8 Tips for a better pizza place

Posted by admin on August 6th, 2007 filed in Advice

As someone who enjoys a good slice of pizza, I’ve gathered a few tips for better service in a pizza place. I write this after spending 1 hour at my local Pizza Pizza waiting to pick up my guaranteed 20 minute pizza. The guy ahead of me in line was asking for the supervisor (there was none), and the guy behind me was just trying to find out when he could pick up his food, and every time the guy said ‘5 minutes? 10 minutes? 20 minutes’ all the kid said was ‘Probably longer.’ Anyhow, frustrated and annoyed by that, here is my advice after the jump.

1. Sauce.

Put some on the pizza. Now there is a limit, but when I walk in and see pizza slices with sauce that looks like it’s been sprayed on with an airbrush, I keep on walking. I must have missed that Fox News story about the great pizza sauce shortage.

2. The edge.

You are familiar with the traditional circular pizza shape? Good. Just remember that a pizza is not a doughnut (or donut depending on your locale). There is no ‘inner’ and ‘outer’ section. Consider it a 2D surface. It likes to be covered. Don’t give me a 16″ pizza, with sauce and cheese that only comes to the 12″ mark! If I want a slice of bread, I’ll pull one out of a bag. Make sure your topping come to the edge.

3. Price per topping.

I don’t have much disagreement with this, but when I was 16 I worked at a pizza place and was hassled by the owner for putting on too many toppings. He told me that if the customer ordered pepperoni only I put on a set amount of pepperoni. If they ordered pepperoni and salami, I put on HALF of each… yet hmmm…the customer gets charged twice as much. If you are going to charge me per topping, then give me my damn toppings. Working at the pizza place was a valuable life lesson for me. I didn’t work there long (couldn’t really work until 3 AM make it to school the next morning). I worked there a few months. Perhaps the most valuable thing I learned was that no one is irreplaceable and the skills you have aren’t that great. When I quit I was replaced by the village idiot. To me, that said a lot. Mind you, he did crash the delivery car, but that’s another story. I learned that any idiot can do your job. I also learned that at age 16. Thanks Aldo!

3. Napoleon Dynamite is a hilarious movie.

Sadly, when I’m getting served by a kid who talks and acts like Napoleon Dynamite - and most teenagers do - it’s actually very frustrating and annoying. If you own the business, this loser is representing YOU. If the kid at the cash is an idiot and a screwup, I think your business is a screwed up business. Have a system in place for dealing with complaints. Make sure you know about them.

4. 20 minutes or its free.

If you offer this, stick to it. If you can’t manage this, then maybe the franchise isn’t the right one for you. Don’t do stupid things like try to bully the customer. Don’t do low things like have a clock that is set 5 minutes slower. If you were late, own up to it and hand it over. Don’t start punching the cash register and asking for money.

5. The delivery guy

As I mentioned earlier, I was replaced with the village idiot when I was 16 and quit the local pizza parlour. Make sure the delivery guy isn’t the village idiot. The guy who replaced me (hey wait, I did have to train him, so maybe I’m the village idiot). would actually carry the pizza under his arm like a book (picture the pizza here folks). Make sure he is on time. If he isn’t going to be on time, then tell the customer! If you offer 30 minutes or its free, don’t do like the Pizza Pizza guy who comes to our place. They tend to know that once they are late, they will delivery everyone elses and leave you - I kid you not - to get your pizza 90 minutes later. Then the guy has the nerve to say ‘Well, the pizza is free, but I still delivered it.’ He then places out his hand, expecting cash. People like this screw up your business.

6. Mistakes

Yes, we all make them. If so, own up to them and fix them. If you accidentally make a customers all meat pizza with broccoli on it, don’t spend 5 minutes trying to convince them to take it. Don’t invite all the staff over to stare at it for 5 minutes. Don’t have all the staff wonder how it happened for 5 minutes and postulate theories with each other. Fix it!

7. Care

My local pizza place just doesn’t care. Every time you go into the location its filled with apathy, boredom, and it seems to be a contest among the staff of who can avoid the customer’s the most.

8. Consistency

If I order a pizza, I want to get a good one. If I get random bad pizzas, that puts me on a variable ratio schedule of reinforcement. Unfortunately I don’t condition very readily.

I thought I’d give the local place another try. Yes, it is a big franchise. All too often they’ve screwed up and tonight was no exception. That’s one reason people like franchises - because they are predictable. Well, Pizza Pizza in downtown New Liskeard certainly is predictable. I doubt I’ll be going back anytime soon.