Should you give a Refund?

As some of you already know, I'm really picky about pizza. Yes, pizza. Although I've lived in Colorado most of my life, I was born in Northern New Jersey and there must be some sort of genetic code that makes me a pizza snob. Anyway, for the longest time it was a struggle to get what I would consider "real" pizza here in Colorado Springs.

The past few years we've been very fortunate to now have a few really good restaurants that serve authentic, New York style pizza: Large, thin but chewy crust, lots of cheese. Mmmm. Last week I ordered a pie (that's what we call it) at my favorite place, Brooklyn Kitchen. I called in my order for pick-up and was told it would be thirty minutes. I arrive about thirty-five minutes later and my pizza is not ready. They're having a problem with their oven.

Now I want to be sure this is clearly understood. This is not a complaint about this business. I believe they treated me well. They treated me fairly. And they provided me with good customer service. This is merely my opinion of how I might advise them to do something slightly different in similar situations in the future.

So, back to my story. They're having a problem with their oven and they're going to re-make my order. Yes, this is an inconvenience, as I know I now have to wait for another twenty to thirty minutes, but I can certainly appreciate them wanting to get their product right. This is respectable and a good thing. Also, they recognized my imposition and refunded my money. Free pizza! Yeah.

This is where I have a difference of opinion, from a business perspective. I believe they should have kept my money, but given me a coupon for a free pizza on a future visit. This would have accomplished mainly two things. One, I would have been just as satisfied as I still received a free pizza. But more importantly, for the business, it would have meant that in order to receive my free benefit I would have to come back again. This would enable them to provide me with a better experience the next time.

Now I know that this was an isolated incident with this business, and they did well by me. However, things like this happen from time to time. If I were a different person, or had not ordered from them before, I might just take my free pizza that night and still never come back. Again, if you give the same value for the item on a future visit, you as a business have the opportunity to still gain them as a long-time and loyal customer.

If you have an opinion, please let me know. However, I still don't think I'd change my mind! To find and reward locally owned and operated businesses throughout the US that do provide great customer service, visit our web site: www.iswami.com

Tony Rose