North West Or West North? Either Way It’s Going South

I live on the corner at 5 North West Street, and the house around the corner is 5 West North Street. I wasn’t feeling well one day, but I really wanted wonton soup, so I ordered delivery through a popular third-party app. My delivery instructions always say “5 North West Street: White house with dark green shutters and a red pickup truck outside. NOT 5 West North Street, the blue house with white blinds. +$5 tip for delivering to the correct house. Full tip will be removed for delivering to the incorrect house.” It may sound harsh, but I am tired of my food going to the wrong house, and, being sick, I am definitely not up for fetching my food. 

The delivery is picked up by a driver, and I watch him get closer and closer. He stops …. At my neighbor’s house. I see his little tracker icon go up to the porch and leave. A moment later, I received the notification that my food was delivered with a photo of my neighbor’s porch. I go out, walk around the corner, and head toward my food. The driver gets out of his car.

Driver: “Hey! Hey, don’t touch that!”

Me: “5 North West Street for [My Name], right?”

Driver: “Yeah…”

Me: “Yeah. This is 5 West North Street. I even told you what my house looked like, and you got it wrong.”

Driver: *Looking back and forth between his phone and the house.* “…oh. But I drove all the way out here!”

It’s a ten-minute drive.

Me: “To the wrong house. After I gave specific instructions and told you there would be an extra tip if you got it right.”

Driver: “It’s close enough…”

He turned around, got in his car, and left. I grabbed my food and went back to my house. I removed the full tip as promised, left a negative review, and reported him to the app’s customer service team. I’m sure it will do nothing, but if you can’t follow basic delivery instructions, maybe delivery driving isn’t for you.