While working the 6 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. shift at DXpress on Saturday night may be a far cry away from what most would consider a perfect night, it is how sophomore Mike Lee has spent his Saturday nights since September.
The University Studies major began working at DXpress at the beginning of last semester to make extra money.
Employees are paid overtime and make an extra 50 cents an hour every hour they work after 10:30 p.m. Lee was made assistant student manager after working there for just one semester.
Lee’s responsibilities include making sure that there is enough food in stock, supervising other employees, working the other stations when employees take breaks or don’t show and making sure that DX is fairly clean.
“We spend a lot of time preparing for the amount of people that come through on Friday and Saturday,” Lee said.
Between the hours of 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. on Friday and Saturday, DX will serve about 1,000 customers. From midnight to 2 a.m., about 200–300 people per hour will purchase food, with the majority of those customers being male.
Numbers are just as high in the winter as they are in fall. The cold is no deterrent to hungry patrons. Lee described the busiest times as being right after fire drills and football games. “If the fire alarm at Pritchard goes off at 1:30 a.m., we have to book it,” Lee said.
The most popular items at DXpress are chicken tenders, double cheeseburgers and pizza. Lee cites the chicken fingers as being the hottest commodity seeing as they are the hardest to keep in stock. One night in particular they went through nine boxes of tenders, with each box holding approximately 20 to 25 tenders.
Indeed, the large volume of inebriated people that pass through DX in the wee hours of the night make for some interesting stories.
“One of the worst things about working the late shift is the drunk people, but it’s also one of the best things,” Lee said. Virginia Tech security stands watch every night just to make sure nothing gets too out of hand, and since Lee has worked there in September, they’ve never had anyone pass out.
One customer insisted that his entire burger be fried and even went as far as taking it out of the wrapper and handing it to the employees so his request could be fulfilled. Another ravenous patron bought a record amount of food, which included one pizza, two orders of hot wings, four double cheeseburgers, and four Diet Cokes. The hungry customer even managed to carry it all back in the plastic grocery bags provided.
“When he walked through we were all like ‘Wow, that’s not going to help.’ He was a hefty guy,” Lee said. After working at DX for just a month, sophomore Robert Peters had one customer grab a squirt bottle out of his hands and then spray him in the face with the water inside.
The conversations that take place between the employees and customers range from hilarious to somewhat bizarre. One patron went on a 40-minute rant about how people who work at West End deserved to be paid more than the people who work at DX. Others even go as far as telling workers of their escapades earlier in the evening. “We’ve had people that will tell you that they’ve just lost their virginity,” Lee said.
“There’s still that string of respect that people have for you. You’re getting them food. One thing that you learn is that the customer is always right, even if they’re drunk,” Lee said.
Some of the craziness that employees see does not even involve alcohol.
“One guy came in wearing nothing but his boxers, bought his food, and then left. I don’t think he was trashed,” Lee said.
The doors of DX close promptly at 2 a.m. If customers are not standing in line at that time, they will not be allowed in.
“People mostly just curse you out if you don’t let them in. We’ve had people beg us to let them in,” said Lee.
Closing is only supposed to last until 2:30 a.m., but Lee has never seen employees leave before or at this time. Two Fridays ago, workers had to stay until 3:15 a.m. until they could leave. Closing preparations include throwing out all the perishable food and cleaning up the lobby and condiment bar.
When the last shard of lettuce has been thrown away and all of the late night customers have found a place to go, the staff will still be there together, as they have been all night. Camaraderie runs high within the group that has been known to have dance parties on a whim and even had their own version of Iron Chef before the rush of people came in after a football game.
“The reason why it’s so appealing for me to work the Saturday closing shift is because of the people I get to work with. You get caught up in what’s going on in their lives. I see them on campus and I know what they’ve been through,” Lee said.
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 DX employee, Mike Lee, is in charge of stocking and supervising. He
has plenty of stories to tell of his late night weekend shifts. - Shaozuo Cui / SPPS |
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