Just over a year ago I used my savings to put a down payment on this pizzeria from my boss at the time…and easy monthly payments for a few years. He holds the paper as they say. Let’s call it “My Pizza”. I had worked here for 3 years so I knew all about it. The one thing I couldn’t do was eat the pizza. Every time I ate it I got violently ill. There were many reasons for this. And when I bought it, I made changes effective immediately.
Every dish, pan, utensil, etc., used was washed and sanitized each and every day. No more frozen meat and other toppings going on a pizza. Veggies were cut at most the day before, and not on Monday for the whole week. Meat was thawed properly in the cooler before put on a pizza. And so much more. I upgrade the dough, sauce, cheese and just about everything else. I even switched the garlic bread from a glorified hot dog bun to a herb baguette. I switched from a quantity mindset to one of quality. Our customers were commenting upon how much better the pizzas tasted. They said it was fresher. So many came in based on recommendations from others. We were growing.
When I took over we were at $4,200 per week in sales. I did extremely minimal advertising. I wanted a slow and controlled growth so as not to lose vast numbers of customers by not being prepared for it. By the first week of November, we were averaging $5,400 per week. I felt we were on our way, and that all this hard work was finally paying off. Just 2 days off in 10 months, but I felt energized.
Then in mid-November sale started to decline. At first I thought it was a slump, but it continued. December was always a good month here, but not now. January was worse than expected, and February is setting new lows. I was wondering what the heck was going on. I was here from open to close. There was no change in product, quality, or recipes. Were the staff being rude to customers? No. Were drivers somehow affecting sales negatively? No. I examined every single aspect of this operation and I could not see why my sales dropped by up to 45% some weeks.
I was stumped. I did not think the economy would hit the business that hard. I didn’t think it was the economy, but what else could it be? I tried to come up with an exit plan with about $40 in my pocket and zero in the bank. I figured I could always drive somewhere else, much to my deep disapointment.
And then 2 weeks ago a customer comes in and says that he wanted a pizza and asked his wife to call us. She looked in the Yellow Pages, but we weren’t listed. She tried online to no avail. She then tried 411 and the operator said she had no listing for “My Pizza”.
The first thing I did was look in the phonebook, and sure enough, we weren’t listed. Ditto for online and 411. I called Yellow Pages to complain andthe person said that we were indeed listed in the book. Where, I asked her. She said - get this, this is rich - we were listed under “Chicken”. The air just left my lungs. Chicken, I asked? How did a place with the name pizza in it, such as “My Pizza”, end up under chicken? She said that I must’ve requested it. I assured her that I did not do so, and that it needs to be fixed asap. She said the online and 411 can be done in 5 to 10 business days, and the phonebook listing will be corrected with the new book. I asked when that would be and she said late October or early November.
That was when my head exploded in a series of bells…I thought it was going to explode. I had the answers to why business was dropping so badly. If you want a pizza from an independent shop, a person usually looks in the book. No number? then many people dial a competitor. On the commute home you want to pick up dinner for the family, and the operator tells you there is no listing, you figure the small place went under. And if you’re young and you look it up online, and it’s not there, well you’d go somewhere else too. So for 3 to 4 months now people could not get our number and have moved on, thinking we are no longer in business.
I have 2 drivers and one part time counter helper and they have all volunteered to do flyering all over…on their OWN time if need be, to get the phone number back out there and to let the people know we are still alive.
Meanwhile, I figure I’ve lost $10K to $14K in sales as a result of this. My kid works with me and he hasn’t gotten any money except for gas and car insurance for almost 4 months. I still don’t take any pay yet. The bills have not only slid, they have fallen back severely. I haven’t paid my home rent since December. I am in arrears with the store landlord too, but at least they are willing to work with me. I borrowed from family once to avert a crisis, but they are unable to help out anymore. My bank won’t help because I have been inbusiness less than 2 years. I can’t even get overdraft protection. They won’t even help on the personal side because I have no credit. Twenty years ago I stopped using credit cards, and now I have no credit. Nobody wants to buy my 17 yeard old beater car. I am SOL.
I explain to the old owner why things have slid. Show him the Yellow Pages phonebook. I was behind $800 to him…asked him to wait a week. The next day he came in and tried to reposess the store without a court order. That was his response. I have made over $30K in payments to him (equity?) and he would take that away in a heartbeat. I told him this was not the way to do it. He had no legal authority, and that his lawyer should talk to mine. As per my lawyer’s advice, I asked him to leave and that if he didn’t, then he was trespassing and I would call the police. He said to go ahead and call the police because it would be me they would remove from the premises. I called the police and to make a long story short, they escorted him out. He screamed he would shut me down.
So now here I sit. Every day I come in with fear and trepidation. Will the electricity finally get cut off? Will the phone be cut off? Will the sheriff come today and throw me out of here, with just my personal belongings, leaving my inventory for this guy’s benefit?
I supply the store on a day to day basis. Yesterday’s sales finance today’s food purchases. I never have more than 1 bundle of each box size, and I never open a bundle or box of anything unless I need it right then and there, thinking that if it comes down to it, maybe I can take it back to the cash and carry for a refund if I get a chance.
I haven’t hit $3k in sales for a week in 3 weeks. I don’t even make enough now for one of those credit card sales advance places. Even if I get some unexpected huge ords to have a record day, I am not stocked enough for it.
I really don’t know what to do except wait until the sherrif shows up one day. I will not do any flyering unless the old owner removes the threat of reposession from here, and he won’t do that. I will not drop flyers off only to have him reap the rewards of it.
It’s kind of like death row for a pizzeria…I sit here and wait for when it will all come to an end, business-wise. Thank you Yellow Pages
WOW!!!