I’m glad I live where, besides the chains like Pizza Hut, we still have some individual pizza places, or a local chain with just two or three locations.
http://www.glorydayspizza.com/ This is where I like to get my pizza. They even do anchovy without going “Ewwwww!” But they need to update the website because there’s a fourth location now. It’s way to close to me, and I’m trying to lose weight, but I may order now because it’s hard to think about pizza and not get some.
The weird obligatory “give your name and phone number or we cant process you” was already there the last (and only time) I’ve used Pizza Hutt, and that was something lke ten or fifteen years ago. I never understood it and it stood as extremely bureaucratic.
What I dont understand is why I would choose to go to a pizza chain that’s gonna charge me double what any good small pizza joint in my neigborhood would charge. Added to the crime is that none of the international chains can cook a pizza (even when they dont have any other customers) in less than twenty minutes. Most of my local joints can cook one in less than ten minutes, if not five minutes. And all pizzas coming from chains taste pretty horrible.
Domino has completely cleaned Pizza Hutt’s clock here (which is weird as they were a very late starter to the game) but they taste as shitty.
We could always protest.
Everyone order take out, and decline to give a number.
Then walk out when they don’t serve.
Kind of a continent-wide flash-mob with a purpose!
Maybe it depends on where you live, but here in the Philly suburbs there are dozens of locally owned pizzerias within delivery distance of me that are better than any of the chains and will actually answer the phone themselves and treat you like a human being.
They don’t get their business from a massive television advertising budget so they depend on happy repeat customers and local word of mouth; and they make good pizza.
I must live on a different planet. The local Pizza Hut’s phone number is in the book. I call it, and the local store answers. Sure they ask for a call-back number if I call my order in, but not if I stop by in person and place my order at the counter. I’ve never tried to pay with Visa, but they always take my personal check with no hassle or ID.
Sure, there’s better pizza available if I want to go out, but Pizza Hut’s the only delivery option in my neighborhood. Of any kind of food, now that I think about it. And sometimes, that’s all I want. No hassle food that I can order in my pajamas.
On the other hand, I tried to order Pizza Hut from their website once. It was a miserable experience, on a par with those described above.
What made me abandon Pizza Hut was their inclusion of a delivery fee. I avoided Papa Johns forever because they wanted to charge me $2 to deliver the thing and Pizza Hut didn’t. Now I think the Pizza Hut delivery fee is up to $2.65. Fee, tax, and tip and your $8 coupon costs you $14.50.
Pizza Hut isn’t my favorite, but sometime I get a craving for it, like 2 times a year. One time in the last year or so, I went to the website to look up info for my local one. I can’t remember if I was looking for address/phone number or just a general “gee, are there any closer?”
The website was a huge, huge, huge pain. I ended up writing to them on their “contact us” form. Most locators will show you a map or you click on your state. PH wanted your address. Look, I don’t need to give you my address. Why can’t I just put in my ZIP code and you show me the freaking restaurants in my area and let me click which one I want then? I put in fake addresses (123 Main Street) and it’d boot me out for being fake.
I wasn’t trying to place an order. I just wanted to find out something that I probably could have found in ye olde yellow page ads. It was overly complicated and it drove me away for a long time.
I am hardly alone in not having a lot of disposable income these days. If you’re going to make me go through the wringer just to find out your phone number, I’m going to spend my $15 somewhere else. How many people can you afford to drive away?
Argh
To be fair, the times I went before (and since) to that same location, my food was done quickly and correctly and tasted fine.
I’ve got a Pizza Hut three blocks away. They’ve been good enough to give me their phone number; so I can call, and head out to pick up my pizza. No sense letting them deliver; I can walk to pick it up faster than they can deliver by car. Major cards, debit (Interac), and cash accepted. There are other places with delivery options in town (Papa John’s, Pizza 73, Domino’s); but for me, it’s often faster to call Pizza Hut and pick up.
Unfortunately, our little city has very few family-run, standalone pizza places. For most of us, it’s the big chains or nothing. I miss the little family-run places I knew in Toronto that had the best pizza–any Torontonians ever go to Bitondo’s? (Is it even still there?)
heh. Depends on whether I want to make their lives difficult or not. If they’ve ticked me off, I’ll give the name “Throckmorton Grunthummer Wingergonger.”
“Uh…how do you spell that?”
“Exactly like it sounds.”
Pizza Hut has always had the worst user interface imaginable. Whoever designed it must be secretly employed by Dominos. Unfortunately, I jones for a Pizza Hut thin crust pepperoni pizza every 6 months or so, and have to deal with their fucking moronic website!
I’m on the same planet. Just ordered a PH pizza last week when the local Dominoes wasn’t answering their phone. Called them directly at the same number they’ve always had. Thin crust with pepperoni and mushrooms, I liked it but the GF didn’t.