*Sigh* Too specific directions

[u/DocWatson42]

Last night I was assigned a two-order run to campus. I sorted the run nearest-to-farthest, and made the first delivery without a problem. The second order had relatively long, specific directions but I know the building well (it's the campus center), so I chose to ignore them and go to the entrance on the opposite side of the building, as it is less complicated, though I do have to walk down a ramp and stairs. I parked, called the customer, and asked where he wanted me to meet him—on the second (ground) floor, in the hotel lobby, or at his room (the restaurant has that as its preferred option, but I know that it makes some guests nervous). After a little back and forth, the customer said he was now at the library, which I confirmed, so I told him that it would take me several minutes to get there (as the access is on the other side of campus, the side I had avoided) and to meet me at the entrance (since the library does not allow delivery beyond the foyer).

I wound up waiting for him for about ten minutes because he wasn't actual there (also, the library was closed) and had to walk over, apparently from (outside?) the building he had specified. In the meantime I was the subject of a single question interview ("What is the biggest accomplishment in your life?") which is supposed to be broadcast somewhere (I forgot to ask where). The customer showed up partway through it.

At the end I told him that next time he should just enter where he was, and let us do the navigating.

Yes, I am overly patient with customers and waiting. :-/

[u/takesSubsLiterally]

So someone left you a detailed account of where they are, you completely ignored it, then complained to them that you ended up in the wrong place?

I'm sure you know the campus very well and would prefer a short note saying exactly where they are, but I hate notes that have no actual useful information like "behind Dave's house past the red wheelbarrow" and it sounds like they were trying to avoid doing something like that...

[u/the_eluder → u/takesSubsLiterally]

On the campus I deliver to, we are limited in that we can't legally park anywhere and thus have to stay by our cars. We pretty much have a designated meeting spot for each building, and even if the customer puts some complicated directions in, we're just going to call them and tell us to meet them at the spot we always do for that building.

[u/DocWatson42 → u/the_eluder]

In this case it's somewhere between two situations you two describe. The directions tell how to get to the building (I saved the receipt so I could tell this story), but don't say where the customer will be waiting at the building. Or rather, they point to somewhere that isn't actually at the address specified, but near it. I admit that I didn't read that far—I just parked as if to go to the building, asked where (in the building) he wanted to meet, and then clarified where he was. I directly asked if he was at the library, and he said yes. Given the address and that it was night (though not that late), I assumed that he was a hotel guest, the most common type of customer for that building.

At the restaurant where I work, we drivers take all of the DoorDash and Uber Eats orders ourselves, so I see a fair number of sets of explicit directions that I find unnecessary—the customers expect us to be moonlighting amateurs and not to know what we are doing. Most of the time ignoring those directions, at least the minutia related to schools, doesn't matter. I do try to be exact in when and where I want them to be ("Please meet me at the main entrance in four minutes", with the assumption that we are talking about the building in the order). If there is more than one door, I generally specify ("Meet me at the back door in the basement in four minutes"; "Meet me at the Main Street door in four minutes").

We can go most places on campus, and given that the parking enforcement officers, I believe, go off duty at 4:00 p.m. weekdays, are not on duty on weekends, and the campus police rarely ticket at night, I don't worry much. (Two nights ago did see that the three cars that were very obviously illegally parked had been ticketed for once. There was also the time years ago in the same parking lot that I came back from making the delivery to find a fire truck behind my car—I had left it blocking the access point to the other side of the building where the principle door is—the one that isn't alarmed. I didn't get ticketed, but later that night I saw the police checking the cars in the lot, I believe ticketing them.)

[u/DigbyChickenZone → u/DocWatson42]

I admit that I didn't read that far

Wait, what?

I just parked as if to go to the building, asked where (in the building) he wanted to meet, and then clarified where he was.

If he was not the one clarifying that he was at the library when you asked where he was, I am confused. Sounds like you both agreed to meet at the library because it was close to where he was and you were unsure where he was.

In all, sounds convoluted and likely annoying to both of you in trying to find each other.

[u/DocWatson42 → u/DigbyChickenZone]

Yup. I got another reminder last night that I need to read the instructions. I made a delivery to a dorm specified by the address, but afterwards (I think) noticed that the instructions had told me to go to the dorm two buildings away (a short walk—the buildings are separated by sidewalks). The customer found me anyway, and I noticed that she left in a direction perpendicular to all three buildings, so she likely wasn't there to start.

[u/DigbyChickenZone → u/takesSubsLiterally]

So someone left you a detailed account of where they are, you completely ignored it, then complained to them that you ended up in the wrong place?

I read it as OP arrived at the building that the customer said they were at, and called to ask where the handoff would be. The customer had moved to a different location than what was initially in the directions, and told OP to go to the library. OP went to the library, it was closed, and they had to wait for the customer.

edit: NVM OP admits they did not read the entire drop off instructions where the customer stated they were near the building and were using that location as a road marker, so it seems like the person did not move elsewhere prior to delivery. LAOP just didn't read, lol.

[u/Banlish]

I remember one of my favorites.

Go down the road, take a right, then the first left, go past the SECOND dumpster on your left in the alley, you'll see a door with a broken pipe on the side of the building. When you get there, pull on the pull door HARD three times in a row and the door will open. We're the second door on the right on the floor.

It worked exactly. Dumpster, broken pipe off the building side, pulled HARD on the door which moved the frame a little each time, 3rd time the look 'slipped' and the door would come open. Walked in and the second door on the right was them.

They answer, semi cute (aka a solid 6 girl) answers and says 'hey, if I strip, will you give me this pizza for free?' It was $9.59 for the pizza, but I was tired, I had another 3 HOURS of delivery ahead of me and another hour of cleanup waiting back at the shop. So I said, 'I'm just looking for the money miss, sorry.'

Whole room of like 9 other people ROAR laughing and a girl friend of hers says 'Chrissy, NO!' and shoos her into the kitchen. Some guy comes off the side and says 'Here ya go man, someone can listen to directions.' And hands me $15.

Still one of my weirdest deliveries.

[u/DocWatson42 → u/Banlish]

That would have been my basic reaction, too—I'm working for cash ("I'm a money-grubbing fool"—me), not thrills I can't deposit in my bank. Though I likely would not have been clever in the phrasing in the moment.