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25
Cara hopped on her Vespa scooter after her second class of the day and headed towards Stucky’s Place for her lunch shift delivering food to the hungry masses of Cleveland.
Friday lunch shift meant one thing: chaos.
Even workers who brown bag it all week tend to celebrate by purchasing lunch on a Friday. That, along with staff parties, and Stucky’s “Free Friday” promotion made for a busy shift, but also typically a lot of tips.
A few years ago, Stucky noticed that even though his usual Friday sales were solid, he wanted to give them a boost. Never afraid to take a gamble to increase sales, Stucky began to offer a free large one-topping pizza to any delivery order over $25. The gamble paid off in a big way, as most of his lunch orders leading up to his promotion were under $25. It was genius, as the average per order increase in sales alone covered the cost of the free pizza, which was actually one of the cheapest menu items to make.
In the three years since “Free Friday” at Stucky’s Place began, he saw his Friday profits triple. While it was a chaotic way to end each week, Cara always enjoyed the extra money in her pocket.
“Hey Stuck!” Cara said as she entered a very busy Stucky’s Place just before her 11-3 shift was to begin.
“Carebear!” Stucky replied, “How was class?”
“Eh… I’m ready to be done. I have a major case of senioritis.”
“Senioritis? It’s only September!” Stucky boomed.
“Don’t remind me…” Cara said as she started loading the delivery bags for the first trip of the day.
Like everything else in her life, Cara had a system in place for bagging the orders and determining the best routes to take. Cara was one of three delivery drivers on Friday, but she was in charge of who took which order where. Even Stucky deferred to Cara, often jokingly calling her “Boss”.
After she sent the other two drivers on their way, she grabbed the next ticket on the line and began bagging the order. She felt her stomach drop as she noticed the customer name: Madison - Westcott Hotel Suite 1100.
After bagging the order, Cara started making her way out the back door to her Vespa but stopped to ask Stucky if he knew who his most famous client was.
“The pitcher?!?!” Stucky exasperated, with a mixture of statement and question.
“That’s the one… Apparently, I’m the only person in the world who didn’t know who he was until recently,” Cara answered.
“He was the best! What a shame, though. He really lost it. Gave up millions. You know his father died in Katrina, right?”
“I do now, thanks to the wonders of the internet,” Cara replied.
“Cooper Madison… Ordering from my restaurant!” Stucky seemed to think aloud, before adding, “Hey, what’s he like? Did he tip well?”
“I’d tell you if I actually saw him in person, but he definitely knows how to leave a tip,” Cara said.
“Here, give him one of my VIP cards,” Stucky said, reaching for the small stack of gold-embossed business cards that he always carried with him in the event he ran into a local celebrity or athlete.
The cards, each with an individual number on them, entitled the owner to priority service during busy times, and also a free appetizer with each order. Even though Stucky rarely gave them out, he was always excited to grant one to those he felt worthy.
The card he gave Cara to give to Cooper Madison was numbered 0014, and the first 13 who received one were nowhere near the caliber of the former pitcher.
“No problem, Stuck,” Cara chuckled as she took the card and exited the back door. She imagined Cooper Madison wouldn’t be near as excited as the person who bestowed the honor upon him.
