My First Experience at Mod Pizza

Since Mod Pizza opened a location near me in Riverdale, Utah, I’ve driven by it many times, but I never went in there to order anything until tonight. I heard good things and they seemed reasonably busy, so I was excited and my expectations were high. I placed my order online and headed to their restaurant a short time later. What greeted me when I got to their location was confusion and disappointment.

I stepped up to the counter and noticed that the staff was discombobulated and the person who was responsible for giving me my order seemed to have no clue what I was doing. The awe inspiring unprofessionalism reminded me of when I worked at the school store when I went to high school. Being someone who never questions restaurant staff unless they give me a reason to, I waited while he fumbled around trying to find my pizza. While he was scanning through the disorganized web of tickets before him, I noticed that the person who was responsible for putting the pizzas in their proper boxes was putting them on the counter, expecting that the person who was currently doing a terrible job of tracking down my order to place them where they need to go. I thought to myself that it was highly likely that they would mix up some if not all of the orders to which those pizzas were attached.

I finally got my order and made my way towards the exit. Though I was irritated at the fact that they fumbled their way through getting me my order, the pizza smelled good and I had high hopes about this purchase. These hopes were dashed a short time later when I received a call from them. I hadn’t even got all the way home and the smarmiest representative of their establishment called me to tell me that they had given me a completely different pizza from the one I ordered and messed up the crust on the other pizza. In an effort to make it right, they offered me a free pizza. I countered, reminding them that they messed up the other pizza as well and for that reason, they should give me two free pizzas. They refused, which brought back the feelings of aggravation from earlier. I did whatever I could to get this person off the phone because their voice was starting to become indistinguishable from nails on a chalkboard.

I finished my drive back to my house, dealing with the swelling doubt about what had just transpired. As I walked through the door, I ran back the fact that they had messed up both of my pizzas and then called me with a take-it-or-leave-it, you’re-lucky-we’re-even-offering-it kind of deal. I came to the conclusion that I would call them back and ask to talk to a manager with the end goal of me getting my money back and them giving me the opportunity to get two new pizzas at a later date. I think this suggestion was only right considering I was not the one who messed up my pizza. They did. The fact that they were showing attitude about it was hard to stomach.

I dialed their number and asked to talk to a manager. The first person who picked up the phone acted like he was greeting a casual acquaintance, not a customer. He passed me off to another person who claimed to be the manager though he acted less professional than the buffoon to which I had just finished speaking. He listened to my very reasonable request for a refund and coupons for two free pizzas and began to become annoyed. The person who had called me earlier and snootily presented their free pizza consolation prize chimed in about he had “already offered them a free pizza,” The annoyance in their voices was palpable.

The person who claimed to be the manager came back on the phone and stammered for a second. I cut through his lack of lucidity to tell him again that I wanted a full refund and coupons for two free pizzas. He talked with someone in the background and came back, saying “Yeah. I talked to my buddy and he said that we do not offer refunds on online orders, so…” The original consolation prize of one free pizza was turned to two, but the way it was presented made me want no part of it. I thanked this so-called manager for not helping me whatsoever and hung up the phone.

Last time I checked I wasn’t born yesterday. What’s the point of having a manager if they don’t know the refund policy and have to consult with someone else to answer the simplest questions? I would have a little bit of mercy if this was a mom and pop pizza shop that had just barely opened their doors. They have to establish new protocols while getting their feet wet in their new neighborhood. This is Mod Pizza with locations across the nation. It stands to reason because they have had the ability to expand beyond their original location they surely know what they’re doing. This fact was not something that was reflected during my visit to their Riverdale, Utah location.

I’m tired of the stigma associated with people who have taken it upon themselves to complain about the experience they had at a restaurant. When someone opens an eating establishment, they need to get over the fact that they are going to receive criticism along the way. The presence of criticism should not be seen as a threat but rather an opportunity to get better. It’s unfortunate that there are some people out there who see all criticism as being destructive. I’m not trying to level destructive criticism at Mod Pizza. I guarantee you that they do things well at their other locations. When it comes to what I saw at their Riverdale location, I’m not convinced they’re everything that people claim in the numerous good reviews I’ve read.