Shakey's: If it's WRONG it's FREE!

I enjoy eating pizzas, thus my Panget decided to get the Shakey’s Pizzanatic card. This card has served its purpose because since I got pregnant, we have ordered a bunch of pizzas. The branch that served us usually was the one located in Quezon Avenue, but for our last order – it was the Waltermart Munoz that served us.

Shakey’s has this thing – if it’s late, it’s FREE! The time frame was 45 minutes, quite long if you think about it because we’re so used to the 30 minutes or less thing but then again – I gave it a chance. So my Panget and I ordered, the hotline person I spoke to told me to synchronize our time – and I did. I also gave specific instructions to have my pizza cut into squares and to prepare change for a bigger bill. These instructions I repeated, so that the person on the other end will remember and take note of. After the order, my Panget and I waited. And we waited – on the 40th minute, I gave the hotline a call informing them that the pizza hasn’t arrived yet. And 7 minutes later, the pizza arrived.

Since it arrived 2 minutes late – it should be free right? Well, technically yes – but the rider insisted that he was early – he even showed my helper his watch! My helper on the other hand, pointed to the clock near the gate and the difference was a good 8 minutes. So whose time should we have followed? I immediately called the hotline to complain – according to their clocks, my clock’s time and their’s was the same. So my helper insisted that it was free, but the rider was – well also very persistent that he was on time – he then decided to give his supervisor a call. The supervisor also insisted to me that the rider arrived on time – when I asked to look at his watch, surprisingly – the time matched with the clock near the gate! My helper was already laughing when she saw this – she said, how could a difference of 8 minutes be an exact match 5 minutes later? Was his watch running too fast or was our running too slow?

After a few more arguments here and there – the supervisor gave in and said that the pizza will be given for free, but take note – he told me specifically that the pizza was ON TIME. I told him again – how come there was a time difference with the rider’s watch and our clock then after 5 minutes, they magically matched! I found it really silly – good thing, the hotline’s clock matched with mine. I was willing to pay, had the driver not insisted he was on time nor had his watch adjusted for the time to become later. I felt cheated that is why I complained! Had the driver been honest and apologized for being late for 2 minutes – I would have let it go and paid.

Fast forward to last night. I was craving and I thought, it has been a while since we last ordered a Shakey’s Pizza. So I called the hotline, placed my order and specifically told the person on the other line that I wanted my pizza cut into squares and to prepare change for a bigger bill. I had to say my instruction thrice – to make sure she understood, and she said she did. So when we synchronized our time, I was secretly thinking – I hope the branch that will serve us will read the instructions carefully.

I was hoping for another free pizza, but unfortunately they were on time! The pizzas arrived on the 40th minute.

But wait – my helper called to ask me ‘Is it okay if the pizzas aren’t cut into squares?’

BINGO!

Of course, I said it was not okay – I specifically gave instructions for the pizzas to be cut into squares, I even repeated it. I called the hotline to report and this person who took my call was English speakingly-challenged, I had to repeat myself three times, I already spoke to her in Tagalog YET she still chose to reply in English! (Out of Topic – there’s nothing to be ashamed of if you can’t speak straight English, I won’t judge you! I’d rather you speak in Tagalog than make a fool of yourself!) The hotline supervisor told me to keep my line open so that the servicing branch will call me. So, the rider and I waited for the servicing branch to call us. And when they did – I immediately asked for the branch! And true enough – it was again Waltermart Munoz! They told me that the current pizzas will be given FREE and that the rider will come back with the correct cut pizzas and those I will need to pay. It was a good enough solution– I spoke to the assistant manager, I told her to check and re-read the special instructions EVERY time, so that they won’t have this kind of error again. I also told her that they this is the second time that they’ve serviced me and that there was always an issue. The square cut pizzas arrived about 40 minutes later – I honestly did not time it anymore.

Moral of the story – had the branch read and understood the instructions, I wouldn’t be given the FREE pizzas. You see, I have been noticing more and more that people lately have poor listening skills and only hear and understand the LAST sentence or word that you mention. They do not listen to the whole conversation BUT instead only choose to hear the last sentence AND deduce from the last words that you utter.