Monday, September 20, 2010

No more Dominos Pizza for us!

In the past, we have blogged quite a lot about specials from Dominos. We have also commented on their pretty fast delivery and easy to use online ordering via their website. However, a recent event has change all our positive opinions about Dominos and we have decided that we are not going to order from Dominos (at least the Bloomfield, NJ branch) ever again. Here's what happened.

The Wrong Order
On September 2nd, we ordered the two medium pizza with two topping promotion ($5.99 each) and a 2 liter bottle of Coke online. It's not the first time we that have ordered online and so far, we never had any problems with it. When our pizza arrived, Kevin noticed that on one of the pizzas, there was only one topping. He ordered extra large pepperoni and bacon but all he got was bacon. We doubled checked our receipt ( just to make sure that we really ordered extra large pepperoni and bacon) and yes, it shows extra large pepperoni on both the online receipt as well as the actual receipt. No problem, all we need to do is call them up to tell them of the mistake and they should bring us the correct order, right? Well, wrong! Continue reading.

The Phone Call
We called the Bloomfield, NJ branch and spoke to Esmirna. We told her that they brought us the wrong pizza and went on to explain to her that we ordered extra large pepperoni and bacon but all we got was bacon. We then asked if they were going to re deliver the correct pizza to us. Guess what? Esmirna just rudely said "WE AIN'T GOT NO EXTRA LARGE PEPPERONI". Excuse me? It was on the menu, we picked it, the order went through, you charged us for it and then you are saying that you don't have any extra large pepperoni? She then said "OH, YOU ORDERED IT ONLINE, RIGHT?" Yeah we did. She went on to say " WELL, IT'S AUTOMATIC THEN. THE ORDER JUST GOES THROUGH. WE DON'T HAVE ANY EXTRA LARGE PEPPERONI. IT'S NOT OUR FAULT, IT'S CORPORATE.". What do you mean it's corporate's fault? Anyways, we then asked her why didn't they call us if they are out? We could have changed to another topping or if you don't have any extra large pepperoni, just use regular pepperoni. Don't just give us one topping and act as if nothing happened. She then rudely said "WAIT!" and I could hear her talking to the manager (Carlos) saying that we want a new pizza and why didn't they call us if they didn't have extra large pepperoni...blablabla. We could hear Carlos rudely replying "NO NO IT'S NOT OUR FAULT, THEY ARE NOT GETTING ANOTHER PIZZA". She then came back and flat out said "NO IT'S NOT OUR FAULT, IT'S CORPORATES. WE CANNOT GIVE YOU ANOTHER PIZZA!". Not wanting to argue anymore, we just asked for her name. She then got all defensive and asked "WHAT YOU WANT MY NAME FOR?". Then we said that since you insist it's corporate's fault, we will bring this matter to corporate and file a complaint against the Bloomfield branch. We ordered and paid for a two topping pizza but was given a one topping pizza. That's outright cheating. She then rudely said "FINE, GO AHEAD!" and in a challenging voice asked "YOU WANT CORPORATES NUMBER? I CAN GIVE THAT TO YOU TOO!". So, I took the number from her and hung up. Not a single word of apology from them even though they didn't deliver what we ordered.

The First Email To Corporate
Since it was already pretty late, we figured that we should just send out an email instead of calling (most probably nobody will be working at this hour). So, we went to the Dominos website and filled up their contact form, telling them all that has transpired. With an hour, we received a reply from them. I am not sure if it's automated or if "Denise' actually typed it out, but here is their reply:

September 02, 2010
Dominos Case #: 809259


Hi Kevin,

Thank you for taking the time to contact the Domino's Pizza Customer Care Team and notifying us of this matter. We will forward this information to the appropriate department for further investigation.
Sincerely,
Denise
Pizza Customer Care

Again, not a single word of apology from Dominos. Of course, we understand that they will have to look into this matter to see what actually happened. However, if it was me, I would just apologize first (even if the customer is wrong and the company is right). Anyways, we left it at that and allowed them to do their 'investigation'.

The Second Email to Corporate
One week went by and still no news from Dominos. What's taking them to long? In my opinion, it's a straight forward case. We ordered something, but we received the wrong order and the branch refused to deliver the right order to us. What's there to investigate? Anyway, we emailed them again and asked what's happening? Mind you, it's been a week and not a single person from Dominos apologized yet.

The Reply from Dominos
On September 10th, we received an email from Ryan.

Dominos Case #: 809259
Hi Kevin,


Thank you for taking the time to contact the Domino's Pizza Customer Care Team. I apologize the local management has not addressed your concern. I will once again inform the local representative of the Newark store of the unsatisfactory situation you experienced so they may address these types of issues in their training efforts.

I will be sending gift certificates through the mail for your use at any Domino's Pizza store. Please accept the gift certificates in appreciation of your business and for taking the time to bring this situation to our attention. You should receive the gift certificates in approximately 7-10 days.

We hope to regain your trust in the future and have the opportunity to serve you again as our loyal customer.

Sincerely,
Ryan

Domino's Pizza Customer Care


If you noticed, it's the first time anybody from Dominos apologized. However, he didn't apologize for bringing us the wrong order and refusing to redeliver the correct pizza to us. He didn't apologize for charging us for a two topping pizza but delivering a one topping pizza. He didn't apologize for the extremely rude staff at the Bloomfield, NJ branch. He was just sorry that the local management didn't address our 'concern'. Concern??? Excuse me...I think it's more than just a 'concern'. Putting aside the rude staff and also having to sent a 'reminder' email, the fact remains that we were given a one topping pizza but paid for a two topping pizza. Even though we are talking about a small amount, that's outright cheating! Wouldn't that warrant at least an apology?

Our Gift Certificates
On September 18th, we received this letter and $15 worth of gift certificates in the mail. Not wanting to be petty, but if you noticed, not a single word of apology. Yes, we thank you for the gift certificates (which was how much we paid, minus delivery charges and tax) but in my opinion, it still doesn't make it right. What would? Just a simple "I'm sorry, we screwed up this time" would have worked. This shows, up til now, Dominos still refuse to admit that it was their mistake and thinks that the $15 worth of gift certificates will shut us up. I am not saying that we won't use it, oh yes we will. However, that will probably be the last time we will ever eat a Dominos pizza. They are not the only players in the market, there are many other pizza companies out there. Looks like Dominos has lost two very loyal customers. Instead of giving us the certificates, maybe they should have put that $15 towards classes to teach their employees some manners instead. :P

2 comments:

Twilight Man said...

I think you ought to know that it's a policy that such outlets are not allowed to use the word "sorry" to anyone. Even I was being taught by insurance agent not to apologize if I ever met with a road accident. If the victim drags me to court, I will be auto-defeated cos I appeared guilty to him and apologized. They will catch you.

The Pizza Hut here often sent wrong orders daily. It would hurt their image if they issue 100 apologies daily.

Now I say 'sorry' for such a long winded comments! LOL..

Simply June said...

Maybe they have one too many complaints to handle...and just use the same letter template to handle all cases! =) Truly bad customer service...