WORKING -- Pat Stephens

-- Angelique Flores

SHE IS

Making the delivery

SEEING PINK

Stephens is a driver for the new Pink Dot in Huntington Beach. Pink Dot

drivers deliver prepared food and groceries to homes and business.

“We deliver anything from pasta to dog biscuits,” she said.

The busier days are the weekends, when most of the calls are for cereal,

milk, eggs, bread and bacon, Stephens said.

“A person could pretty much just get food from Pink Dot and not ever go

to the store,” she said.

REGULAR CUSTOMERS

Pink Dot has already established some regulars. Some call every week.

Some call every day.

“It’s not just for shut-ins. It’s for people who want to just go be at

home and relax,” Stephens said.

Some customers are teens without a car or a license to drive. Some are

affluent business executives. Some are single mothers who are sick at

home with their children.

Not too many customers stand out in Stephens’ mind -- except for the man

with the six Chihuahuas and the woman with the cute poodle.

DELIVERY JOBS

Stephens has been working for Pink Dot since the Santa Ana location

opened in August. She transferred to the local spot three months ago.

Before her Pink Dot days, Stephen delivered pizzas for Papa John’s, and

before that she did data entry out of her home for 20 years. As long as

she’s not working out of an office, Stephens said she is happy. She’s

especially happy with her current location.

“If you’re going to deliver anything, what better place than a beach

city,” Stephens said.And where else can you see ducks crossing a busy

street, like Stephen recently did?

TOP TIPS

Like waitresses, Stephens counts on her tips. If the tips are bad, the

day is bad for her. That’s when she even gets tipped.

“Like any business, tips are optional but no one stiffs a pizza driver,”

she said.

Sometimes, when delivering to cookie shops or other businesses, they’ll

tip her with their own goods, such as a cookie or sodas, she said.

And as with tips, Stephens and her co-workers always appreciate good

directions.

“I’ve gotten lost in apartment complexes where I’m walking around in

circles,” she said.

BEACH BOUND

Stephens lives in Irvine for now, but she wants to return to Huntington

Beach, where she previously lived for five years. She made the move to

Surf City after surviving the Northridge earthquake in 1994.

“I was too frazzled to stay,” she said.

And she didn’t want to move too far away from the ocean because she

spends her free time boating and fishing.

What Stephens said she enjoys most is spending time with her 13-year-old

daughter, who wants be the next Britney Spears, and her little Bichon

dog.