Billy Viger, delivery driver

What I do

Billy Viger brings smiles when he enters a room. That’s because he also brings flowers.

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Karl Ritzler / Special

Retired teacher Billy Viger has been making deliveries for Carithers Flowers for almost a year. His geography and people skills have paid off on the job. A pointer for bouquet recipients: Drivers can accept tips!

Viger, 58 and a retired teacher, delivers flowers, plants and gift baskets for Atlanta florist Carithers Flowers. Most of the time, Viger said, it’s a happy occasion — the birth of a baby, an anniversary, a promotion or a thank you. Sometimes the flowers help cheer up a person in the hospital, and sometimes the flowers are meant to say, “I’m sorry about your loss” at the death of a loved one.

He’s delivered flowers to the famous — Tom Glavine, U.S. Rep. John Lewis and Sting — but most of the time they go to ordinary folks at work or home, to corporate functions, to weddings or to funeral homes.

“It makes me feel good seeing people on happy occasions, like a birthday or anniversary,” Viger said. “I get a lot of happiness at the hospital delivering for the babies.”

All of the arrangements ride in the back of his white delivery van, held firmly in place by mats of foam rubber holders and bungee cords. From the company warehouse, cooler and design center in Cobb County, Viger and 11 other drivers deliver across the Northside and into downtown, relying on atlases, phone books and sometimes global positioning satellite systems to guide them.

It’s also up to the drivers to monitor the trucks for mechanical problems, routine maintenance and regular washes.

Viger says he goes through about half of his 25-gallon gas tank a day.

Most of all, Viger has to look after the flowers. In the summer, he said, he can’t leave an arrangement on the porch if no one is home because the heat will wilt or kill the flowers.

“I try to leave them with a neighbor or return them to the cooler,” he said.

In the winter, there’s the danger of freezing, he added.

What got me interested

“Once I retired, I got tired of playing golf. I was only 55,” he said. “I always liked to drive, so I looked for delivery jobs.”

He said the job gives him structure, a second income and “something different.”

Best part of my job

“Dealing with people on a day-to-day basis, especially if I can make someone happy or comfort someone,” Viger said. “Teachers are nurturing people.”

Viger also said that at the end of the day, he’s finished. There’s nothing to bring home like papers to grade. “I’m on my own in my van, just me and the flowers.”

He also praised his boss, Frank Denman, who, he said, is helpful, never gets upset and treats all the drivers with respect.

Most challenging part

“The traffic,” he said.

Some deliveries must be made at a certain time, and bad weather or an accident on the interstate can cause time-consuming delays.

He also said delivering flowers to apartments can be difficult because an address may not include a building number, especially in large complexes.

What people don’t know about my job

That drivers can accept tips.

Viger grew up in the North, where, he said, “We do that.” He said he usually gets a tip after delivering flowers to a beauty salon or around Christmas and Mother’s Day.

What keeps me going

“Meeting and seeing so many people. I enjoy interacting with them,” he said.

Preparation needed for this job

You need a clean driving record and must undergo a background check and drug test. A company manual spells out rules for drivers, he said, which include a prohibition on wearing shorts.

Viger said the map skills he used as a geography teacher and people skills from working in a classroom also are a great help. He also said drivers need common sense, like knowing when to leave a flower arrangement when the recipient isn’t there.

He said a delivery person may have to lift an arrangement weighing as much as 50 pounds, and most of the training is on the job.

Viger was a teacher for 30 years in elementary, middle and — mostly — high schools in Cobb, Gwinnett and Cherokee counties. He has bachelor’s and master’s degrees in health and physical education from Appalachian State University in North Carolina, where he went to school on a soccer scholarship.

He came directly from college to the Atlanta area to teach. He retired in 2005 and has been with Carithers a little less than a year.

- By Karl W. Ritzler, for ajcjobs. Got an interesting job that you love? E-mail your story to jobseditor@ajc.com.

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