivery men are being robbed, beaten, and their dead bodies tossed in the stairwell or driven miles away & their bodies dumped & they are not found for days.

Thank God you are safe, and now start focusing on what you have learned from this lesson and what you can do to protect yourself (assuming you are going to continue to drive,) instead of staying in learned helplessness. You Do have a choice whether to keep driving or not.

Now, to get out of learned helplessness, if you really do want to do that, and aren't just venting, you have to look at the situation that happened to gleen what you can do differently starting the next time (if you plan to keep delivering) instead of remaining a victim.

First of all, forgive YOURSELF for not expecting this & knowing what to do. It sounds like it was the first time. Now, you will know how to protect YOURSELF better if there is a next time.

Secondly, never hand over the pizza first without seeing the money directly in their hands. You gave up control of the pizza and gave them an opportunity to run with it, or if they were standing inside the front door, to slam it in your face. If you don't see money forthcoming, you can back away and head to the car. If they pull out a weapon or threaten you, just hand over the pizza, it's not worth your safety. Your SAFETY is more important than the pizza delivery, or the next pizza delivery.

Third: Never leave Crime Scene One and move to Crime Scene TWO. Crime Scene One was when the pizza was handed over. You were still in the driveway, near your car, or at least an open, exposed area to witnesses and passers-by, who, if you had been hurt & left on the ground bleeding, could have called for help.

You are lucky in that the two other boys weren't running with bats, beaten you, and left you for dead, at the back of the house, where no one might have possibly found you, in time to help you. That remote area, away from your car, (where you could have ran to, if you saw them coming at you with bats) is Crime Scene TWO. Crime Scene TWO will always be in an isolated area, away from witnesses & help, where THEY have control.

Next time, stay near the car, with the door open, or directly in front of the house. (Always leave the closest car door open, to where you will be, in case you have to run to it. Lock all others.)

If people say you have to come around to the back of the house, just say FIRMLY, "Sorry, but delivery policy of my store is that I can only deliver to the front of the house. Please bring the money here while I wait & hold the pizza." (Blame it on the Pizza store if it makes you feel better.) They may look at you you funny or grumble over the inconvenience, but anyone who isn't intent on harming you, should understand. Your safety is worth more than the tip.

Carry only enough money directly on you to make change. This way, if you do get robbed, it's only a small amount. Tell them it's your first delivery of the evening. Hide the rest in the car somewhere.

Carry a cellphone on you at all times & charged up, in case you are disabled and need to call 911. Your safety is in your hands. There are many low cost, prepaid cellphones. Or, if need be, ANY cellphone that holds a charge can be used to call 911, even without any cell service. Battered womens shelters hand out phones all the time, when they receive donations for them. You can get a cheap one from a garage sale.

Add to this, any other safety PREcautions you can reasonably think of. If these precautions sound like too much work or an inconvenience, think about how inconvenient lying in a hospital bed for six week will be. Also, after a few times, it WILL become second naute, & you won't even have to think about it. The point of power is in yourself. Be able to deliver from a place of empowerment. If you feel you can't, it's okay to find another job which will be safer for you.

Wow, did my OP sound like I was traumatized at all? Thanks for all the advice, but I can move forward, never even considered not continuing to drive and my OP was mainly a vent at how the manager handled the situation. Should I have called the cops myself? ABSOLUTELY. Was I thinking clearly? NO. I was worried about the next customer. The paying customer. Did I learn from my many mistakes? Yes I did.

 

[Simba's Mom]

Oh,my gosh, that's awful! DS used to deliver pizza, and I know you guys work hard for the money. Gotta admit, it's a good thing he doesn't deliver pizza anymore or after reading this, I'd be trying to encourage him to change his line of work.

 

[BuzzBoyMom]

Wow - that just stinks. But I'm glad you are okay.

 

[DisneyMommyMichelle]

some people!!!

sorry this happened to you!

 

[Stacerita]

In high school I worked in a pizza place and was promised I would never have to deliver. One night we were very short on staff and the owner asked me to do a run. I felt obligated to. It was the worst. The entire time (two houses actually) I was worried that I was going to be robbed. Its sad that its not safe to deliver a pizza. Glad you are alright. And that manager is a twit.