Pizza drivers deserve safety

 

In "Purloined pies: Prank or delivery threat?" [News, December 22, 2005] reporter Lisa Provence stated "delivery drivers have to be one of the easiest robbery targets– even more so than convenience store clerks." The largest target to fear lately is the uninformed opinions stated in the Hook.

To single out the safety factor of jobs without the facts is downright disrespectful. I worked for Domino's Pizza for 19 years– nine as a delivery driver. We are taught the aspects of safety, security, and, of course, how to prevent robberies. It is not our job to be robbed and harassed as our team member was.

I have made thousands of deliveries– and still do. I serve each customer in a polite, respectful manner. I expect the same in return. Whether meant as prank or theft, if customers physically or verbally threaten me, my company takes action. Feeling threatened should not be in anyone's job description. It is not an expectation.

The article was riddled with assumption, peppered with perceptions, not facts. In reality, we operate as part of this community. We expect community support when team members are robbed or threatened. I agree with Eugene Williams on Mayor David Brown– we do need to see more support of this issue. We need the mayor's thorough understanding of what is truly happening here.

With regard to restricted delivery being a racist issue­ wrong! This has nothing to do with racism and is everything about team member safety. Just ask the African American delivery driver involved in the incident that sparked the article.

Talk to Alan Asef, our supervisor– Middle Eastern descent. I am the female, part-Blackfoot Indian who is responsible for training at Domino's. We are tired of those who make our business seem racist. It is time we focus on the real issues.

Heather Conrad
Training /Operations
Domino's Pizza

#