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TangoPizza

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This guy calls today after 10 days and claims that he was told he would get a FREE large 2 topping pizza after we didnt put 1 topping on his pizza and the next day he was promised to get next time if he wanted 2 toppings FREE on anything. So tonight he calls very angry threatning to send him a free large pizza?

what would you guys do?

send him a free pizza or tell him to purchase a pizza and he would get 2 free additional toppings?

I explained to him that we would throw any 2 toppings he wants but noooo he wants a free whole large pizza
 
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haarvik:
After 10 days…if manager on duty didn’t log it, sorry bud.
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no reason to log it hardly happens and if it does we remember. So we advised he would get 2 free toppings not whole pizza
 
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TangoPizza:
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haarvik:
After 10 days…if manager on duty didn’t log it, sorry bud.
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no reason to log it hardly happens and if it does we remember. So we advised he would get 2 free toppings not whole pizza
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Sure there is a reason to log it - to prevent what just happened. If you have a specific procedure that manager(s) follow when making promises to customer then you wouldn’t have to wonder what was told to that customer 10 days ago.

We are religous in adding comments to our POS customer records when we tell a customer we will give them “X” next time. This way, anyone can look and see what was promised and by who and when. Then there is absolutely no question when a customer calls and makes up a story about having a “credit”.
 
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Tango,

My policy is it gets taken care of right away. That night. Either a refund or a gift card. 99.9 % a gift card that is worth 2x what the mistake was. There are no credits. Your problem would never happen with me and my pissed off customers have a gift card so they pretty much have to come back. Also, it doesn;t allow for the scam that was probably attempted on you.
 
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scott t:
unless he is a chronic problem just give it to him.
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i did not want to give it to him i offered him 2 free toppings and not a whole pizza for free. I mean if i did that everyone would ask for a free pizza. Why did he say ill buy something tonight give me a free cheese calzone or something.
dam*
 
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There are a couple of things needed in your process.
1.) Every customer complaint needs to be recorded no matter how trivial. (To the customers it is not trivial or they would not complain)
2.) Standard procedures need to be established for every situation that you can think of. ie If there is a topping missed what is to be done. If the pizza is over/under cooked. If the wrong toppings are put on. and so on.
3.)A time limit on both when the complaint is valid and when the remedy is good until.

Using these type of guidelines helps the staff answer the customers concerns in a consistant manner. This makes it less stressful for the staff and the customers know each time they will be treated the same for the same type of complaint. The time limits are there to give you a fighting chance to make thing right without being taken for a ride.

This approach has worked well for me. Just my 2 cents (or 1.94 cents if you convert to USD)
 
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Our policy tends to be that if we made an error or made it unpleasant, you get a free replacement that night. The first time, no questions asked. Customers with a history of complaints close together are asked to return the offending food item for a replacement that night. We have found scant few people who have tried to take advantage. It is crucial to our business plan to have customers trust us and feel valued by us . . . no questions 100% guarantee (the first time) is one way we get that. If we have to delay the remedy for a few days, we write it on a card along with the date and post on our customer bulletin board in the server alley. Will post notes in our POS when we get it online.

Bottom line is that a 16" 2-top pie costs me maybe 4.50 to make, including the box and prep ticket to stick on it. That is a small investment in keeping a customer and keeping his trust that I will respect his dining dollar. Of course, all those conditions about manipulative customers and those who try to take advantage come into play. Those are infinitesimally few in our experiences in our shop, so we are quick to make that customer happy or do our dead level best to try . . . else refund the $$$.
 
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well if 1 topping is missing, i am not going to replace the whole pizza bottom line… he cant sit there and say i just want that free pizza tonight after 10 days because it was missing 1 topping… and then i will report you to the BBA

i dont understand some of these customers.
i had some customers that are fair and ask me to replace is that night or the next day but not a whole pie for 1 topping
 
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TangoPizza:
well if 1 topping is missing, i am not going to replace the whole pizza bottom line… he cant sit there and say i just want that free pizza tonight after 10 days because it was missing 1 topping… and then i will report you to the BBA

i dont understand some of these customers.
i had some customers that are fair and ask me to replace is that night or the next day but not a whole pie for 1 topping
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Wow, honestly I don’t understand your position at all on this matter. If I give a customer a pizza that is NOT WHAT HE ORDERED - no matter what the problem is - 1 missing topping or 10 - then I’d be more than happy to replace or provide a pizza in the future that IS what he ordered.

If I ordered a pep and mush pizza and it came with only pep on it, how would me getting a free topping next time make up for the fact that I didn’t get what I ordered?

You are hung up on the fact that it was “just” missing one topping. I understand the “just” part - but look at the whole picture - it WAS NOT WHAT HE ORDERED, period. It might as well had been a totally different pizza than he ordered - guess what - in fact it was!
 
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Honestly, it’s better to just take care of the problem and move on. 1 pizza won’t hurt you as bad as the fact that he may tell others that he wasn’t happy, that hurts more. I’ve always been one to just make the problem go away as fast as possible. What’s worse is when you have a full line of people in the mall, and a customer comes to the front of the line to say they weren’t happy. It holds up the line as well as has customers think that theyre order may be wrong, or they may not come back because it’s taking too long to get through the line. Like I said, it’s easier to make the problem go away as fast as possible.
 
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Is it worth losing this customer’s future business bickering over 1 pizza? If this customer is a chronic compainer and just looking for something for free then I would understand your position completely. If it were me, I would gladly the trade the free pizza to attempt to ensure that the customer return in the future as a paying, happy customer.
 
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Registered Guest:
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TangoPizza:
well if 1 topping is missing, i am not going to replace the whole pizza bottom line… he cant sit there and say i just want that free pizza tonight after 10 days because it was missing 1 topping… and then i will report you to the BBA

i dont understand some of these customers.
i had some customers that are fair and ask me to replace is that night or the next day but not a whole pie for 1 topping
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Wow, honestly I don’t understand your position at all on this matter. If I give a customer a pizza that is NOT WHAT HE ORDERED - no matter what the problem is - 1 missing topping or 10 - then I’d be more than happy to replace or provide a pizza in the future that IS what he ordered.

If I ordered a pep and mush pizza and it came with only pep on it, how would me getting a free topping next time make up for the fact that I didn’t get what I ordered?

You are hung up on the fact that it was “just” missing one topping. I understand the “just” part - but look at the whole picture - it WAS NOT WHAT HE ORDERED, period. It might as well had been a totally different pizza than he ordered - guess what - in fact it was!
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he was getting way out of line and i didnt think it would be fair what he wanted for that night. I explained to him we promised you 2 3 4 free toppings on your next order but we did not promise you a free large pizza and that was it. Some of these customers in my area are just not what you guys think they are GOOD CUSTOMERS, sometimes i dont even want their business because you can not satisfy them any way. and they will do it over and over.

but if the customer was fair about it i dont mind sending free pizzas in case like it was not cooked enough or it was burned on the bottom no problem we solve it right away but him waiting and calling “YO let me get my pizza tonight for free” because he didnt get HAM on it no i wont do it that way. He will take adventage of that and they do sometimes
 
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scootie:
Is it worth losing this customer’s future business bickering over 1 pizza? If this customer is a chronic compainer and just looking for something for free then I would understand your position completely. If it were me, I would gladly the trade the free pizza to attempt to ensure that the customer return in the future as a paying, happy customer.
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Well happy customers are more fair and wont make a big deal over small stuff. happy and good customers that order often i take care of them even if we didnt mess up their order. Good customers i throw in deserts and they get surprised. but people liek this they will take adventage all the time.
 
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Well, then - I guess I don’t understand the point of your original post - where you asked what we would do.

You are obviously set in your way, happy with your method of handling the situation. Everyone else here would have handled it differently.

I figure if you were really satisfied with the way it was handled you wouldn’t have posted here asking for our opinion.
 
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Registered Guest:
Well, then - I guess I don’t understand the point of your original post - where you asked what we would do.

You are obviously set in your way, happy with your method of handling the situation. Everyone else here would have handled it differently.

I figure if you were really satisfied with the way it was handled you wouldn’t have posted here asking for our opinion.
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Well this is a forum buddy i still wanted to see what everyone else wouldve done thanx for your opinion. no reason to go further into this…
 
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When we make a mistake we try to fix the problem the same day. If it’s a mistake that we can make up to the customer at a later date we send them a Ooops! Postcard. It’s the ONLY way we’ll make something up to our customers. If we get a call from someone saying that they talked to a manager and the manager on-duty said they could get a free pizza the next time and their name is ‘in the book’, we know they’re scamming.

I agree with Registered Guest that if you forgot a topping on a customers pizza, you should replace the entire pizza. The customer did not get what they ordered and should be compensated. However, there is a reasonable amount of time the customer has to make you aware of any problems with their order.

Funny story:

I had a guy call me 2 months ago saying that him and his girlfriend ordered pizza from us ‘a few days ago’ and they received the wrong toppings. He said that they had called back and the manager told him to call when he wanted pizza and we’d give him a free one. I explained that no manager from our store would ever say such a thing because we use postcards. So then he changed his story and said “oh yeah. I think my girlfriend got a postcard from you guys.” So I asked if he had the postcard there, that we’d need to get it back. He tells me he’ll call his girlfriend to find out where it is. After that I start to believe the guy alittle. When he calls back he says him and his girlfriend can’t find the postcard but still want a free pizza. After a few more questions it’s clear he’s just looking for a free-be. I told him no post card, no pizza. BUT I would be willing to offer him a pizza for $7.99. He agrees and orders.

When my driver arrives in front of the guys house, a PH driver pulls up right behind her. So my driver and a PH driver are walking up the path to the same house. The PH driver tells my driver that this guy is always complaining and that their manager warned him this was the LAST time that he’d receive a free pizza. My driver said when the guy opened the door marijuana smoke billowed out. The guy almost crapped himself seeing both drivers at the same time.

Later that day I got a call from this guys brother apologizing for his brothers actions and offering to pay for the pizza(he thought his brother had got it for free). He said he also called PH and apologized and offered to pay for the free pizza.
 
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Make it wrong, fix it straight away to the correct way. No questions, just do it.

If they don’t want it that night then it goes in our customer complaints book where it is either logged by me or my manager immediately, no-one else.

I don’t care if they call back the next night for the free one or 3 months later. If it is in the book then they get it - no questions, no variations.
If you don’t have a system to record complaints, be it POS, postcards or anything else that can be referred to then you need to instigate something straight away.

Hey, we have stuffed up and left off a topping or left one on when they wanted it off … no problems. It was OUR fault by not giving the customer what THEY ORDERED.

Where’s the problem on when they get their replacement one?

Dave
 
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