Papa Johns Pizza

Greatest place on earth to work! Call and ask for me. I'll get it there faster than Jimmy Johns.

Special Order. It was Sunday afternoon/evening, May 19th at 5:51pm that I called Papa John's store #1000 for a delivery order. I was planning a surprise for my girlfriend of 364 days for our anniversary eve because she enjoys pizza almost as much as I do. I went with Papa Johns because their crust tastes like real baked bread and I'm not a fan of massive amounts of grease; my girlfriend isn't a fan of grease either (one of the many reasons we've been together for this long).

I was greeted with a polite but tired gentleman on the line after listening to an overenthusiastic recording of a young woman talking about buffalo chicken pizza and the fact I can probably avoid listening to these ads by ordering online. But tonight was special and I'd not be ordering online because my pizza needed to be unique tonight.

...I digress.

I let the gentleman know I wished to order a large pepperoni pizza (girlfriend's favorite (mine too)) for delivery to her apartment complex and I wished for them to draw a heart on the inside cover of the box. I gave him the address and he gave me my total, $16 and change. I let him know I'd be paying cash and he said, "great." I thanked him and pulled the phone from my ear and watched the "call ended" blurb come up onscreen.

Feeling pleased with myself, I pocketed my phone and started up to my girlfriend's apartment. 45 minutes didn't seem like a long time to wait when I would be tantalizingly drawing out the suspense of a promised surprise with her.

At about 7pm we headed down to wait on the front step and my girlfriend kept prying for clues as to what the surprise was. We waited a little over an hour in total before at 6:57pm I called store #1000 to ask where my delivery was.

I was informed that my order was, essentially, never taken because they did not have a phone number for my order. The gentleman who took my order apologized and verified my number before informing me he'd be getting my pizza to me with the next driver. I thanked him and ended the call, thinking to myself, "Don't they have caller ID?"

At this point my girlfriend began to get quite grumpy. I hadn't eaten for several hours longer than usual at this point because I had traveled to spend the evening with her directly from work. Even at this point I was still planning to tip the driver at least 20% for the delivery because it was a special occasion and I appreciated being able to have the added touch of some pizza box art for my girlfriend. I was just looking forward to some delicious pizza.

I wait another 45 minutes.

My girlfriend starts getting increasingly irritated even around the 30 minute mark of this second delivery attempt. I was just looking forward to surprising her, I wasn't planning on getting upset about a late pizza. Then Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles references played in my mind.

...I digress again.

At 7:44pm I called Papa John's store #1000 for the third time, this being the second time I'd be asking where my pizza was for almost two hours from my initial call that night. I explained that I had called two hours before, requesting delivery, and I was wondering where my pizza was. The phone sounded like it was handed to a younger gentleman who apologized for all the confusion and for my pizza not leaving for delivery yet. As a food professional myself, I understood that businesses sometimes have snags like this so I thanked him for his clarification as he proceeded to get my information processed completely this time. He let me know that he would be making the pizza "extra special" and that he would be comping the entire thing. He asked me if I'd like some writing within the heart on the inside cover of the pizza box.

So I told my girlfriend to cover her ears.

He took the rest of my order and assured me it would be on the way as soon as possible. I told him I appreciated his decision and I thanked him before hanging up.

I waited with my girlfriend for about 30 minutes before I received a call from the driver who was driving up the side street in front of me. The driver got out, explaining, "They did the best they could, it's a bunch of guys there." I had to laugh.

I thanked the driver and turned, pizza in hand, to my girlfriend. While walking over to her, I lifted the lid to myself and a sly smirk crossed my face.

I showed her the box, which had a large, black permanent marker heart on the lid. She smiled for the first time in an hour.

I opened the box to her to reveal a drawing of a heart with her name in it. The pizza itself was in the shape of a heart as well.

So I guess I just wanted to share this story. I got my pizza. It came with a drawing. I was prepared to pay and tip well but I appreciate the way Papa John's store #1000 handled this situation.

All's well that ends well. Thank you Papa John's store #1000.

I love Papa John's!! Never disappoint me! Was fresh, cheesy, hot! I recommend Papa johns! Had mine sent through delivery and it was still hot and fresh when I got it.

Had not ordered in months. The pizza was prepared as requested. Half with meat the other half with vegetables. Tried the jalapeno bites, which I enjoyed.

Very kind staff! I love that they have a drive thru window. They follow special requests & work quickly.

This Papa John’s was probably the most unexpected, genuinely hospitable retailers I’ve ever been in. These girls were naturally polite (Hats off to your parents.) and….. cool. And my order was right.