Champions in the Driver's Seat

Main Street's Lyndsey Paul, West Seattle's Willie Ellenberg and Miller Street's Jake Nickerson are the first to take on the new driver lead position.

From sourcing better local ingredients to revamping our older locations, we’re always looking for new ways to deliver the best pizza around. Recently we did something big that will not only improve our customers’ experiences, but it will greatly benefit our team.

A few months ago, we created a Driver Lead position to help pave the way for newly hired delivery drivers and keep everyone moving forward. We caught up with the first three delivery drivers who received this promotion to find out what goes on behind the wheel of a driver lead. In a word: support. Main Street Driver Lead Lyndsey Paul, West Seattle Driver Lead Willie Ellenberg, and Miller Street Driver Lead Jake Nickerson connect our delivery drivers with our kitchen crew, advocate for them with our managers, and help solve problems for our customers.

“After over 10 years with Pagliacci, this position has given me a whole new set of challenges and expanded my role more than I ever thought would be possible as a driver,” says Jake. “Helping make positive changes and getting the results that make Miller Street a better location is extremely rewarding.”

Every day brings new questions and possibilities for our driver leads. Making sure everything is set up properly for a successful shift, addressing issues if they come up, and mapping out the following day all while delivering pizzas during the lunch and dinner rush keeps these supervisors on their toes. But with this heap of responsibility comes the chance to make a difference in the company.

“This new position means having the opportunity to train and problem-solve with delivery drivers one on one, which helps make the store more efficient,” explains Lyndsey. “It’s being able to advocate for the drivers and give them a voice. Happy drivers mean they want to stay with the company longer and that translates to our customers.”

The driver lead role is also opening up other avenues for change. Willie joined the West Seattle team more than seven years ago. With a finger on the pulse of the West Seattle community, he knew there was a need for a wider delivery zone. So he started looking for ways to make this happen and worked with Driver Manager Sasha Mitronovas to roll out the new zone coverage.

“I've wanted to expand our boundaries for a while now, so I feel it's an excellent change,” says Willie. “Every customer I've spoken with is really happy about being able to receive delivery from Pagliacci now.”  

While Lyndsey, Willie, Jake and our other new driver leads are embarking into unchartered territory, they all wholeheartedly agree that this is a great step toward providing our customers with even better service.