Not pizza, but a JJ's delivery driver here. For a couple of years now.
Pizza Delivery Driver Secret #1: It's a boys' club.
JJ's has a tendency to hire a lot of girls (usually younger and decent-to-good-looking). Many of them do deliver.
Pizza Delivery Driver Secret #2: They get robbed, even in "nice" neighborhoods.
Don't think anyone I've worked with his ever actually gotten mugged. I work in a mid-sized town and there are some bad areas, but I've never seen it happen. We tend to deny deliveries that are to be "picked up" at a location away from the person's residence or business.
Pizza Delivery Driver Secret #3: They know the dirt on all the local rental properties.
I guess? I could give you some good generalizations and there are a few regular customers who have some clear personal issues/substance habits, but if you need to move into those properties you probably can't afford anything better anyway.
Pizza Delivery Driver Secret #4: They do more drugs than your mom in the sixties.
Nah. Pot? Yeah, definitely, but rarely on the job. Alcohol? Same. Some of my co-workers do recreational drugs, but it is all on their free time and I don't know anybody who does meth or crack or anything.
Pizza Delivery Driver Secret #5: Anything less than a dollar is a stiff.
I generally look at it this way, myself. Our product generally costs less than a pizza, so I think a lot of people get the impression that they don't have to tip as much. I've even had people order 30-40 dollars worth of food and still tip a buck. IMO, there are two things that separate a delivery driver's job from that of a waiter/waitress and we generally get tipped less:
1) The driving itself. We have to travel a lot farther to get to you, pay for gas, worry about car maintenance (I don't know one person I work with whose car hasn't broken down at some point or another), deal with the potential dangers of driving and the general stress of bad drivers and traffic.
2) We do more. When it's super busy, we may be running in and out of the store, constantly on the road. But even then, we are often involved in every other part of the process. Countless times, I've actually taken someone's order over the phone, made it myself, ensured that everything was in the bag/box before leaving, and delivered it to their door. Waiters/waitresses undoubtedly have their own cleaning tasks and whatnot to take care of, but they aren't back in the kitchen making your food, too.
Pizza Delivery Driver Secret #6: There are the college kids, and there are the lifers.
Unfortunately true.
Pizza Delivery Driver Secret #7: Pizza delivery drivers do a lot more than just bring your food.
See above.
Pizza Delivery Driver Secret #8: Delivering pizza does terrible things to your social life.
It can. I have a pretty decent social life since I rarely work nights or weekends at this point (pursuing other interests) and don't go to school. Plus our branches aren't open past 10 at night. Sure I don't make as much money as I could, but there are a lot of other factors involved in how much I can/want to work right now.
Pizza Delivery Driver Secret #9: Once a pizza delivery driver, always a pizza delivery driver.
As much as I might hate the job sometimes, and as much as I wish I made a lot more money doing it, there will undoubtedly always been a certain mentality that sticks with me. You do sharpen your driving skills and learn how to react to other people on the road. You will always have a sense of urgency (at least to the good tippers) and, at least in your local area, will learn the streets like the back of your hand.