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Danny Russell delivers pizzas for Papa John's located on Walton Way. The job keeps him busy with "steady work" KATHY MOORE/STAFF

Pizza driver always on the run

Web posted May 5, 1998

 On the job

By Alisa DeMao
Staff Writer

The guy didn't care that he was naked; he just wanted his dinner.

So Danny Russell handed it over and beat a retreat.

"I don't know who he was expecting,'' the delivery driver said, shaking his head at the thought of a customer who answered the door in his birthday suit. "But he just handed me the money, and I handed him his pizza.''

It was one of the stranger deliveries Mr. Russell has made in a year and a half of delivering pizzas, but he's learned to take it in stride and move on to the next door. There's always another pizza on the way -- the 17,000 miles Mr. Russell has put on his Saturn in less than a year is proof of that.

They may be short trips, but they sure add up -- Mr. Russell can drive 100 miles a day, all broken down into trips of 10 minutes or less. During a four-hour "rush'' shift, from 5 to 9 p.m., he makes an average 15 runs, sometimes carrying as many as three orders during one trip. He can make twice that many runs if he works until the restaurant closes at midnight.

"You've got to keep your car in really good shape,'' said the 29-year-old lead driver at Papa John's on Walton Way as he skirted backed-up cars on his way to a west Augusta residence during rush-hour traffic. "And dealing with the traffic is tough. But learning the area is the hardest. I know all the shortcuts.''

He has been delivering pies since he got out of the Army and discovered that the computer science degree he was trying to earn wasn't opening doors in the area. His wife already had a job in the area, and the family didn't want to move, so Mr. Russell jumped at the chance when a friend suggested the pizza-delivery job.

He enjoys meeting people, even if the experience is soured by bad tippers -- one of his colleagues keeps two pennies on his dashboard, a reminder of a particularly stingy customer. A lot of drivers depend on their tips to flesh out their take-home pay, he said. The average wage is only $5.50 to $6 an hour, plus mileage -- 75 cents per trip."Some people will give you their last dollar, and others won't give you anything,'' Mr. Russell said. "One night last week, it was so slow, I worked rush, only made nine runs and had $2 in tips. But some nights -- last weekend, I worked 5 to 9 both nights, and one of my first runs was a $10 tip.''

Some customers are not only good tippers, but friendly as well, and on a slow night Mr. Russell can spend time chatting at the door. One woman kept him talking for 15 minutes.

Not all transactions are so benign. In this day and age, delivery drivers live with the constant threat of robbery. Mr. Russell found himself facing a shotgun in November after making a hotel delivery. He handed over his fanny pack of money and watched the gunman and his accomplice run from the parking lot.

"That's when I decided I needed to get off the road,'' he said. "And my wife agreed with me -- she said I'd better find something else to do. So I'm waiting for a management position to open up.''

On the job

Subject:Danny Russell, lead driver, Papa John's on Walton Way

Time on the job: About one year

Training: Three days of on-the-job training in taking orders and making pizzas. Mr. Russell has also passed several tests to prepare for a management position.

Best part of job: "It's great to get out on the road and listen to my radio if I want -- just to get out of the store. A lot of jobs, you have to stay in the same place the whole time.''

Worst part of job: "We've got to get more drivers. We don't have enough. We're sharing a driver with North Augusta right now, and we've had ads in the paper for drivers. People don't think it's a way to make money, but you can pull in a good salary, with your tips.''