Income Ceiling

One of the only drawbacks of my job is that it seems I have come close to reaching my income ceiling. I cannot learn the delivery range any better, as I know every street and how to get there upon seeing an address. My demeanor at the door is top notch (IMHO!), I am unparalleled at turning stiffers into tippers and turning low tippers into average tippers without being pushy (or being pushy when the situation calls for it).

It's not that my income is too low, my income is great. I average $2.84/tip, $1.30/run from the store, and take 3.5 runs per hour. Add my wage of $7.07 over 50 hours a week, and do the math. The part that I don't like is that the opportunities to improve that are limited. As an extremely competitive person, this is very tough on me.

"Climb the ladder"

Assistant managers make $28k salary. 50 hours per week with no extra overtime pay. Yuck.

General managers make around $35k salary, and can work 45-70 hours per week depending on a variety of factors. They also have an opportunity to make a quarterly bonus if they can overcome the ridiculously tremendous odds, keep labor under control, and put up with all the BS. Basically, they have to keep the store understaffed as the norm and do the work of 4 insiders themselves. No thanks. I don't want to take a pay cut just to be a pseudo-white collar employee who is under constant stress.

Area coaches probably make around $50k, and they get all the cool perks like a car allowance. I don't know if I would want to put up with what it takes to get there, namely several years in the 2 previously described positions.

"Get a 'real' job"

With my 4 year business degree, I could go somewhere and make close to what I make now, with a good chance of passing it in the first few years. The problem with this is I do not think I could sit at a desk all day, I hated the ethics issues in my sales jobs, and I am vehemently opposed to a job that pays hourly/salary and pays no attention to performance. This rules out just about every job. And even if there was a job that didn't fall under this category,

I'm spoiled. I sit in a comfortable vehicle all day. I make personal phone calls when I feel like it. I eat wings and drink Diet Pepsi at my leisure, free of charge. I listen to Dave Ramsey, great stand up, NPR, Detroit sports, and the music of my choice on SIRIUS. I get scheduled during the prime hours, but still get Sundays off to enjoy with my friends and family. I can get time off whenever I need it, but seldom do because I actually enjoy and look forward to going to work. I can be rude to a stiffer, and I always get the benefit of the doubt from my boss, despite the fact that I work for a Big 3 chain. I find it hard to give this up for the "opportunity" to waste away slowly in an office.

"Start your own pizza place"

This will probably be my next job. I might put in a year or so as a manager, but it surely won't be at a Big 3. For a while, I thought owning a pizza place was way too difficult. I never saw it as an option until recently, and this is mainly because of Pizza Hut's way of doing things. Like any corporation, they have a ton of paperwork, layers of management, and an abundance of rules - all things I am opposed to. After researching successful local pizza joints like Sparano's, I see that pizza shops can be pretty simple, and I know I could make it. Right now, this is not a possibility, as I have a lack of capital, a kid on the way, and uncertainty about the future of the local economy. Plus, I would be committing to Columbus for life, which I certainly am not ready to do. I think this would be an awesome way to make a living, but I want to make sure I have the capital, time, and knowledge necessary to win.

As for now, I'll put up with well-meaning people that ask me why I don't have a 'real' job, and I'll keep trying to get that tip average and runs per hour higher.