PUTT, PUTT, NO MORE PIZZA HUT.

 Putt, putt to the Pizza Hut. That’s what I grew up with.  I thought Pizza Hut was the top-shelf pizza company in America. Good product. Good times. Good stuff.

But it only takes one corporate-level employee to destroy 50 years of customer loyalty. I’m not sure what rewards this man will receive, but he pulled it off. In his efforts to defend his mistake, he sent 50 years of goodwill packing. He probably got a medal or a bonus for his efforts.

Here it is as quickly as possible…

I ordered a pizza for my wife and me after Sunday worship. It had been a while since we had a Sunday afternoon without grandkids, and my wife was up for it. I went to the app to order it. The store I use the majority of the time was closed.

That seemed odd, but the weather had been bad, the flu was in full swing, and Pizza Hut had had staffing issues at multiple locations. Not to worry. I went to my alternate location. Both are about 40 minutes one way by car.

The app confirmed my order at the designated time in Clinton, Oklahoma. I hit the road, only to arrive and find no record of an order.

I gave the info to the people behind the app, and this is what I received in reply.

We don’t know why our app said the store was closed.

We sent you an email.

I told them I don’t check my email when I drive, and I shouldn’t need to once you confirm the order. The order I made was confirmed, and I was driving. That was an hour and a half wasted.

I’m going to say this again. I DO NOT CHECK OR READ MY EMAIL WHILE I AM DRIVING.

The person from Pizza Hut (Patrick S.) said he would send a coupon to the location where I had not ordered my pizza. I had previously told him that I was through with Pizza Hut, so his option was not to address the fraud on his part but to give me an option in which I couldn’t kick Pizza Hut to the curb if I wanted any compensation.

I think Patrick graduated from the School of Bait and Switch with honors.`

This one went to the credit card company, and the charges were reversed. I have not heard from Patrick or any other Pizza Hut representative.

I understand that companies make mistakes. Sometimes, their tech and devices make them for them, but when you are talking human to human, most companies worth their salt want to do right by their customers. Most.

To date, neither Patrick nor Pizza Hut has responded to this article.

I will conclude on a positive note. The Pizza Hut employees here in western Oklahoma are fantastic. It’s a shame the company doesn’t care about them or their customers. The local people are great, though.

PUTT, PUTT, NO MORE PIZZA HUT.