The Curious Tale of the Unprepared Delivery Dude…

I love improvisation. I teach improvisation. I continue to study improvisation. And yet, sometimes, I have to step back and say, “you know, a little pre-planning can go a long way…”

I previously wrote about an Indian restaurant I liked but that I stopped going to because the manager’s attempt to give me good customer service kinda skeeved me out. Well this weekend I was craving some Chicken Tikka Masala and wasn’t in the mood for any skeevage, so I just called it in for delivery.

The total bill, with tax and tip, was going to be $30 (I told you in the last post it was a bit expensive – plus, I like variety and this lets me spread it over 3 meals). I had two twenties. In my world, this means I was all set to get my food.

The delivery guy arrives (over an hour later, so I was already not super excited), hands me the food and tells me the total. I think I am making things nice and simple by handing him my two twenties and saying, “can I get $10 back please?”

Before I continue, I ask you, have I described anything in this story that in any way makes you believe that I misplanned? Should I have expected this to be a problem?

The guy looks at me and says, “I don’t have any cash.”

What?!

Maybe this was a ploy, and he was gunning for a $10+ tip, hoping that I would cave in and just say, “oh, ok, keep the change.” But I don’t think it was a ploy because when I looked at him and said, “I only have two twenties,” he just looked at me and shrugged (clearly, this was a man of action).

I’ll admit, I have never had a job delivering food, but I have ordered a lot of food n my life, and I have never had someone show up with NO CASH AT ALL on him.

I took two lessons away from this story:

Lesson #1: Preparation counts!

A big focus of what I speak on is how to improvise. This doesn’t mean you just wing it and say, “preparation, schmeperation. Whatever!” Planning is important. Being prepared to easily and effectively accomplish the tasks you set out before you is critical. Don’t fool yourself into thinking that your ability to improvise means you can ignore prep. This applies to anything: work, vacations, events, presentations, etc.

Lesson #2: Be Prepared to Be Unprepared!

This is not nearly the contradiction it sounds like. It just means that if you find yourself in a situation where for whatever reason you are unprepared, at least be mentally ready for dealing with the consequences. For example, if you are en route to a presentation and, when you’re halfway there, you realize that you have forgotten your handouts. You have two options: you can go back and get the handouts, which will make you late, or continue on without them. If you decide to go back, realize you will have to deal with being late. If you proceed without them, realize that you may have to adjust your presentation.

So if you you are on the way to deliver food and you have no cash – perhaps on the delivery before the person paid with a $100 bill and you used up all your change (I don’t know, I’m trying…) – at least take a second to consider the situation where the next customer may not have exact change on them so that when they ask for change you don’t just look at them and shrug.

Oh, and the end result of this story? After double checking with him – yes, I realize the futile stupidity of looking at a person and saying, “you really have no money?” – I offer up,”why don’t I call the restaurant and just pay them with a card over the phone?” This seems like a splendid idea to him, and after calling the restaurant to confirm that this is ok, he rides off into the sunset.

To answer the two questions you inevitably have right now: 1) Yes, I did actually call the restaurant and pay and 2) yes, I did still tip. While I found this ridiculous, it wasn’t much skin off my back, and I believe in tipping.

Whether you’re delivering food, speaking to a group, taking a trip, or just going about your day, make sure you are as prepared as you need to be. Remember, the better prepared you are the easier it is to improvise!