CombatCritic's

CombatCritic's
Showing posts with label pizza. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pizza. Show all posts

Sunday, April 15, 2018

Vancouver, WA: Turned Away And Insulted After Being Two Minutes Late For A Three Minute Pizza

Pizzeria La Sorrentina
9811 NE15th Avenue
Vancouver, WA 98665
Phone number (360) 980-1651
Website: lasorrentinavw.com
Prices: $$$$

We drove nearly 30 minutes from our home, arriving just two minutes after their 2PM "closing" time due to unexpected traffic. I was hoping to sample their offerings because, having lived in Naples, Italy for three years and being married to an Italian (my wife's family still lives in Naples and we visit quite often), I love authentic pizza Napoletana and was curious to see just how authentic theirs was.

When we arrived, the oven was going strong and the two employees were still there prepping for dinner with the door and window open. We stood there for a minute while the woman looked at us without saying a word, so I finally asked her "Are you closed?" to which she responded only with a "Yes". I was a bit shocked because there was absolutely no reason to turn us away and they did not even bother to tell us why they would not serve us at 2:02 PM. 

If this was a sit-down restaurant, I could understand why we would not be served. However, having eaten many pizzas in Naples and attended a "pizzaiolo" (pizza maker) course there this past February, I know that a Neapolitan pizza takes less than 90 seconds to prepare and about 60-90 seconds to bake at 485 degrees Fahrenheit. I understand that they were "officially" closed and may have had things to do, but taking 3 minutes to make a pizza for a customer was, I believe, not too much to expect.

The restaurant business and customer service are all about making customers happy and turning us away so rudely was, in my opinion, uncalled for. Having spent a great deal of time in the business and owned a very successful mobile food operation myself, I would have never turned a customer away in similar circumstances, but that is just me. 

After leaving a tip on Yelp regarding my experience, someone (whom I am assuming was the owner or manager) sent me a compliment with a "You're Funny" tag stating: 

"I'm not going to serve pizza anyone even 1minutes late. Please come during business sir. Thank you"
With literally millions of readers annually across several platforms, including Yelp and my popular blog, my responsibility to readers is to provide an accurate, honest "opinion" based on my experiences, so I did not appreciate being laughed at ("You're Funny") because I take my responsibilities and commitment to my readers very seriously. A more professional and customer-oriented response would have been much more appropriate in my opinion. For example: "I am very sorry that we had to turn you away, but our employees were busy prepping for dinner and could not take the time to serve you. Please accept our sincere apology and come back to visit us very soon!" would have been a much more appropriate response and they would have likely gained a return customer. Unfortunately, based on our negative experience and the business's insulting responses to my tip, I will not be returning any time soon. Not an unreasonable person, if an apology is forthcoming, I may consider giving them another chance and revising my review/rating.

CombatCritic Gives Pizzeria La Sorrentina 1 Bomb Out Of 10 And A Spot On My "WALL OF SHAME" ... More Bombs Are Better!

One Bomb Equates To:
Translation for Civilians: "Fucked Up Beyond All Repair"


Read More Reviews By CombatCritic:

Yelp - "GOLD" ELITE '14/'15/'16/'17/'18 
  • 650,000+ Views A Year
Read Chris S.'s review of Pizzeria La Sorrentina on Yelp

Tabelog - Official Judge - "Silver"

Pizzeria La Sorrentina Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Zomato - #1 Ranked "VERIFIED" CONNOISSEUR (13) - Over  4 Million Review And Photo Views ... And Counting #1 Reviewer in Portland, Oregon!
Booking.com - Frequent Traveler "Genius"

Google Maps - "Top Photographer" With Over 1 Million Views!

View my food journey on Zomato!

View my food journey on Zomato!

View my food journey on Zomato!

... And Don't Forget To Subscribe To TravelValue TV on YouTube and our sister channel, CombatCounselor Chronicleswith Over 1,250 Subscribers and 1,000,000 Video Views ... HOOAH!

Title: Vancouver, WA: Turned Away And Insulted After Being Two Minutes Late For A Three Minute Pizza

Key Words: Pizzeria La Sorrentina, pizzeria, la, Sorrentina, pizza, Sorrento, Vancouver, Washington, Portland, Oregon, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value, restaurant, menu, review, Yelp, Zomato, Facebook

Copyright 2018 - 3rd Wave Media Group And CombatCritic ™ - All Rights Reserved

Friday, March 3, 2017

Lawrence, KS: Better Ingredients, Better Pizza, Crappy Attitude ... Papa John's

Papa John’s Pizza

918 Mississippi Street
Lawrence, KS 66044
Phone number: (785) 865-5775
Website: papajohns.com
Prices: $$$$

There are no photos, sorry, you know what Papa John's and their pizzas look like and this review has nothing to do with pizza. 

If Nathan, the manager, is any indication of quality at this location, they are in deep kimchi and their far less than "stellar" 2.5/5 rating on Yelp seems to indicate that fact. If I were the owner of this location, I would be very, very concerned, but then again, they churn out pizzas for KU's famished and undiscerning student body whether or not their quality standards and customer service are terrible, which they are.

This was the second time we have ordered online for pickup at this location and it will be the last. Their website sucks. They text me their "specials" EVERY FRIDAY, but I usually delete them and wish I had this time as well. I followed the link, chose the crust, size, sauce, and toppings for each pizza, only to be told, after going through this with two pizzas, that the promo code (PJ40) they texted me was "INVALID". I tried again and received the same message, so I went to their "Specials" page where I found a two topping extra large (16") pizza at $9.99 each ... BINGO! But when I clicked on the link that came up advertising that special, I was told "this page doesn't exist", so I tried again with the same absurd outcome.

I finally ordered a couple large pizzas for pickup because by this time we were famished and went to the store with order in hand. I tried to tell Nathan, the manager, about the difficulties that I had with the website and ordering what we wanted, but he refused to listen to what I was saying, insisting that I had received the "PJ40" promo code discount when, in-fact, I had ordered the large (14") two topping pizza specials ($7.99 each). I continued to try to explain the situation and the problems I had with the website, but Nathan obviously was not listening ... "uh huh, yea, uh huh", so I said "you really don't give a shit do you?". He told me there was a Help Line I could call if I was not happy, pointing to a decal on the side of the pizza display case.

Then, when he went to retrieve my order, even though I had arrived 30 minutes after ordering (the email I received said they would be ready in 15-25 minutes), our pizzas had not even been made yet. He lied, telling me they were in the oven, then ignored me other than telling me to "get out of the way" when the next customer arrived. Seriously? Get out of the way? Is that any way to talk to a customer? You know the answer to that question. After another 10-12 minutes, our pizzas were finally ready and I departed, giving Nathan my card and telling him to read my review on my popular blog and on Yelp.

The taste or quality of the pizza is irrelevant at this point, being the same mass produced pies you can get at any Papa John's in the U.S.A. It is the nerve and unprofessionalism I have now experienced on two occasions at this same location and from the same person if I am not mistaken. Nathan should be counseled and put on double secret probation if not fired. He gives this location specifically and Papa John's in general a bad name, leaving a bad taste in my mouth ... literally.

CombatCritic Gives Papa John's And Nathan The Manager 1 Bomb Out Of 10 And A Spot On My "WALL OF SHAME" ... More Bombs Are Better!


One Bomb Equates To:
Read Reviews By CombatCritic:

Yelp - Elite '14/'15/'16/'17 - 650,000+ Views A Year

Tabelog - Official Judge (Silver)


Zomato - #1 Ranked "Verified" Foodie - Over  1,890,733 Review And Photo Views

View my food journey on Zomato!



... And Don't Forget To Subscribe To TravelValue TV on YouTube


Tabelog Reviewer CombatCritic
View my food journey on Zomato!

Papa John's Pizza Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Read Chris S.'s review of Papa John's Pizza on Yelp

Title: Lawrence, KS: Better Ingredients, Better Pizza, Crappy Attitude ... Papa John's

Key Words: Lawrence, KS, Better Ingredients, Better Pizza, Papa John's, papa, John's, John, pizza, Mississippi, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value, restaurant, menu, review, Yelp, Zomato

Translation for Civilians: FUBAR = "Fucked Up Beyond All Repair"

Sunday, September 18, 2016

Lawrence, KS: Pizza Shuttle Stands For ZERO INTEGRITY And Earns A Spot On My "WALL OF SHAME"

Pizza Shuttle

1601 W. 23rd Street
Lawrence, KS 66046
Phone: (785) 842-1212

I will not waste my time reviewing a business that totally lacks integrity, so I will ignore the food, delivery, etc. at Pizza Shuttle and focus only on the matter at hand ... fraudulent business practices.

I ordered two 14" one-topping pizzas online from Pizza Shuttle (through Eat Street - where I was automatically directed) at a price of $15.18 (including $1.38 for extra cheese on my pizza). 

My wife is allergic to tomatoes, so I asked for olive oil on her pizza instead of tomato sauce, a request that every pizza place we have ever ordered from has gladly and "free"ly complied with. With tax at $1.45 and delivery at $1.50, the total came to $18.13 as you can see on my receipt and order confirmations (online and email) below.

As you can clearly see, the online and email confirmations listed a total of $18.13 including tax and delivery, but when the Pizza Shuttle driver arrived he stated the total was $22.25, an additional $4.07 "due to my wife being allergic to tomatoes and substituting olive oil for tomato sauce". Nobody bothered calling to inform us of the ridiculous $4+ upcharge and when the driver called the manager to confirm the discrepancy, the manager merely stated "that's the way it is, it's Eat Street's problem, not ours". 

I paid the driver the extra $4.07 (because it was not his fault and he does not get paid enough to argue with irate customers) and tipped him an additional $1.75, stating "your tip would have been much larger if your manager wasn't such an a**hole. Tell him to read my review on combatcritic.com and on Yelp ... it won't be pretty!"

Never again, Pizza Shuttle or Eat Street, once and I am done. 

CombatCritic Gives Pizza Shuttle And Eat Street 1 Bomb Out Of 10 And A Spot On My WALL OF SHAME FOR ZERO INTEGRITY ... Nuff Said!

One Bomb Equates To:
Read Reviews By CombatCritic:

Yelp - Elite '14/'15/'16

Tabelog - Official Judge (Bronze)

Zomato - #1 Ranked Foodie

View my food journey on Zomato!



... And Don't Forget To Subscribe To TravelValue TV on YouTube


Tabelog Reviewer CombatCritic
View my food journey on Zomato!
Pizza Shuttle Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato








Title: Lawrence, KS: Pizza Shuttle Stands For ZERO INTEGRITY And Earns A Spot On My "WALL OF SHAME"

Key Words: Pizza Shuttle, pizza, shuttle, delivery, fraud, EatStreet, eatstreet.com, Lawrence, Kansas, 23rd, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value, restaurant, menu, review, Yelp, Zomato, Tabelog

Translation for Civilians: FUBAR = "Fucked Up Beyond All Repair"