ADF Pizza Hut ripoff employees & customers too Blount County Alcoa Tennessee Alcoa Tennessee

I have been an employee at an ADF run Pizza Hut for about a year and a half.  I was originally hired as a delivery driver. While I agree that the pay is crap, I don't understand where the whole no moving up is coming from.  After nine months as a driver I was offered a shift manager position.  It did take a long time for me to get signed off on, but it did happen.  I didn't have to lie, cheat, or do any "favors" for anybody.  It is true that ADF does have to sign off on a promotion but all you need to do is have your store manager tell the area coach your training is done. At that point you have to attend two classes, then they sign off.

I'm not the only one this has happened to.  One of the cooks I work with was also promoted around the same time as me.  Another one my buddies who was a driver transferred to a different store where they started to promote him as well.  Moving up does happen without haveing to use inapproiate means.  

I think the misunderstanding arises from the mindset of some employees.  Most of the drivers I work only care about one thing, money.  They don't care if the jobs getting done right, just as long as they can get as many deliveries as possible.  As an example, just yesterday we miscounted the number of made breadsticks we had left. We were short by one order so I threw a pan in.  When the driver found out he'd have to wait about seven minutes to take his delivery, he went over to the warmer and grabed an order of breadsticks out of a carry out.  When I say he grabbed it I mean he picked it up with his bear hands and threw it in his big dinner box.  Stuff like that happens all the time at the store I work at and we're one of the best in the district in regards to training.  Maybe the reason some drivers don't get the chance to move up is because they pull stunts like the one above without a thought given to the in store employees who have to explain to a customer why they have to wait longer for their order.

I just want to say, I don't think all drivers are greedy cheaters.  There are some guys who just show up, do their job, and don't complain.  It's just been my experience both as a manager and as a driver that some of them will do anything to get all the good deliveries.

I'm not sure about your delivery area, but when I delivered pizzas for Pizza Hut in denver, CO; I would do 10 deliveries on a 'dead shift'. I usually did at least 20 deliveries a shift, with many of them doubles. meaning delivering to two locations very close to each other on the same run. I was qite happy with the money that I made on my part time job with them. It was certainly worth my while.
And for the person who stated that legally the driver doesn't have to declare the tips on their taxes: WRONG. If your position with a restaurant is listed as a tipped position, you do have to declare tip income. If you do not then the IRS can audit your returns and decide that you should have earned 10% of your total sales each day and then send your a letter stating that your owe the taxes, fines and penalties for that amount.

Now that poor shlep has 1 less customer to rely on. You are very cruel to take business away from him.

When I started working for ADF companies as a delivery driver the standard "delivery charge" was $1.85 with $1.35 of that going to the driver. When the gas prices sky rocketed recently the delivery charge went up to $2.00 a delivery. ( meaning the company charges two dollars every time to deliver a pizza) and the driver reimbursement went to ... and this is the funny part if you are watching the math... $1.00 per delivery.

Even with gas at 2.00 a gallon that still means the average vehicle will need atleast 10 dollars at the end of the day in gas just to be where it was when it started. Adf charges the customer two dollars.. but where does that money go? A lot of customers believe it goes to the driver and they are only half right about that. Half of the money goes to the driver. He gets one dollar.. Which means if he makes 10 deliveries in a night or day ( A rare occurence) he has earned a hefty 10. dollars. Of course he does get minimum wage.. but how Pray tell is a driver supposed to carry everything that he has to carry on his vehicle, pay for his gas, and have anything left over to eat with when the company itself refuses to pay more than peanuts for a delivery?

When the pizza man comes to your door, I hope you all remember to tip him. I know I do now.. Every time. He or she is a person who has put their own personal vehicle ( because no the company does not pay for any vehicles for employees.. They do not pay for any gas for the employee, they do not put any money at all towards the operating expenses of being a delivery driver. ) The company pays a delivery driver just as if they were the person inside making your pizza ( and in some cases they are because the company is too cheap to allow labor for a cook)

Understand that when a Pizza Hut Driver ( one employed by ADF companies) gets to your door, he probably answered the phone and took your order. Then at the very least worked the cut table and packaged it himself. Then carried it to his vehicle and placed it in a nice comfy spot where it would rest comfortably on his way to your house, and then carried from his car to your door.. Is only getting paid as much as you give him in tips ( which are taxable) and minimum wage. That is all pizza hut will pay any of their "hourly" employees. There is no way to advance in the company, especially since even advancement by store personal in store positions has been halted.

According to current practices by ADF even a resturaunt general manager can not advance anyone with out approval from above. What kind of company doesn't even trust the judgement of the person running the store? I have worked at a few places and the buck always stopped at the manager. Not with ADF. There is no buck to stop.. Everyones hands are tied by the person atop them.

Only one thing is certain.. Preston Arwine is the man who will do the hiring, the firing, and the reassigning of positions. It is his call on who goes where and if you are not his type of person then you are considered lower than trash, and not capable of moving up in the company.

*** Warning to anyone wanting to work in this company***

Unless you can lie, cheat, and snivel ( and I hear perform sexual favours) don't expect to go anywhere. Because you will be stuck in whatever position you were hired in at, until the day they decide they have a good enough reason to fire you.
Its that simple.

Steve is completely correct in his numbers.

Maybe the answer is to start turning in delivery drivers to their insurance companies.

While this may sound bad, I guarantee you that ADF would bring the wages up after calling all the drivers back to work. Delivery to high crime areas and non-tipping jack*&*& would stop also.

ADF couldn't afford to stay in business without delivery personnel. The bulk of their business is delivery.

*&*& ADF and their "confidentiality" statement. They forget that if they sue me, I have home field advantage. They can't win. The subsequent Lawsuit that I would WIN in my home town would probably set them back. I would sue their insurance company in Atlanta also not to mention the RGM and preston in person.

After winning my last case against an inept prosecuter, I'm pretty sure I could hammer a bunch of Pansy Yankees from Jersey. We've got good judges here.

John,

First of all, I am not an authority on everything, and never claimed to be. This is just a case of simple math, nothing more.

However, I too attempted the pizza delivery thing. I saw within about 6 weeks that it was not possible to ACTUALLY make money.

I am sure that if you actually think you MADE money, you were only figuring gas as your expense.

It is impossible to ACTUALLY make money delivering pizza for someone else with your own vehicle.

I bet you never figured in the entire vehicle cost such as wear and tear, depreciation, and replacement. And, I would also bet you were doing it without the knowledge of your insurance company, as they would have cancelled you immediately, or doubled your rates.

Like I said, IF it WAS financially feasable to deliver pizzas for free, the pizza company would buy, maintain, and insure those vehicles themselves and pay someone an hourly wage to deliver.

WHY, exactly do you suppose the pizza companies DO NOT provide a company vehicle for the drivers to use?

>>>
"I love you man.
Always putting in your 2 cents.
Gotta love a guy who is an authority on everything.
I drove and delivered.
Hated getting stiffed. Bottom line.
I made money".

John (not a lawyer, but I play one on tv)

John - Rhinelander, Wisconsin
U.S.A.
>>>

I love you man.
Always putting in your 2 cents.
Gotta love a guy who is an authority on everything.
I drove and delivered.
Hated getting stiffed. Bottom line.
I made money.

John (not a lawyer, but I play one on tv)

This is just plain old common sense and simple math. And, if it was financially feasable to do "free" pizza delivery, the company would buy vehicles to do it with instead of exploiting people who don't know any better.

The first biggie, is that using your private vehicle for compensation of any kind violates your insurance contract. In order to legally use your private vehicle for a delivery business, you MUST contact your insurance company and get a rider to do so, which will in most cases double your premiums. IF YOU GET INTO AN ACCIDENT WHILE DELIVERING PIZZA, YOUR INSURANCE COMPANY COULD LEGALLY REFUSE TO PAY!

Now, properly figuring the ACTUAL cost of owning and operating your car. It does not matter whether you have a new car or an old clunker, you CANNOT own a car for less than a 60cpm cost.

You MUST take into consideration the wear and tear and depreciation/replacement of the vehicle you drive. Everyone overlooks this.

For example, if you paid $10,000 for a car and drove it for 5 years and it is now worth $5,000, your annual depreciation was $1000.00.

Now you have to average in the cost of all repairs and maintenence, registration, insurance and gas.

The average pizza driver does at least 80 miles per shift. 80 x .60 = $48.00 in REAL cost to operate that vehicle.

Think about it. Gas alone at $3.00/gal in a car that may get 10 MPG around town average, is a fuel cost alone of 30CPM! The other 30CPM covers depreciation/replacement, maintenence/repairs, registration/title, etc.

So here is how the scam works. The minimum wage and tips you make in a day delivering pizza ONLY covers your REAL expense in operating that vehicle. You provided your labor for FREE.

The big pizza companies have already done the math on this, and that is why they do not provide vehicles for delivery drivers.

There is a website devoted to tipping the pizza delivery driver..just google tip the pizza guy for more information.

That aside, with gas prices rising, the costs of maintaining and insuring a vehicle, and the sup-par wages, it really isn't worth it anymore.

I drove for almost two years in MS and FL. It was a great way to supplement my income, but making it a full time occupation is looking less and less profitable.

NPC, ADF, YUM..they will keep feeding their grinders with fresh meat as long as there are willing volunteers.

It was fun for awhile, but after being assaulted on the job and subsequently fired the next day, I have seriously changed my tune.

"Frivolous" lawsuit? Nothing frivolous about the damages I incurred while on NPC's time.

If you're not a driver, or former driver, or insider, or former insider, then please keep your IC comments to yourself.

hey, pizza hut is ripping off their drivers, that is a real b***h. I drove delivery for 4 years and actually enjoyed it. Got a shitty 50 cents for every delivery. Didn't drive for Pizza hut.

Feel bad for the drivers? Hey, here is a crazy idea, try tipping them better.
You wouldn't stiff your waitress would you? Happens all the time for drivers. I didn't just bring the food to your table, often, I took the order, made the food and brought it to your house.

Still got stiffed sometimes.
Mean no offence to the many wonderful customers I had when I delivered, but honestly, just give a decent tip to these guys.

It was my car, my gas, and my oil to keep it going. Same for a lot of delivery guys out there.

hey, pizza hut is ripping off their drivers, that is a real b***h. I drove delivery for 4 years and actually enjoyed it. Got a shitty 50 cents for every delivery. Didn't drive for Pizza hut.

Feel bad for the drivers? Hey, here is a crazy idea, try tipping them better.
You wouldn't stiff your waitress would you? Happens all the time for drivers. I didn't just bring the food to your table, often, I took the order, made the food and brought it to your house.

Still got stiffed sometimes.
Mean no offence to the many wonderful customers I had when I delivered, but honestly, just give a decent tip to these guys.

It was my car, my gas, and my oil to keep it going. Same for a lot of delivery guys out there.

hey, pizza hut is ripping off their drivers, that is a real b***h. I drove delivery for 4 years and actually enjoyed it. Got a shitty 50 cents for every delivery. Didn't drive for Pizza hut.

Feel bad for the drivers? Hey, here is a crazy idea, try tipping them better.
You wouldn't stiff your waitress would you? Happens all the time for drivers. I didn't just bring the food to your table, often, I took the order, made the food and brought it to your house.

Still got stiffed sometimes.
Mean no offence to the many wonderful customers I had when I delivered, but honestly, just give a decent tip to these guys.

It was my car, my gas, and my oil to keep it going. Same for a lot of delivery guys out there.

hey, pizza hut is ripping off their drivers, that is a real b***h. I drove delivery for 4 years and actually enjoyed it. Got a shitty 50 cents for every delivery. Didn't drive for Pizza hut.

Feel bad for the drivers? Hey, here is a crazy idea, try tipping them better.
You wouldn't stiff your waitress would you? Happens all the time for drivers. I didn't just bring the food to your table, often, I took the order, made the food and brought it to your house.

Still got stiffed sometimes.
Mean no offence to the many wonderful customers I had when I delivered, but honestly, just give a decent tip to these guys.

It was my car, my gas, and my oil to keep it going. Same for a lot of delivery guys out there.

Check out some of the other threads involving ADF pizza huts.

You'll get to see how Aaron beat them at their own game.

ADF stores are filthy!

If you don't believe me, check out the thread concerning my situation.

Frivolous lawsuits? In my case, ADF's risk management cons went ahead and payed my accusers money for something that was fabricated. This could have hurt me in court. Nice management!

Second of all, just how in the Hell are you supposed to know if a company will treat you badly before you work there for a period of time? Jeeeeezzzzzzzz, what a statement!

You two pansies are putting the cart in front of the horse. That's typical of PA and NY. You folks just like to put your two cents in whether in helps or not. Trust me when I say that I'm not impressed. You need to learn to ADD something to threads that it useful, not make idiots of yourselves which is, by the way, typical of your kind.

DOWN WITH ADF PIZZA HUTS!

Randy, you need to get your facts straight

I appologize ahead of time if my dates are off a bit.

Pizza Hut, KFC, Taco Bell and Long John Silvers are not owned by Pepsico.

In 1997 Pepsico divorced thier interests in the food service industry. The company that came from the split was than named Tricon. Sometime around 1999 Tricon renamed itself YUM! and to this day they are known as that company. In fact thier stock abbreviation is "YUM". The only attachment to Pepsi that they have anymore is a contract to sell nothing but Pepsi products (makes sense to me).

ADF is also not a Pepsi Company, they are however the second largest franchisee of YUM! brand resteraunts. I believe they also own some Bennigans resteraunts.

I make the suggestion to anyone out there that if you are going to work for a comapny, know who you are working for.

I am a long time employee in the pizza industry and I know a little bit about why things are the way they are. First, the reason there is a delivery charge on customer orders to to help the companies (whether it be Domino's, Pizza Hut or Papa Johns) pay for the frivolous lawsuits that people file against pizza delivery companies. Part of these delivery charges are given to the drivers to help cover gas and maintanance on thier vehicles. In fact, my company recently raised the drivers re-imbursement from 50 cents to 90 cents. The rest of these charges are put into insurance funds to help protect the company from legal actions taken against them because someone found a hair in the pizza.

Delivery drivers do range from the very unhappy (no matter what is done for them), to the "Lifer", who has been with the company and knows there is good money to be had. I drove for thirteen years and the money I made bought me two houses and many nice cars. In those thirteen years I have worked with many drivers who are young and have this job because the hours make it conviniant to party. These tend to be the people who don't think they make enough.
All I am asking is please consider who you might be talking to before you make a decision on how porely a company treats its people(no matter who it is or what service it provides).

William, I have a suggestion for you. Each time you have a pizza delivered, tip the driver $10. That will put more money in the driver's pocket and you'll be happy to know you're helping raise his wages. But I suppose you wouldn't want to do that, would you?

The same drivers don't just keep coming back. I'm not sure where you get your information from but I can assure you that it is a bogus source.

The reason PH is able to hire any drivers at all is the simple fact that they really play down the cost involved in using a vehicle for delivery purposes. They (the company) say that they reimburse the drivers for their vehicle costs, but we all know that is a joke and complete fraud.

I doubt very seriously that drivers would delivery if they were getting a "tipped" employee hourly wage that's why most end up at least getting minimum wage. The simple fact that drivers are NOT paid a waitresses wage, means that technically we do not have to declare any tips by law.

Trust me, people like you don't make Pizza Hut look any better, just worse.

Depending on your state, Pizza Delivery drivers are paid on what the company considers comparable "tip" wages. They are lucky that they are getting minimum wage, because the company could pay them LESS than that, because its a job that earns tips.

Dont know about YOUR PH's, but our PH's here, pay the driver $1 for ever run and charges the customr $1 (or $1.50 depending on the store location) for delivery. The compensation for the Driver is out of PH's pocketbooks, not charged to the customer at all.

That $1 per run, could mean that the driver could deliver to a residence/business across the street (dont have to use their car) or a destination 5 miles away.

Insurance rates? Gas? Anyone getting in the a business that requires the use of their car, should already expect this. If they didn't, then its their fault for not "asking" the questions prior to employment ( Ie their insurance company about how it would affect their rates - that's not PH's responsibility).

There is no "rip" off in being a PH dieliver driver (or any pizza delivery driver). The employees are TOLD what to expect at the time of employment, and ARE sent to (in the case of Pizza Hut) to a 2 hour orientation meeting (mandatory). If they are grumbling about what they are earning, and the costs they are incurring on themselves, no one is to blame but themselves.

I was a PH deliver driver for 3 years (part time through school) and it was one of the most fun jobs I've ever had. I always had "money" because of the tips, and I earned more than enough to cover expenses ( insurnace, gas ) and depending on your state, you COULD write all of that off on your tax returns ( use of personal car for business/job ).

After the first pay period, the delivery person will understand what is involved and exactly how much they will get in return.

Now, I don't think that the store should keep money that is charged for the delivery. It should all go to the person who actually makes the delivery.

But, the only way that this is going to change is when the company starts losing customers because there is nobody available to make deliveries.

People are like water. They seek their own level. Some people won't work for less than $25 an hour. Others will work very hard for minimum wage.

Which of them is correct? They both are.

It's just a question of what each individual wants from their life and their job.

Some people can be happy with very little. Others can own the whole world and they still aren't satisfied.

When all of pizza hut's drivers decide to find something else, then the company will step up and pay more to replace them. Until that time comes, nothing will change.

pizza hut, taco bell,kfc,long john silvers, and A&W are all ADF companies and ADF is owned by pepsi. all these stories are accurate and most sound like the typical stores. i average about $40 a night (6 hours) delivering thats after hourly wage, delivery charge, tips minus gas. that doesn't leave much for tires,brakes oil changes and everything else that goes along with 40,000 miles a year of driving(part time).
to top it all off the company policy seems to be to treat employees like dirt so the only ones that stay are easily pushed around. My notice is in..

Just in case this hasn't been mentioned before, this is an ADF operated store. The area supervisor is Preston Arnwine. He can be reached at (865) 984-4340. The RGM at this store is Jeff Clark. He can be reached at the same number if he's not playing D&D.

I would imagine the extra money wouldn't be illegal if ADF or Gumby's could prove that it was being used for something like car toppers or pizza bags.

That would be easily discounted because Pizza Hut on Hannum St. in Alcoa, TN has gotten new toppers in a long time. Or pizza bags for that matter. That stuff only costs so much.

If you can, find out if ADF owned those Pizza Huts up there. We are trying to organize a massive lawsuit here concerning ADF and the way they cheat their customers and employees.

Thanks and good luck with your fight against Gumby's.

Maybe going after them over taxes is a good way of bringing these places to justice. That's the way they got Al Capone. Although Preston Arnswine doesn't remind me of Al Capone. Maybe Luke Skywalker, but not Al Capone. Ha! Ha!

I was not trying to support Pizza Hut in any way. Believe me, I tell everyone not to eat at any Pizza Hut.

I was just trying to make a point that they're not the only pizza place that treats their drivers poorly. It is their fault, as well as it's Gumby's Pizza's fault for treating their drivers so bad. Each company is responsible for their own employees.

If a customer asks about the delivery charge, I tell them that the driver only gets $0.50...and that I have no idea where the rest goes. Some customers figure out the price on their own and notice the extra $1. They assume it's part of the driver's tip and don't actually tip the person when they arrive. It's a terrible system.

I agree that the government should get involved somehow, although I don't think vehicles are practical. Perhaps an audit would straighten them out (but I don't know if what they're doing is illegal). I know my current boss would be sweating like crazy if a CPA was looking at his records.

I'm not sure if ADF owned the Pizza Hut I used to work at. It was in high school, 6 years ago. I do know they used to own Taco Bells in the area, also, if that means anything.

I'm assuming that you are not upholding ADF Pizza Huts. You explained your position as though it wasn't Pizza Hut's fault. It is Pizza Hut's fault and they aren't completely honest with their customers concerning the delivery charge.

What the government should make them do is provide their own delivery vehicles. I gurantee you they would change their minds about how much drivers should be making using their own vehicles.

Does ADF own the Pizza Hut where you used to work?

I worked at a Pizza Hut in Western Pennsylvania for almost a year. I can testify that they do have a terrible work enviornment. We didn't have drivers at our location, but I could go on and on about the poor quality of service and food (employees smoking weed in the back freezer, selling drugs over store phones, moldy pans being used to make pizzas, rotten ingreedients used to save money, etc.)

But Pizza Hut isn't the only company that rips off their drivers. I currently work at a different pizza place, Gumby's Pizza (I could go on about them, also, but that's another report). Our drivers only make $4.15 per hour, plus tips. Mind you that $5.15 is minimum wage...this is the same way a waitress works. The company expects the drivers to make at least $5.15 with tips, but if they don't, the company will bump up their pay.

We also charge a $1.00 delivery fee. The driver only gets $0.50. We have no idea where the other $0.50 goes to. As to the insurance issues, when we hire a driver, the manager tells them not to mention the job to their insurance companies. As a delivery driver, car insurance does go up, and I've heard life insurance does also (not confirmed though).

With the price of gas what it is and possible rising insurance rates, it's not worth it to be a delivery driver. The next time you order pizza, be kind to your driver, tip them for their hard work.