Pizza Express rip-off

soop2

I ordered a 14" romana pizza from my local Pizza Express and it was 12" instead of 14".

I looked at it, and thought it was 12", so I looked up the stats for my phone, measured it, and it was. The manager was a real jerk about it, saying "what do you want me to do?"

May not sound like much, but the surface area of a 12" is 25% less than 14". I'm complaining at the moment, but has anyone else experienced this? Depending on how the complaint is dealt with, I might come back here for advice.

diable

Never had a problem with them myself, just think how many less calories you have ingested.

soop2

Well, I don't need to watch my weight, but I didn't get to pay £2.80 less or whatever.

I did get some dough though.

soop2

Thank you for your email of 22 May 2010 regarding your recent visit to PizzaExpress Berkeley Square. I would like to apologise for your disappointment on this occasion, and to reassure you that I have investigated the issues you have raised.

Having spoken to the Restaurant Manager __________ earlier today, he has reassured me that your Romana pizza was made to PizzaExpress standard. He would like to apologise for appearing evasive or arrogant when dealing with your feedback, and wants me to assure you that his attempts to show you the pizza screens used to cook our Romana bases, were with the best intentions; our pizza screens are consistent throughout all our restaurants nationwide and allow us to maintain consistency in preparing the dough fresh to order to the correct dimensions on each and every occasion. They are 14” screens.

I sincerely hope that your experience at PizzaExpress Berkeley Square will not deter you from returning as Blair and the team would be happy to restore your faith in PizzaExpress, and in our Romana pizza’s. Thank you once again for your feedback as it is only on receipt of customer comments that we can monitor and improve our standards of service and quality.

Kind regards,


And my response:


Thanks for your reply, and please thank _______ for the apology. I'm sure it's a difficult situation as a manager, as it is for a customer who obviously both feel at odds.
However, the fact remains, whatever the size of the screen, the size of the pizza was around 12". It might seem silly to make such a big deal of it, but I guess I'm quite fussy when it comes to food, especially pizza.
I've had some good times at the restaurant over the years, but I can't say in good concience that I'll be returning in the near future.

All the best Ms Walker,

So Pizza Express use a 14" screen great. But don't go there if you want a 14" pizza.

*manda*

I'm surprised they didn't offer you any compensation- I've always found they go out of their way to make sure you're happy.

Mark_Hewitt

So how can using a 14" 'screen' mean you end up with a 12" pizza. ... confusing.

liz545

Is it supposed to be like when you order a 10oz steak, and the measurement refers to the uncooked weight/size? I'd imagine that when the pizzas are baked the bases will shrink a little bit as they rise, so it may have been 14" when it went into the oven.

soop2

I think that's what they're implying, but I don't see how a pizza can shrink by 2". That's a massive amount of shrinkage.

And when you get a 12" pizza from anywhere else, it's 12" when you actually eat it.

BigAndy_79

Can't believe they didn't give you anything as compensation myself. Boycott them - that is the way forward, imo...

tpsjrm

Pizza dough rises in the oven - it doesn't shrink. I think you've been ripped off!

BLT_2

soop2 wrote: »

I ordered a 14" romana pizza from my local Pizza Express and it was 12" instead of 14".

I looked at it, and thought it was 12", so I looked up the stats for my phone, measured it, and it was. The manager was a real jerk about it, saying "what do you want me to do?"

May not sound like much, but the surface area of a 12" is 25% less than 14". I'm complaining at the moment, but has anyone else experienced this? Depending on how the complaint is dealt with, I might come back here for advice.

You carry a tape measure around with you? That is disturbing. "honest love it is 4 inches long, look I have a tape measure" :rotfl: