I normally write a review when something is either exceptionally good or exceptionally bad. The former is rarely the case in India. So here we go with another instance of a big company treating its customers with almost absolute contempt.
I decided to try out Pizza Hut’s new Cheesy Bites pizza and placed an order with their Delhi centralised call-center at about 7:55pm. I was told the order would be delivered within half an hour. I was quite impressed by that claim because usually they say it would take 30-45 minutes. 8:25, there is no sign of the pizza. I decide to wait another 15-20 minutes.
At 8:50, I call that number again, to be greeted by a monotonous voice asking me if it is for delivery or takeaway. I inform the person on the other line that I have already placed the order and have called to check on the status. I am told that there is some "technical problem" and the order will be delivered within 15-20 minutes.
I wait. I call them again at 9:20. It’s the same routine again. This time they say they will arrange for a callback from the store delivering the pizza (Green Park, New Delhi). Someone calls me after 5 minutes. They say the order will take another 10-12 minutes. I ask them if it will take 10-12 minutes to reach me or to be prepared for delivery? They confirm that it will take 10-12 minutes to reach me.
So I wait some more. Still not there... I have decided that I won’t give up now. I call them AGAIN at 9:45. This time I ask to speak to a senior. The guy transfers my call to someone who is apparently a "senior". He apologises and tells me that I can pay half the amount for the order. I tell him that it’s not about the money. There is no point of a discount if I am not even getting the order. He says he will arrange for a callback from the store.
I wait. Nobody calls me this time. So I call again after 10 minutes. I ask the guy again to transfer me to a senior. He puts me on hold then says the senior is busy on some other call and he will get back to me within 5 minutes.
Nothing. My last call is around 10:20. I have made up my mind that I just won’t let it be, even if it means I’m just wasting my time. This time I am transferred to a guy called "Nitin". I ask him very calmly what his full name and designation is. He hesitates a little and says Nitin... Kumar (I wonder if that is actually his name) and that he is the co-ordinator. I ask him co-ordinator of what? Apparently he is the co-ordinator of operations. And I ask him where his office is? Apparently these are backend operations (that operate out of thin air). Anyway, I was not directly concerned with all of that, so I got to the point.
He said he has spoken to the store again, and that I will DEFINITELY receive the order within the next 20-25 minutes (which would mean about a 3 hour wait time since placing the order). I said I just want to cancel so I can order from somewhere else, because I am HUNGRY. I also told him that I was disgusted with the way they were treating a customer who has been regularly ordering from them. He said he has confirmed it this time. I told him that I am pretty sure the order won’t be delivered today. He said I needn’t pay for this order and that it would reach me within 20-25 minutes.
I am writing this at 12am, 4 hours after placing the order. I have tried calling them but the phone line is apparently busy. I find this quite unbelievable. You can expect something like this from a small restaurant or delivery place, but not from an organisation like Pizza Hut. The "co-ordinator of operations" (I love that title) also talked at length about how they want to maintain the relationships with their customers and that’s why they are offering me the free pizza this time, but I guess, just like their "backend operations" office that operates out of thin air, the pizza was delivered in thin air too.