Bathrobe Guy and Notes on Safety

I’m sure Uber and Lyft drivers hold the record for number of shocking stories from the road.  We’ve all seen the YouTube videos and read the police reports.  It’s certainly a different ballgame to have an actual person in your vehicle versus some retail items.  Although there have been a few leaks and spills in my car, nothing could compare to what may leak or spill out of an actual human on a Saturday at 3am.  Cleaning up some sugar or an exploded soda is way better than some other things I can think of.

But with all that being said, delivering items to a stranger’s home needs to be done with your personal safety in mind.  Ninety-five percent of the time things are pretty normal.  But there is that other five percent when you need to be aware of your surroundings and paying attention to your intuition.  If you are in a strange neighborhood at night and don’t feel safe getting out to make a drop-off, I see no problem in calling the customer through the app and asking them to turn on a porch light or asking if they would come out so you could locate them more easily.  If these things don’t solve your fears, I would certainly call support and let them know what’s going on and possibly mark the package as undeliverable if needed.  You are the most important item in your car.  Way more important than some retail goods.  Take care of you.

Not all dangers occur in strange neighborhoods in the dark however.  I can’t count the number of times I have rang the bell at what appears to be a normal home, only to have it answered by some dude wearing an open bathrobe.  And this at 2:30 in the afternoon!  Cue the creepy porn music.  I’m not trying to judge here, but who are these guys expecting?  I can try to rationalize that maybe they are professional gamers in the middle of a huge battle…coders that are so in the zone they forget their manners…just drop the RedBull and go!   But seriously, what kind of person opens their door to a stranger with their bathrobe door open? Really?  How hard is it to cover up?  And no, I won’t come in and set the delivery on the kitchen table.  

The above leads me to my next safety note…don’t go into people’s homes.  If anything, set the items just inside the door if they ask.  There is no reason for you to step one foot inside their doorway.  I do know some drivers that have carried items in for customers and for them it’s a case by case basis.  But it would have to be a really good case for me to carry items in.  And it is always a huge H*LL NO!, when creepy bathrobe guy answers…

I do have a few more of these stories and I will post them soon.  Feel free to tell some of your own in the comments section.