I realize that franchises are owned by different groups, can be run by different people, and can have a general inconsistency across their universe. Even if all locations start with the same ingredients and instructions, results differ. Chains are very difficult to review because of that. Some do a good job, some don't.
There are good things and bad things about Papa John's. First, I want to say that I have always found the staff here to be friendly and accommodating, no matter when I would go there. I also think Papa John's online ordering system to be rather convoluted. Once, no matter what I tried, the system would not recognize their promo code. While I understand the kinks have been worked out, I just find it quicker and easier to get on the phone and call them.
But by going online you can get some interesting information. I had a coupon for a one-item, medium pizza for $7.99 that I wanted to use. I called and used it to order a pepperoni pizza. By going online I could see that it should come with 32 slices of pepperoni. It actually came with 28 slices, a full 12.5% under what was advertised. I don't know if the discrepancy was the result of an overzealous corporate advertising manager, an employee not being correctly trained, or a local manager trying to cut expenses. But I know I felt slighted. You should NEVER get less that what's promised.
The pie measured a full 12 inches across, but the edge crust measured between 1 and 1 1/2 inches in places. The container of garlic dipping sauce helps, even enhances, devouring those crust edges. I found the pizza sauce to be sweet, the cheese a bit less than I prefer (is someone skimping on cheese?), and the crust to be much like most other places. All in all I think it would be indistinguishable from most other chains (except those really bad ones, you know who you are) in a blind taste test. I was disappointed because, while I haven't eaten their pizza in a while, I always found them to be better than most. For that reason I am going to have to give them only three stars.