If you are looking for a pizza experience highlighted by incompetent, inaccurate and uncaring this is the place.
Today (4/28/18) I called the hotline, interested in ordering 2 Pizza for Smiles promo pizzas, a fundraiser for the Children's Miracle Network. In the interest of full disclosure I have not ordered ANYTHING from this chain, because in the past they NEVER got an order right, and I got sick and tired of meaningless credits. But I wanted to support the cause and had had a positive walk-in experience at the Bovaird and Hurontario location two days before.
So I called with the intention to place the order for walk-in. I was told by one customer service staff that I could only place the order for walk-in if I added a regular menu item. Nothing like a classic Pizza Pizza money grab right off the top. I told the staff that I only wished to order two of the promo pizzas and asked kindly if they could simply place the order to save me the trouble of waiting unnecessarily at the store. The staff said they could not help, nor the manager they transferred me to. After hanging up it occurred to me to call back to see if I could place the order directly through the store. Surprise, surprise no simple fix there, they do not provide store numbers, could not simply transfer me and of course no one offered to contact the store on my behalf. But they were happy to do so if I added an expensive and unwanted other item.
I drove 15 min the cold to the store. I placed the order with staff Kajal, who could not navigate her own register, as she tried to charge me $6.99 for the 5.99 promo item, which I pointed out and had her correct. I asked that the pizzas be prepared with a garlic pizza base and they placed the order, took my money and I waited 20 min. When they brought the pizza, I asked if it was prepared as to order. Lord and behold, NO, tomato base. A manager, who wore no badge and did not provide a name, told me I would have to accept the pizza as is and they would provide a garlic dipping sauce. At this point, for obvious reasons I had reached my limit and refused and they just refunded my money, and withheld the receipt from me when I asked for the complaints number. They provided me with my order number handwritten on register paper.
Now for an additional sparkling Pizza Pizza telephone customer service experience. I called back and waited through muzak, repeatedly called, as mysteriously calls to the customer service extension kept disconnecting, before being connected to Amal. He offered weak apologies and said he could not do anything. I should note I began this rollercoaster at 8PM, but this time it was 10 PM and I am seated in my car, in the cold, after having driven to the store for nothing, STARVING! I asked to speak to another manager and was transferred to Susan, #9236. She condescendingly told me, "Well they gave you your money back", after speaking to her and waiting on 3 separate occasions on hold for her to hunt down the transaction and communicate with the store. She indicated the store tried to appease me by giving me dipping sauce and that they could not substitute the sauce in store. I replied that the store I went to Friday happily did so (let's be real, its the difference of squeezing two bottles), after refusing to take my order over the phone, making me drive in the cold to and from the store, not notifying me at POS that they substitution was not possible, that giving me my money back was not an excuse for their unprofessional behavior or the farcical experience. She stated there was nothing to be done. I asked to escalate the matter further. To be honest by this point it was clear that Pizza Pizza's customer service was the equivalent of a fart in the air, no substance, smelled bad and inescapable. I spoke with Alan, who heard me out and agreed to confer as to remuneration for my time. He put me on hold, AGAIN for another 5-8 minutes of time, after he acknowledged the service experience was abysmal, that mistakes were made by staff, that I wasted gas to drive to the store (at 134 a gallon, not a small price), time and was left hungry. But he of course returned and chimed there was "nothing else to do", as they had done me the GRAND GESTURE OF GIVING ME MY MONEY BACK. You eating here? It could not be more clear this chain does NOT care about customers, has no customer service skills, and cannot deliver a basic cheese pizza with a pepperoni smile, for charity, to its customers. God forbid you order something complicated.