Papa John’s wouldn’t let reader Adi redeem her coupon for a $9.99 extra-large pizza online, so she trekked over to the nearest store in Weymouth, Massachusetts, where she met the franchise owner from hell. The owner insisted that the coupon didn’t apply to online orders, so Adi asked to cancel her online order and re-order her pizza in person to get the discount. This prompted the owner to angrily throw the coupon at Adi, before throwing away her ready-made pizza. And was just the start of the fun…
Adi writes:
I ordered a pizza online tonight, and since there was no field to enter my coupon, I brought my coupon to the store. The staff member at the register was unsure how to enter it, so she got someone else to help me.
When I showed her the coupon in question, this woman informed me I couldn’t use it. I asked why and she said I ordered online. I re-read the coupon and when I pointed out there was no online exclusion she said it didn’t say it COULD be used online. I said that unless there was a printed exclusion, it should be acceptable. She refused, and I said that I would like to cancel my previous order and re-order my pizza using the coupon. Her answer was, “Fine. You can wait.” She threw the coupon back across the counter and I asked, “Isn’t the pizza already made? You’re going to throw it away and make a new one?” She replied that she was and after commenting that that was ridiculous, I stepped back to wait. She then yelled, “What do you want?” I began to answer and she interrupted me, yelling, “I can’t HEAR you.” I spoke louder and placed my order and she held out her hand for the coupon. I handed her the page of coupons and again she threw it back, saying, “You have to tell me which one.” I pointed it out for the third time, and she typed in the code and then threw the page away. I asked for the remaining coupons back and she snapped, “I’m not your secretary!”
At this point I asked if she were a manager and she informed me she was the co-owner. I was shocked a business owner would take part in such a display of such deplorable customer service. Of course, an employee would be fired in a minute for such belligerence.
When I got home I relayed the experience to my boyfriend, who insisted on calling and demanding an apology. After speaking to the owner, she refused to apologize and he informed her we would be contacting corporate. I realize she is a franchise owner, but I assume she is NOT the sort of person you want as the face of your company, and I suggest action should be taken, perhaps in the form of customer service training. I would also like to be compensated for my time and for the fact that I endured such vitriolic interaction.
I’ve been a Papa John’s customer for a few years, and have never had a problem before, but something of this nature makes me think about never stepping foot in one of your stores ever again.
(Photo: LiveU4)
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The OP is stating one side of the story. The OP’s claims are not substantiated.
Oh, I am quite sure there are jerks working for Papa Johns, just like there are trolls that work for Pizza Hut. But without some subtantiation it is always a bit hard to believe these stories.
@befrugalnotcheap: Or you could just tell on them to your mom,
@donkeyjote:
Gas may be $3.80 in BFE where you live but it’s 4.45 at the station nearest my house and 4.43 at the station across the street.
Sorry Adi, I feel must confess to you that I laughed all the way through your story. I feel terrible for having done so. It’s not that I am not outraged at the deplorable treatment you received. I am. But the visualization of the clerk standing there saying, “I cannot hear you,” and then you actually talking louder, was too much for me. I simply couldn’t contain myself.
And the part where she threw your coupon book in the trash and she then declared, “I am not your secretary” when you asked for it back made me split my sides. I am not sure what typing 80wpm has to do with returning your property but it was pure comedy nonetheless.
But what really had me in stitches was when she threw the perfectly good pizza in the trash and opted to use some of her “co-owner” profits to make a new one just to spite you. (Ummm…you do know she spit in it, don’t you Adi?). I am sure the financial idiocy of throwing the pizza away didn’t hit her until she was home sitting on the toilet wondering why she hasn’t made much money yet.
I am sorry you had to go through this experience, Adi. DiGiorno makes an excellent frozen pizza (not the thin crust one though). Perhaps you may want to keep a few in your freezer for the next time you get a pizza urge.
This is one of those cases where I’d like to hear the other side of the story. If it were me, and there was no where to enter my coupon code online, I would not just assume the coupon was valid. How hard is it to pick up the phone and ask?
If you’re in Weymouth, you have more than a few local pizza shops other than chains to try out. Those have a tried and true, albiet old fashioned, nifty ordering system called a telephone.
Unless for some reason you like the taste (or lack thereof) of a chain shop…
RetailGuy83: You’re nuts. Typical profit margin for a restaurant is 4%, not 40%.
@Jay Slatkin: seriously. All we have are a bunch of boring “somewhat okay” chains.
And as for the making pizza at home… I’m all for it, but usually when I’m thinking about ordering pizza it’s because I don’t feel like cooking that evening.
I wish we could ban forever the use of the phrase “I would like to be compensated.”
It grates on so many levels.
Boy, am I glad I live here in the Big Apple. (Yeah, there are other days when I’m not so glad). But we’ve got plenty of the holes-in-the-wall for pizza. We’ve even got full-blown pizza joints in the wall.
As I’ve mentioned in other posts, no college bowl game naming rights companies for me. So, no PJ’s. And, yeah, all their local ads hanging on my doorknob are not fun (we have to recycle so I can’t just throw them in the trash – I have to be sure to throw them into the paper recycling bin).
Agree with the people that say the best thing you can do is not buy pizzas from that store anymore. You can get bad customer service anywhere. There’s a private restaurant within walking distance of my house. I took my family there 3 times and all three times it took about 20-30 minutes before we saw a server. Then 30 more minutes for the meal. And I swear all three times the owner was explaining to someone that he’s sorry about the wait, but the kitchen was small and he had only one person cooking the food. WTF? Hire someone else!
And one of the times, we got thrown out of the “game” room because he didn’t allow children under 12 in the game room, where the video games are, as I was trying to distract the kids from the hour long wait for our food.
Resolution, that restaurant won’t see another dime from me. Too bad too, the food was pretty good.
If you have to buy corporate pizza, use pizza hut. Tens time better in my opinion.
Then again, local pizza shops are always the best option!
I dont know maybe I deal with these situations differently as
people dont get like this with a 6’4 large guy who tries to be nice… Until its time not to be nice.
Honestly I would have handed the coupons to her and calmly said “keep em I do not need to do business here ever again, thanks for showing me that coming here was a huge mistake. I will be sure to tell all of my friends and customers how this business operates.”
If she had said she was not my secretary I would have replied “obviously not with that personality”
V
@backbroken: And your suggested replacement phrase is…
?
I’ve got nothing but good things to say about the several Papa John’s I’m a regular at in my area, or even the handful around the country I’ve gone to while traveling.
It’s too bad about this person’s experience, I wonder if she doesn’t speak english as her native language and the PJ’s employee was being a complete prick about it (the speak up comment)
@Concerned_Citizen: Honestly, the way this seems to be going, the “owner” would likely have claimed that the coupon was counterfeit if she didn’t have the whole sheet.
Oh, and on the general subject of Papa John’s, IME, consistency is not their strong suit. The Papa John’s near my house is a good place to get a decent, if unspectacular, pizza at a good price. I ordered from a different one while visiting my uncle, however, and we got a greasy mess.
I vote “bad consumer” for expecting good customer service in Massachusetts.
I sent in this story, and I’d like to reply to some comments: first off, the
coupon wasn’t online-only. I *ordered* online because my cell phone was
acting up. Secondly, the last time I used a coupon at Papa John’s, they
handed me the entire sheet back. Why rip out the coupon if I can re-use it?
Third, Papa John’s is the only place I know of near where I live that will
make a white pizza, and I had a terrible craving for one. And lastly, the
coupon was four bucks off. The drive was five minutes. It was worth it.
We usually order from local places, such as Napoli Pizzeria, but the last
time we ordered from there the delivery took half an hour longer than
promised and they sent me meat sauce for my mozzarella sticks–I’m a
vegetarian. It’s no good driving down there, as there’s never any parking,
and last time I parked illegally I got a ticket.
I’m not asking for this woman to be fired or fined or anything, all I want
is a free pizza for my trouble and to never deal with her again. I don’t
think it’s unreasonable. A lot of you said I should have left. Why? That was
exactly what she wanted. She was just a bully and I can’t bear to let a
bully get her way. In the end I got what I wanted, right? Oh, and I watched
them make the pizza. The only time it was out of my sight was in the oven.
There were no “extra toppings”.
I sent in this story, and I’d like to reply to some comments: first off, the
coupon wasn’t online-only. I *ordered* online because my cell phone was
acting up. Secondly, the last time I used a coupon at Papa John’s, they
handed me the entire sheet back. Why rip out the coupon if I can re-use it?
Third, Papa John’s is the only place I know of near where I live that will
make a white pizza, and I had a terrible craving for one. And lastly, the
coupon was four bucks off. The drive was five minutes. It was worth it. We
usually order from local places, such as Napoli Pizzeria, but the last time
we ordered from there the delivery took half an hour longer than promised
and they sent me meat sauce for my mozzarella sticks–I’m a vegetarian. It’s
no good driving down there, as there’s never any parking, and last time I
parked illegally I got a ticket. I’m not asking for this woman to be fired
or fined or anything, all I want is a free pizza for my trouble and to never
deal with her again. I don’t think it’s unreasonable. A lot of you said I
should have left. Why? That was exactly what she wanted. She was just a
bully and I can’t bear to let a bully get her way. In the end I got what I
wanted, right? And the post I submitted was verbatim what I sent to
corporate. My first step is always to complain to the specific store (which
I did), then to the corporate office, and then my boyfriend (avid
Consumerist reader) suggested I contact Consumerist. Oh, and I watched them
make the pizza. The only time it was out of my sight was in the oven. There
were no “extra toppings”.
Adi Covino
P: 877 942 4276
F: 781 995 2242
Charm Medical Supply
880 Corporate Park Dr.
Pembroke, MA 02359
@Pro-Pain: @Pro-Pain:
Okay, I disagree. IMO’s is way worse than Papa Johns. Slimy Cheese Pizza. YUCK.
I make sure I have the food in hand before pissing a restaurant worker/manager off.
Papa John’s Pizza prices vary month to month where I live.
The cost is @ least 12 a pizza and they are slow as snails delivering.
Pizza Hut & Domino’s are no different and as a result I am enjoying keeping our LOCAL, independant pizza joints open …
@sven.kirk: Um, that specifically is talking about email coupons, not the real paper coupons the OP was using. Nice snark attempt but no.
@MMD: Anything that doesn’t make you sound like an opportunist or that you sat on the stick of entitlement.
How about constructing a specific and reasonable request?
“I would appreciate a coupon for a free pizza as I would like to give this store another chance at winning my future business.”
There you go.
Sounds like they are in desperate need of a secretary.
@BrianU: Aw, did your girlfriend dump your ass recently?
Fast-food chain pizza is no better than the frozen stuff you can get at your grocery store or half the price, and often is worse. I can’t understand why people patronize these places.
As for this particular owner, anyone can be an @$$hole — There is an epidemic of @$$holeism, and it is not restricted to the owners and employees of franchise food operations.
someone may have beat me to this but….
If you get Pizza in St. Louis, take the trip to Soulard, and grab one of the pies @ Joanies. I still crave her Grilled Chicken BLT double crust (stuffed), too bad I live 2.5k miles away now =( It can be a little pricey but EVERYTHING is super fresh.
Not to mention Joanie is nice as can be, and appreciates the business.
Imo’s is trash, I worked for them for a couple of years and wouldn’t even eat the pizza if it was free.
Not sure how Talanyas (sp?) is these days but it was literally a roach trap (as in running across the table) when it was across from Wash U.
@donkeyjote: you do realize that people from all over the good ol’ US of A read this, right?
Did you know that current prices in Seattle are around $4.25?
Obviously not.
@jusooho: Good call jusooho, I’m sure that would have come up sooner or later. And remember, don’t shop at Best Buy as well.
The nearest Roccy Roccos to me is in the same town as their “World Headquarters”. I know their pizza is awful, but the wife likes it. It is by far the worst one I have ever been to. I have been in there at 6pm on a Friday and they had no pizza cooked (and an empty store). I do miss the food in Chi-town!
This is just another reason why I record on video with sound every single transaction I make. Of course it’s a hidden cam, so it does not change the behavior of the person.
I have dozens of clips I personally have taken that are amusing. I might upload them to someplace or send them to Consumerist someday
I live a block away from the Papa John’s in question.
There are many good pizza places in this area. I can understand the cheap price. But damn, if you like doughy crusted-expensive pizza that’s what Domino’s and Pizza Hut are for.
Good God, there’s Athens, Capones, Gio’s all within 3 min of PJ’s… There is even the vastly superior Papa Gino’s a block away. Walk in the the Stoppie or Shaw’s and get a refrigerated UNO’s pizza.
No worries… not all the owners and employees are that bad! We might
not 100% love our jobs (or sometimes customers), but we take pride in
our business to know how to (or not to) treat our customers. That woman
doesn’t seem to care if they have repeat customers or not and that’s
very unprofessional of her. Corporate should be able to deal with her
accordingly.