A day in the life of a New York Cleaning Service Employee: Driving Around With Wojtek

A few days ago I was asked if I could accompany Wojtek to do a few deliveries and pick-ups around Manhattan.  He needed someone to drive with him because the place he was going to pick up cleaning supplies from had no parking nearby and someone needed to sit in the car, and avoid getting the dreaded ticket.  So, there I am in the car with Wojtek driving around Manhattan.  The first office we went to was by Battery Park, so down we went, passing all that Manhattan has to offer on a cold, but sunny afternoon. Once in Battery Park we drove by the World Trade Center, and let me tell you this is no easy feat. There were crowds of people within a five-block radius of the Freedom Tower. Tourists, with their heads pointed to the sky, jaywalked without a care in the world. I had a tight grip on the dashboard, scared we would knock these tourists down like dominoes, but Wojtek served around them with ease.

After accomplishing two pick ups with Wojtek we headed to our final cleaning supply drop off.  It was for Union Square Eye Care on Park Avenue South. I gave Wojtek the address and he typed it into the GPS, but I forgot to tell him to put the “S” after Park Avenue. Little did we know that not putting “South” in the GPS would make such a difference.  Wojtek followed the directions given by the Polish GPS woman, and got on the Park Avenue tunnel in Midtown, and soon we ended up in Grand Central, lost and confused. While trying to get around, Wojtek made a right turn on 42^nd street, and we were stopped by a traffic cop! He pulled us and another car over, and the stern cop told us we had made an illegal right turn.  He took down all of Wojtek’s information and what proceeded was the longest 20-minute wait. We sat in silence; kicking ourselves in our heads for not noticing the sign. The wait was so long in fact, that by the time the traffic cop gave us the ticket we were just happy to get out of there.  We made it to Union Square Eye Care late, but at least we made it, and we learned a valuable lesson: always have the full address of a job on hand, and traffic cops are always watching.