Papa John's customer service gets an A+

After ordering two pizzas online for my staff last week from Papa John's, I was told that delivery would be within 30-45 min. Ok, not too bad. I ordered at 11:45 and expected delivery sometime around 12:30. Well 12:30 comes and goes, and then 1:15 comes and goes. I made a call around 12:45 and was told it was already on its way. Finally, at 1:25 the pizza shows up.

But that's when the bad news ended. I went online to the PJ's customer feedback section and filled out my complaint form. Thinking this would get me nowhere, since that had been my historical truth with any other company, I explained the situation in detail, more for my venting purposes than expectations of anything on PJ's side. I hit the Submit button and went back to my cold (but still tasty) pizza.

About two hours later, I received an automated email saying my complaint was received and sorry for the inconvenience. I assumed this was the end of the line. I was wrong.

The next day I received a call from Papa John's corporate office saying how sorry they were that I had a bad experience. I was told my complaint was sent to the local store of purchase and that I could expect a call in the next few days. Yesterday I received a call from the store manager saying that she was out of town last week, but just got back and say my complaint. She apologized for my experience and immediately offered two free pizzas for my trouble. I didn't even have to pay twenty-three cents. Free!

So let this be a lesson to other customer facing organizations. Whether you sell pizza or widgets, there are two key lessons here that Papa John's aced. First, have a place for customer feedback. Nothing is more annoying than wanting to complain and not being able to. Second, actually follow up with upset customers. I didn't ask for or expect free pizza, but PJ offered it because they want my business and knew I was upset.

Will I order from Papa John's again? You bet.