General

Topic All I wanted for dinner

HEHEHATE

9-Nov(#1)

You know i had a really interesting day after going through a 5 hour training course this afternoon. I wanted something cheap, practical, convenient and made to order. Instead I got a manager challenging me to call corporate. Mission Accepted.

After this training i wanted something i haven't had in a while from a place i know better to order from. Little Caesars. I've also worked for Caesars before about 15 years ago and know not to order anything out of there other than an Italian cheese bread or their stuffed cheese sticks, but i said hey let me try my luck at 5pm.

So i call ahead just before 5 I'm put on hold. totally understandable, but after the 5 minute mark i just stay on hold and drive there myself. As i arrive. not a customer is in the building nor parking lot. the interior lights of the building aren't on in the customer waiting area nor were they on in the kitchen. Yet employees are actively working in the building.

The business was indeed open from the exterior generic neon lights and the door being unlocked so i go in am greeted and immediately demand to speak with a manager as i put my phone on the counter ask him if he's going to take my business or not.

He kinda half assed apologized due to business demand and blames the lighting on them not working outright. Which i don't believe because signage is appearing out of your interior and oven work is being done while production is being done.

These are major red flags on code and health that ultimately could and more than likely will result in immediate finage through the company/owner.

The manager and i go back and forth on this and i tell him i want the item i called you 10 minutes ago to order and should be putting money into your business instead of arguing about your negligence his response was challenging me to call corporate on him over this.

Never in my life have i been ordered, to work in the dark in the food service industry i spent 15 years in nor have i been expected to be served in the dark during peak rush hours on a 3 day weekend. And this isn't some new age dark room eating experience at 100+ a table guys this is the $5 hot and ready pizza.

I was appealed to say the least, but more flabbergasted by all of it. Instead i ordered pizza hut instead. took them up on the 7 special on a meat lovers melt and cheesy breadsticks. told them the situation and they were as taken aback by what i was. On Top of it even on a busy night with customers coming in and out the the door they even gave me a free order of breadsticks to boot that she set aside for the staff for the trouble.

So moral of the story is

1. don't order little caesars. seriously.

2. there's a right and wrong way to treat and acknowledge business practices. When they exceed expectation you highlight which i fully plan on calling the gm of pizza hut on monday over. When they fall flat mightily you exonerate those that are incapable of accountability. which i fully plan on calling corporate at little caesars on.

For those of you that wanna think I'm a karen over this i just wanted a $6.36 cent made to order italian cheese bread over any of this.

KCPenguins

* 9-Nov(#2)

I enjoy cheap spaghetti sauce pizza every now and then. When it comes to cheap eats, service is always a roll of the dice. I've left more than one drive thru/sit down after ordering without paying/receiving food. All were warranted.

benstylus

* 9-Nov(#3)

HEHEHATE wrote:

> For those of you that wanna think I'm a karen over this i just wanted a $6.36 cent

> made to order italian cheese bread over any of this.

That pretty much is the definition though... "I just wanted some little thing and it didn't work out so I freaked out and ruined someone else's day over it."

When you demanded to see the manager as the first action you took when you walked into the store, you became the villain of the story.

You know what calling corporate will get you? Coupons for free Little Caesars.
HEHEHATE wrote:

> 1. don't order little caesars. seriously.

SublimeFan

10-Nov(#4)

If there's one thing, I've backed off on at this point in my life, it's getting mad at retail/fast food workers for something that isn't their problem. They make next to nothing, and don't deserve to deal with the bullcrap.

Just use an app or order it there. You could have used the time to decompress from your 5 hour training to have used your energy towards literally anything else aside from making someone's day craptier.

I appreciate you taking your time on this post though because I will try to be better after my 40-hour training session next week.

BucketofJustice

* 10-Nov(#5)

If this was one of those ‘Am I the butt-hole?’ posts, yes you were the butt-hole. As someone else said, you could’ve done literally anything else in that situation, and that employee/manager didn’t deserve it. I’m also sure the Pizza Hut people rolled their eyes after you left and just went about their day.

DarkFact

10-Nov(#6)

Hopefully the Pizza Hut guys gave you a big gravy caked hug after you sobbingly recounted this horrible experience you should have just walked away from. Annoyance justified, but just walk man. No need to Karen out about it. If they don’t give a crap about consumer experience and their actions are driving away customers, that issue tends to solve itself.

I think the worst part of the story was where you said for transparency’s sake you knew this wasn’t gonna go well and you signed up for it anyways, only to get crapty when surprise, they were dicking you around. Whenever I hear people say “They were awful the last seven times I went” before going into their eighth encounter I have to assume they just have a fetish for people taking a crap on them. Only explanation that makes sense to me.

theJaw

* 10-Nov(#7)

The fact that people were working in the dark probably should have tipped you off that the staff were as pissed off as you -- if not way, way more. It's not like they turned off all the lights to spite you or justify keeping you on hold for 5 (gasp!) minutes. As a former manager for Panera, I guarantee you it wasn't the MANAGER'S decision to keep working in the dark -- it's much more likely the corporate office who historically don't give a squirt of piss about their workforce as long as they can keep the cash registers running.

By calling corporate to complain about the manager, you might as well just call to let them -- the people actually at fault -- know directly that you're letting them off the hook.

Alaisiagae

10-Nov(#8)

Reminds me of something I might read on Not Always Right!

HEHEHATE

12-Nov(#9)

benstylus wrote:

> HEHEHATE wrote:

>> For those of you that wanna think I'm a karen over this i just wanted a $6.36

> cent

>> made to order italian cheese bread over any of this.

> That pretty much is the definition though... "I just wanted some little thing and

> it didn't work out so I freaked out and ruined someone else's day over it."

> When you demanded to see the manager as the first action you took when you walked

> into the store, you became the villain of the story.

> You know what calling corporate will get you? Coupons for free Little Caesars.

> HEHEHATE wrote:

>> 1. don't order little caesars. seriously.

If a managers appropriate response is to ignore me on the phone for 10 minutes address me in a store in the dark like im his first customer of the day and act like I'm the problem for putting money in that business. yea to hell with it. I don't trust you nor what you're putting out of your business.

There's a lot of balls that were dropped and corporate should absolutely know one about customer service, two business safety practice and three acceptable business practices.

KCPenguins

12-Nov(#10)

On the flipside, the Subway I eat at a few times a year honors all coupon codes, and has almost always makes my sandwiches how I specified when ordering online. I had some pretty specific requests, including the free form text to specify. I've been so impressed I've actually started tipping them.

lightslime

12-Nov(#11)

I was ordered to work in the dark as a restaurant manager a few months ago, all the interior lights shut off during a busy lunch rush and we stayed open, took a couple hours to get it back on. I think you care more about it than a frustrated little Ceasars manager who really doesn't care if you get a pizza or not and should've just went somewhere else. I asked if we could close and was told to stay open by my bosses

benstylus

12-Nov(#12)

HEHEHATE wrote:

> benstylus wrote:

>> HEHEHATE wrote:

> |>> For those of you that wanna think I'm a karen over this i just wanted a $6.36

>> cent

> |>> made to order italian cheese bread over any of this.

>> That pretty much is the definition though... "I just wanted some little thing

> and

>> it didn't work out so I freaked out and ruined someone else's day over it."

>> When you demanded to see the manager as the first action you took when you walked

>> into the store, you became the villain of the story.

>> You know what calling corporate will get you? Coupons for free Little Caesars.

>> HEHEHATE wrote:

> |>> 1. don't order little caesars. seriously.

> If a managers appropriate response is to ignore me on the phone for 10 minutes address

> me in a store in the dark like im his first customer of the day and act like I'm

> the problem for putting money in that business. yea to hell with it. I don't trust

> you nor what you're putting out of your business.

> There's a lot of balls that were dropped and corporate should absolutely know one

> about customer service, two business safety practice and three acceptable business

> practices.

Health violations absolutely worth calling corporate about, but not spite over your perceived mistreatment when you immediately auditioned for and won the role of the buttock upon entering the premises.

Perhaps instead of haughtily dropping your phone on the counter,pointing out how long you had been waiting on hold, and immediately demanding the manager, you could have discreetly asked that first employee whether everything was OK, whether it was a bad time to try to order, etc.

There are multiple scenarios I can think of where the phone/lights/exasperated manager might be explained.

Maybe it was specifically because of the health code violations that the owner refused to let them do anything about, the manager turned the lights off and didn't answer the phone in order to protect people like you.

Maybe there was a genuine issue with their electrical stuff which affected the lights and ability for them to answer the phone, and you weren't the first one to blow up at them.

Maybe the manager had just received some incredibly awful news (spouse filed divorce, parent hospitalized, kid in an accident) and intentionally shut off the lights in the hopes that no one would come in because he just couldn't deal with it right now but couldn't leave his shift.

Maybe they were just robbed while you were calling and driving over, and were discussing whether they were going to stay open that night or let the employees go home and process the experience.

I am going to reiterate my point that the only compensation you would receive from calling corporate are coupons for more little caesars, which you surely won't be buying anymore anyway.

ryanflucas

14-Nov(#13)

That location was probably a front for a Walter White style underground drug operation.

DarkFact

14-Nov(#14)

I was in my room and I was just like staring at the wall thinking about everything
But then again I was thinking about nothing
And then my mom came in and I didn't even know she was there, she called my name
And I didn't even hear it, and then she started screaming: MIKE! MIKE!
And I go: What, what's the matter?
And she goes: What's the matter with you?
I go: There's nothing wrong mom
And she goes: Don't tell me that, you're on drugs!
And I go: No mom I'm not on drugs I'm okay, I was just thinking you know,
Why don't you get me a Pepsi
And she goes: No you're on drugs!
I go: Mom I'm okay, I'm just thinking
She goes: No you're not thinking, you're on drugs! Normal people don't act that way!
I go: Mom just give me a Pepsi, please
All I want is a Pepsi, and she wouldn't give it to me
All I wanted was a Pepsi, just one Pepsi, and she wouldn't give it to me
Just a Pepsi

They give you a white shirt with long sleeves
Tied around your back, you're treated like thieves
Drug you up because they're lazy
It's too much work to help a crazy

I'm not crazy - institution
You're the one who's crazy - institution
You're driving me crazy - institution
They stuck me in an institution
Said it was the only solution
To give me the needed professional help
To protect me from the enemy - myself

beavis

14-Nov(#15)

I just picture in my head you recounting the story to the Pizza Hut people and they all have their hands over their mouth saying "heavens to murgatroyd".

No one orders anything from LC but $5 hot and readies.

benstylus

14-Nov(#16)

beavis wrote:

> I just picture in my head you recounting the story to the Pizza Hut people and they

> all have their hands over their mouth saying "heavens to murgatroyd".

> No one orders anything from LC but $5 hot and readies.

And crazy bread

ManiacMadman

* 14-Nov(#17)

Having dealt with Little Caesars especially since they started delivering I've seen how bad they run their business. From undercooked to burnt pizzas and not delivering certain items. Its kind of just running without any responsibility from the whole business. Yes they will comp you for bad items but you would think just trying to resist any problems. And a future free meal will never make up for the bad one. I have two locations near me and I will not frequent one in particular at all as they don't follow the same recipe as the others. Sadly for me the bad one is now the only one that delivers to me. I've seen their quality go down a lot in just a short time using cheaper ingredients and having it loaded with Garlic to having none. Their whole business was done to make money at a cheaper price and just selling more of them overall.

Just like going to McDonald's you don't expect too much more than consistency. Their success hinges on it and when you don't get that you walk away. Knowing that no matter where I go their hamburgers will be pretty much be the same at any location in the USA but this isn't coming through with pizza. Also knowing they've raised their prices and there is no consistency makes it harder to understand. Of the two near me the better one doesn't seem to want to spend money on lighting either. So maybe something is consistent going on with their employees working in the dark. Glad to know someone else has noticed as well. Also need to say they have some very nice people who work there and that gives them a second chance for me.

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General

Topic All I wanted for dinner

Topic All I wanted for dinner