I am very much enjoying my part-time job of which I wrote in my last post. Each Monday afternoon around 1 p.m. I go pick up my deliveries and I am on my way.
The company uses a routing app called "My Route Online" that syncs with my GPS maps app. The addresses of the homes I will visit are prepopulated into the routing app each week. Once I have loaded my deliveries and I am ready to go, I activate the app and it routes me from house to house.
I make the dropoff, either (a) on the front porch; (b) in a cooler left in a designated location, which is usually but not always the front porch; or (c) into a garage refrigerator to which I am given access. I take a picture of the order and transmit it with a text to the customer, confirming delivery has been made.
As I wrote previously, I came up with some shortcuts to help me, e.g. printing the list of addresses, putting them on a clipboard and marking them off as I go along (this is probably my age showing, but it helps me double-check myself), and entering into my contacts the names and numbers of any new customers that week so I can send the confirmation text as quickly as possible.
Everything has gone smoothly. I have met a handful of customers who have greeted me at the door, and they have all been very kind. Yesterday, a guy came out and shook hands with me and told me how much his family enjoys the food.
This is the exception, however, and most of the folks I do not see. It has become clear they are not inclined to tip. My confirmation text includes my Venmo address with a message that "tips are appreciated but never expected." As I wrote last time, I feel sure they are of the opinion they are already paying handsomely and delivery is covered, which is true as I am paid to make the deliveries. I get it, and I didn't get into this for the money.
The only problem I have had has been with Rover, the dog I wrote about. (This is the name I have given him; I don't know his real name.) He is a yellow lab, a big guy, and as sweet as he can be. His owners obviously have an electric fence as he roams freely around the yard.
I like dogs and I am happy to greet Rover and play with him. I am not the least bit frightened of him.
However, this particular customer has standing instructions to leave their order in a cooler on their back porch. This requires parking in front of the house, walking around to the back, walking up a flight of stairs to said back porch, then back down again and to my car. Rover is with me the entire time.
He sees me pulling up and runs to my car door. When I open it, he tries to jump in. He licks my face. When I manage to get out, he jumps on me, and yesterday he knocked my phone out of my hand.
I don't think he knows basic commands like "sit" or "stay." (I have tried.) To be sure, he does not bite or scratch and not once have I been afraid of him. I pet him and love on him for a few minutes as soon as I get there. Again, he stays with me the entire time, going up the stairs to the porch and back down again. He usually finds something in the yard for me to fetch to him before I leave.
But I have a job to do. Rover's owners' home is, obviously, not my only stop. And yesterday, he was too aggressive. There are a couple of Mondays in October when I'll be out of town, and a driver who is smaller than me might have a problem. He could knock someone down.
So, I contacted the support person for drivers yesterday afternoon when I was done, and very reluctantly reported Rover. She thanked me for letting her know and said she would notify the customer that he would have to be contained during delivery times. I told her as long as I am the driver for this address, it's fine, but she said it had to be addressed immediately. I have a feeling this has happened before.
I have never met Rover's owners, but I would love to be able to tell them I really like Rover, and my reporting him was a precaution. He is a sweet dog.
I am probably overthinking it.
3 comments:
You're not overthinking it, Bob. You know I love dogs, but Labs can be VERY exuberant (to put it mildly) and dealing with the stairs (especially while carrying something) could be very dangerous. For what it's worth, I believe you did the right thing in reporting it. Sweet "Rover".
I meant I’m overthinking feeling bad about reporting it and wanting to talk to Rover’s owners. I had to do it (report the situation) and you’re right, the stairs exacerbated the situation. If they can’t contain him
at delivery time, they should probably not have this service.
I don't understand people with dogs that are not trained. I had a dog once that never met a person he didn't love but he was trained to not jump up on them and to stay a distance from them unless invited over. It is quite simple to train a dog like that. Jumping up on people can as you say, knock them over if they are small enough. The bigger worry is if the weather is not great and then you go around with big dirty dog prints all over your shirt and pants for the rest of the day.
Currently I live next door to an elderly couple who have a small dog that it totally untrained and nasty. It barks constantly and "chases me" while snarling. I for the most part ignore it but it snuck up once behind me and tried to bite my ankle but fortunately missed. It has bit my wife once and she being much smaller, it isn't afraid. Out city has a leash law but unfortunately my neighbors don't observe it. After my wife got bit, and because we have several new neighbors who moved into the area, I called the animal patrol and reported them this summer. I hoped that because of the new neighbors, they wouldn't suspect me of calling. That helped for about a month or so but they are right back with letting their dog out unrestrained so every time I'm outside, it is following me snarling and barking.
I've thought about reporting them again but recently learned that the lady owner is now under home hospice for liver cancer that has spread to the lungs. Her husband isn't doing so hot and I've had to go over and pick him up off of floors and toilets over the last couple years because he doesn't have the physical strength to do so (wife always locks dog up in laundry room when I'm over helping to right her husband). So I have just held my tongue and seeing what will happen. Perhaps next spring when it's nice enough to spend time out in my yard again, it will have resolved itself.
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