It’s Just Pizza!

My job has been crazy!  I’m working over 80 hours this week and I have worked over 70 hours a week for the last four weeks.  There has been a lot of stress and a lot of ups and downs, but through it all I know it will be fine in the end.  I’ve reminded myself of the following story to get myself through:

When I was 15 I took a job as a pizza maker at Domino’s Pizza.  I worked there for a few years before leaving for college.  I have a lot of good memories from that job.  I remember on one occasion, I was working the cut table (that station was responsible for pulling pizza’s from the oven, cutting them, boxing them, and grouping them for deliveries.  When a driver got back from a run, he or she would have to take the oldest pizza and any pizzas going in the same direction.  Sometimes a driver would skip the oldest order in favor of a better run or a better neighborhood – it was against the rules and if caught the driver would face reprimand, but it still happened.

Anyway, I was working the cut table and one of our ‘old-timers’ came in from a run and suddenly got very upset.  Apparently, one of the younger drivers had come in before him but skipped the oldest order to take a grouping of three orders going to a nicer (better tipping) area.  After about a 10 minute rant, the older driver took the skipped order and left.  Here’s the part that stuck with me – we had an older lady (maybe in her late 50’s) that also delivered for us.  She had come in during the old-timer’s rant.  After he left in a tiff, she looked at me and said:

I took this job because of the low stress – It’s just pizza!

It’s just pizza!  What a great way to look at the situation.  I know that the issue for the old-timer wasn’t the pizza, and I know that life isn’t always simple – but when things start to get stressed, I remind myself – It’s just pizza.