Pizza Shop Tells Customer Don't Order 5 Minutes Before The Official Closing Time

W

WhatInThe

SF VIP
A Dominos pizza shop in Texas told a group of nurses who ordered a pizza 5 minutes BEFORE closing time not to do it again-in writing.

https://consumerist.com/2016/04/04/...scolds-customer-for-late-order/#more-10236748

Every industry & business I've worked for the average employee doesn't want to do squat when it gets close to quitting time so this isn't just a pizza shop thing. Sometimes it's because they are told to avoid overtime but many others simply don't want to work/late, they have other plans, places to go, people to see although it's frequently a beer can & tv set. Heck I've been scolded by employees for actually working on Friday afternoon.

But being employees in a business that tells the public their hours of business they should plan for the worst and hope for the best ie they might get done on time or early.

If push comes to shove they should fulfill the order but customers need to realize the reality of the situation(even if wrong) especially when dealing with the food industry if they want to order there again.
 

Yeah that was rude. They should have told the nurses to call it in ahead of time then their pizza(s) would be hot 'n' ready at a specified time. Drumming up business instead of *getting the business*.
 
Bet that's one group that will order from Little Caesar's next time around.
 

Yup sometimes you just get jerks.

One time on Valentines Day I decided to go with my best friend to a relatively nice restaurant for a good meal. For many many years of my life I bartended and waited tables, and I'm a good tipper because I've been there. This waiter we had was very rude and trying to rush us out the door. He kept jerking up plates we were clearly still eating from, kept telling us they were out of everything. He told me I couldn't have a glass of wine with my dinner because they were about to close. He rushed to clear our table & told us after dinner coffee was out as well because the espresso machine had been cleaned. So I paid the check & told him " I'm stiffing you. You worked hard for that." Then I walked past another waiter & handed him a twenty in front of El Jerko and said " That's for smiling when you walked by."
The only time I ever stiffed anyone in my life
 
On the other paw people have to realize that lowly employees have lives too. I've worked in retail several years. When I was in a pharmacy there were people who would show up just as we locked the doors. Some folks you're willing to make an exception for. As an ex-smoker I know when you need a pack you NEED it, likewise diapers, formula, cold medications. For them I would unlock the door and check them out quickly.

Then there was Home Depot. They were open from 6am to 10pm. That's a pretty wide frame of time to shop. But customers would appear at 9:50pm to order flooring, to buy things that required loading their car, or they'd wander around a half hour after closing to buy an air freshener and box of light bulbs. We wanted to grab an industrial broom and chase them out, but no we had to wait until every customer was out on their own. You can't survive without air freshener?
 
Perhaps the shop should have a 'order by' time put in a place that all can see.I can understand that ordering food close to shutting up shop time could be bad for the assistants ( buses to catch, homes to go to.)
 
Ordering 5 minutes before closing time for a group pizza is inconsiderate IMO. It should be like last call in a bar, when no orders are taken after a certain time, maybe 1/2 hr before the place actually closes, but customers can sit and finish their drinks/food.
 
Cookie said:
Ordering 5 minutes before closing time for a group pizza is inconsiderate IMO. It should be like last call in a bar, when no orders are taken after a certain time, maybe 1/2 hr before the place actually closes, but customers can sit and finish their drinks/food.
Click to expand...

True - a group of nurses = how many pizzas, I wonder? I wouldn't walk into a restaurant 5 min before closing. But you probably agree that a rude note wasn't the way to handle it.
 
I don't find the note particularly rude, in my experience pizza workers are usually people with English as a second language, so probably don't have the flowery lingo. Another possible scenario could be to phone in the order earlier and arrive to pick up/take out maybe.
 
5 minutes to make a pizza from scratch, nnnnnn .. don't think so. If they sold them leftover single pieces, that should have sufficed, but guess that wasn't an option.
 
I like Cookie's idea as well.

Our local Domino's has a note on their menu / website - "last orders 30 minutes before closing". Same with the local sandwich shop.

I would imagine that if you stand in front of a hot oven for 8 hours you want to get out on time.
 
Ok.. the thing is this... they took the order. If you are going to take the order then buck up and do it. They should have said " We close in 5 minutes and that is not enough time to make a fresh pizza from scratch..we just haven't locked the door yet..sorry. " But they took the order. You don't TAKE THE MONEY and then leave whiney notes on a box. Bad business. & YES there should be a sign telling when the cut off time to order is AND online on their online ads.
Restaurants- If you know the average time allowed for a customer to have a relaxing meal.. then meet people at the door and say " I'm sorry it's too close to closing and we are just waiting on customers already here to leave. You do not seat customers and give them the bums rush. In my case we got there one hour and a half before closing. Jerk kept saying they were outta everything. We saw people ordering what we had wanted AFTER we did and getting it. I was told I could not have wine people across from me that had come in after me well they got wine. HE had a hot date waiting at a club or something.. so my night out at a nice restaurant should be equal to going to McDonalds because waah waah he doesn't want to be there. That's life. You know what hours you might get stuck at the job when you take the job. If you don't like the hours, don't take the job.
 
Yes, but people - including nurses - should have a little common sense and manners as well. I would never call for a pizza 5 minutes before closing, and I have been known to kill for a small sausage pie. You shouldn't have to tell them - they should know it.

Now in YOUR case BW I can understand that they treated you poorly.
 
Wrigley's said:
True - a group of nurses = how many pizzas, I wonder? I wouldn't walk into a restaurant 5 min before closing. But you probably agree that a rude note wasn't the way to handle it.
Click to expand...

Other accounts of this story make it seem like it was one male nurse who ordered the pizza, and that person didn't even want to respond to the whole thing. It seems like his buddy is more ticked off about this than he is, and is the one who posted this on social media to get revenge.

I think the whole thing is blown out of proportion. If a store was closing at 8pm, I would be more considerate than to come through the door at 7:55 and make an order. Really, the management should have a 15 minute cut off time for last orders. If there's a walk-ins welcome beauty shop in my area that closed at 6pm, I wouldn't stroll in ten minutes before they close wanting a cut and color. These demands are rude on the customers end, IMO. Also, that note wasn't rude at all.

Everyone wants something to complain about these days, and delight in playing the victim, especially if they can rant on social media about it, and demand free pizzas for all. It doesn't matter if it's a nurse or a janitor, they should be happy their order was filled and just go on their merry way. :rolleyes: http://dfw.cbslocal.com/2016/04/01/nurse-get-pizza-topping-he-didnt-order-a-surprising-note/ (see comments)
 
SifuPhil said:
Yes, but people - including nurses - should have a little common sense and manners as well. I would never call for a pizza 5 minutes before closing, and I have been known to kill for a small sausage pie. You shouldn't have to tell them - they should know it.

Now in YOUR case BW I can understand that they treated you poorly.
Click to expand...

Believe me I know the restaurant /bar business like the back of my hand. LOTS of customers are complete morons. You have to know how to handle them when they are. & some are just looking for an 86 no redemption, but in this day and age where YELP and other sites can really damage a business the employees need to be smarter than that & trained better than that. It usually goes back to bad training. & yeah the occasional jerk that expects money for nothing.. ' Duh.. I'm standing and looking at my cell phone.. in the corner.. I hate this job.. GIVE ME BIG MONEY."
I lost my job once because now and then I could not hold back the words.. My customer ate he said " I've been coming here for ten years and every time I come here the food is bad , it's too hot in here, and you're an idiot." So I said " Well you've been coming someplace 10 years ,you think has lousy food where you always sweat and you think I'm the idiot?" SO yeah.. I get morons all too well. And don't get me started on the bar stories :D
 
SifuPhil said:
You should start a thread on it. In return I'll give you my old blog post about Flavor Flav and Pants Boy - if I can find it - otherwise I'll just recite it from memory.
Click to expand...
Phil I don't think I can. There's some pretty old school people here that would freak out if I began to post that stuff. Sorry :(
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top