Poor Customer Service (AKA How I Totally Lost It)

(Apologies to those who may have already read about this on a particular homeschool message board I visit. You have my permission to completely skip this post.)

I called Papa John's somewhere between 6:45 and 7:00 pm last night and ordered 1 large pizza and an order of breadsticks. I was asked how I would be paying for it (cash), given the total, and told it would be about 45 minutes.

At 8:00, after having not received my pizza, I called Papa John's back and was told that I had never placed the order. I have ordered many times from this particular Papa John's, and had even used the re-dial feature on my phone to call them back. After the girl I was talking to just kept repeating that I had not placed the order, I asked to talk to the manger.

I told the manager that I was angry at this point, but that all I had needed before that was an “I'm sorry. We'll get your order out right away.” The manager promised that they would do this.

By 9:00, I still had not received the order. I called again and spoke to someone different. He was very apologetic, told me that the delivery person had just left, and I should get it soon.

9:30, still no pizza, so I called again. By this time, my two children and I were very hungry, but as I have always had good experiences with Papa John's, I kept expecting the pizza to show up. I think I spoke to the same guy again. He was very surprised I had not received it yet and asked if I wanted to cancel the order. I said, no, I just wanted my pizza, but I would not be paying for it. He said this was fine and I was to have the delivery person call him if there were any questions. (I later found out that it was sent out as a no-cost order, but I did not know that at the time.)

10:00, still no pizza, so I called again. They said all the delivery people were back. The guy who was supposed to deliver my pizza insisted that he had delivered it and that he had given it to my husband. This is impossible because my husband had not been home since he left for work that morning. The delivery guy said that my husband had told him that I was out, but I had been home all night.

I talked to the delivery guy on the phone and he kept insisting that he had given it to my husband, but I knew that could not be true. He also mentioned seeing a black and white cat, which we do have, but there are 3 black and white cats on our block, so I was still convinced he had taken it to the wrong house. However, even when I described the house, he insisted that it was the house he had delivered the pizza to.

At this point, I asked to talk to the manager again. He kept repeating that the delivery guy said he had delivered it. This is where I lost it. I confess that I did start yelling at the manager. I was frustrated, not to mention hungry. I also take offense to being basically called a liar. My son (who I've mentioned before is mildly autistic) was very distraught over the whole thing, which wasn't helping anything. However, it was not appropriate to yell at the manager, and I did apologize for it. I was wrong to speak to him that way. The manager asked if I wanted a credit for my next order, but I really doubt I will ever be ordering from Papa John's again.

I called Griff (who was on his way home by now) and told him the whole story. He went by Papa John's to talk to the manager (and defend my honor - isn't he a sweetie?). He told the manager he had not been home since 8:00 that morning and had NOT had a pizza delivered to him. The delivery guy was apparently close by and asked him what our address was and then proceeded to tell my husband that he had delivered to him that night.

My husband leaned closer and said, “You're saying that you recognize me? That I'm the man you gave the pizza to?” The delivery guy insisted this was so. He even mentioned the cat again.

At this point, Griff turned to the manager and said, “I have never seen this guy before. He is lying. He is lying to you.”

Griff then left.

We are pretty sure that this delivery guy gave our pizza to someone else (probably some friends). This means that he is stealing from Papa John's. Not only that, but his actions have caused the loss of a very good customer.

And I want to know what kind of person can lie so blatantly?!