Pizza Maker Tries To Explain To Couple That They Ordered Too Many Toppings And The Pizza Won’t Cook, They Insist And The Worker Maliciously Complies
Many of us have worked in hospitality or retail at least once in our lifetime. Perhaps it was a summer job you got to earn yourself some extra cash, an after-college one to get you up on your feet, or maybe it’s a career you chose to devote your life to – whatever it is, we can all agree that working with customers can be a total nightmare.
Sadly, it’s not uncommon for folks to think that such jobs are not as demanding as, I don’t know, being a CEO at Gucci – however, what most fail to understand is that those kinds of positions are as demanding as it could probably get.
Just think about it, when you’re working at a till or simply “slinging” pizza, you don’t have a private office to hide from all those sometimes very insufferable customers. All you’re stuck with is a minimal break time to compose yourself – and maybe a little bit of malicious compliance if you’re feeling particularly feisty.
More info: Reddit
Contrary to the well-known motto, there are times when the customer isn’t right
Image credits: Kurman Communications, Inc. (not the actual image)
“Corporate said so” – this netizen turned to one of Reddit’s most favorite communities to tell its members a malicious compliance tale from back when he used to work at a pizza place. The post managed to garner over 7K upvotes as well as 336 comments discussing the audacity of some customers.
A malicious compliance tale about an ex-pizza worker who made the decision to tailor everything to the preferences of her whiny patrons
Image source: u/Particulas-Tax3579
The woman began her post by explaining that back when she was working for a pizza place, there was a couple who’d frequently come in and order a specialty pie, but with three times the number of toppings. They’d ask for “extra extra,” plus they’d also add heaps of other toppings that weren’t originally on that pizza, like olives and onions.
This, of course, meant that it was never fully cooked, even after the woman had put it through the oven twice. Still, the two would consistently grouse that the pizza took way too long to prepare, was undercooked, and had charred edges.
There was a couple who’d frequently come in and order a specialty pizza, but with three times the number of toppings
Image source: u/Particulas-Tax3579
The woman repeatedly noted that adding so many toppings was a bad idea and she never actually understood why the staff was allowed to do that in the first place.
Since the couple claimed to have spoken with corporate, who had granted them some credit, she had to replace the pizza at least five times. Sometime later, the man returned again and claimed that corporate wanted her to make the pizza according to their liking.
The pizza place worker knew that it wasn’t true, as there wasn’t a corporate customers could call, just a call center, and, allegedly, those people didn’t care. Nevertheless, she chose to do precisely what they requested, but she made sure to let the pair know that if she did it their way and it didn’t work out, they wouldn’t be receiving any more remakes.
The woman replaced the pizza at least five times as it never fully cooked through and because the pair claimed they complained to “corporate”
Image source: u/Particulas-Tax3579
Now, onto the malicious compliance. The woman topped the pizza with full servings of each topping and claimed that it wouldn’t even fit in the oven. Then, at that point, she started to feel terrible for the couple since they had spent $40 on this one pizza, and there was no chance it would ever cook properly. So again, she ran it through the oven twice, but it still didn’t help.
The man returned, but this time, the author made sure to clarify that if it didn’t work out well, he wouldn’t be receiving any remakes
Image credits: Geoff Peters (not the actual image)
Image source: u/Particulas-Tax3579
The whole process was a nightmare. It was hard to get the pizza out of the pan and she had to cut it straight in the box in order to avoid all the extras flying everywhere. Plus, as she cut the pie, the crust completely disappeared beneath the toppings. It looked like a “giant pile of trash toppings dumped in the box.” Surprise, surprise, when the ex-pizza worker brought the goods to the customer, he blew off, stating that it took way too long and, frankly, looked like a total mess. He asked for another credit – however, the author of the post took out his receipt and began looking through it.
As expected, the customer said that it looked like a mess and demanded another credit – however, the author noted that everything was done to his liking
Image source: u/Particulas-Tax3579
Image credits: Ron Gilbert (not the actual image)
She queried which part wasn’t up to par exactly. When the client commented that it didn’t appear to be done, she reminded him that she had warned him about it and that she would’ve cooked it for longer if he hadn’t been whining about time.
In essence, everything was done exactly as he had requested; therefore, the woman stated she would inform her management and corporate that everything had been done to his satisfaction. The two were not seen again.
What do you think about this story?
Fellow online community members shared their thoughts and opinions on this situation
One of the comments underneath the post made a great point with preempting complaints. It isn't always possible but I always tried to do this when I worked in service and retail. The manager is usually grateful for the heads up and you can also get an idea of how much they'll back you on a certain issue based on their reaction.
As a store manager I have called the customer care line a few times to give them a heads up and explain how I won't be changing my decision on a matter. I also made sure all my people know that "corporate" can't tell us to do anything, they can only ask us to. I had one customer refuse to leave my store after being told to. I said I would call the police, his response was "go ahead", so I did. He was upset that they told him he had to leave, they didn't care what his complaint was, a store had to told his to leave which means to stay is trespassing and they were just there for a trespassing matter.
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It’s like those people who insist on a bakery cake with all black or blue frosting. When the the decorator tells them it will taste horrible, they still insist on it. Then come back mad at the store because the cake tasted nasty. Umm you were fairly warned.
Why does black or blue frosting have to taste horrible? Can't you just add dye to a nice buttercream?
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Learned myself the hard way. I bought on several occasions frozen pizza with like 2-3 toppings and then just put 2-3 more by myself. Couple of attempts when it was either burned or undercooked, I learned that I have to: 1. Cook pizza halfway through before adding any extra toppings 2. Be careful what toppings I'm adding.
One of the comments underneath the post made a great point with preempting complaints. It isn't always possible but I always tried to do this when I worked in service and retail. The manager is usually grateful for the heads up and you can also get an idea of how much they'll back you on a certain issue based on their reaction.
As a store manager I have called the customer care line a few times to give them a heads up and explain how I won't be changing my decision on a matter. I also made sure all my people know that "corporate" can't tell us to do anything, they can only ask us to. I had one customer refuse to leave my store after being told to. I said I would call the police, his response was "go ahead", so I did. He was upset that they told him he had to leave, they didn't care what his complaint was, a store had to told his to leave which means to stay is trespassing and they were just there for a trespassing matter.
Load More Replies... It’s like those people who insist on a bakery cake with all black or blue frosting. When the the decorator tells them it will taste horrible, they still insist on it. Then come back mad at the store because the cake tasted nasty. Umm you were fairly warned.
Why does black or blue frosting have to taste horrible? Can't you just add dye to a nice buttercream?
Load More Replies... Learned myself the hard way. I bought on several occasions frozen pizza with like 2-3 toppings and then just put 2-3 more by myself. Couple of attempts when it was either burned or undercooked, I learned that I have to: 1. Cook pizza halfway through before adding any extra toppings 2. Be careful what toppings I'm adding.
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