Six Rules to Abide by When Ordering a Pizza

Nothing is more frustrating during a dinner rush than to be a pizza store employee and be asked to hold by the customer.  I worked at a pizza place for three and a half years and spent most of that as a manager running shifts and I have come up with a list of rules that people should abide by to help make ordering a pizza quick and easy.

1.  Get your order ready before you call

I don’t know how to make this more understandable.  We do not want to hear you yelling across your house to 5 other people asking them what they want on their pizza and then listen to you compromise with them by choosing one topping per person.  Sort this out before you call.

2.  Ask to call back, not have us hold

Some places will turn around and put you on hold because they cannot afford to wait.  Imagine how the production of food slows because we are stuck on the phone waiting for you to come back.  I’ve been asked to hold for a whole 5 minutes before which is ridiculous!  If you want to know what specials we have running so you can base your order around that, that is fine with us.  But do not expect us to wait all day.  Tell us you will call back so we can get other work done.

3.  Be courteous and polite

We deal with customers all day long and some days all it takes is just a little push to get us over the edge and this is not good.  Politely ask for a manager if there is a problem with your order and explain the situation and please do not use cuss words.  If you treat us with respect, you will get the same in return.  Especially with the way the economy is nowadays, pizza restaurants cannot afford to lose customers.

4.  Tip our drivers

Drivers remember who the good tippers are and who the bad tippers are.  This can sometimes lead to you getting your pizza sooner or later.  As a manager I can only get the food out the door, how the driver drives his car is something I have no control over.  Even a simple buck or two is enough.  Bear in mind that most (if not all) pizza places pay their drivers under minimum wage because they have the opportunity to make tips.  There are even some places that do not have their drivers do any sort of work around the store and in return ONLY work for tips and mileage (mileage is usually $1-$2).  Remember that getting pizza delivered to you is convenient (I don’t see McDonalds doing that for you).  Always bear in mind also that you could get in your car and pick up your food as well and save yourself the delivery charge and tip money.