Yum!

I have had a visitor on this blog...from Yum! Brands Inc. in Texas. They were searching for 'Pizza Hut Free'

Should I be worried? Probably not.

Weeks

"Till isn't working"
"Ok engineer there next week"

Next week
"Yeah it needs replacing."
"Ok"
"Will take about 2 weeks to order it"

2 weeks later
"Has the new till come yet?"
"No someone in admin forgot to order it, it will be with you soon though"

One week later - man strolls into the Hut.
"Hi has a big brown box with EPOS written on the side arrived?"
"No"
"Ok I'll come back next week then but before I go can I get a drink?".

Efficient service I must say, they don't operate in days - just weeks. We are still waiting for this till.

Nobody said it was easy

A lady bought a single pizza, no fries etc - and then asked for tartar sauce. Tartar sauce with pizza - just plain margherita. Does anyone else think that's a bit weird?

A distressed lady then came up to the counter and asked for some napkins because she had "picked up the cup and the drink just went everywhere". I gave her a few and said that we don't clean up outside the store, so get one of the staff to clean up the rest. "Well I can't see anyof the staff to help!". I pointed to the three staff all wearing bright t shirts with the name of the shopping centre on clearing tables. Durr. Then I saw them cleaning it up, and the woman moved table. They were there for ages cleaning it up so it must have been a massive mess. Then she came back had a little rant about how flimsy the cups were. I explained the idea is you put a lid on them so they are stronger, she then ranted about how she didn't see the lids...they are right next to the drinks machine.

The hot weather seems to have made people go a bit crazy, I'm sure I've seen people wearing pyjamas.

Then at the end of the night, I was cleaning up some sticky substance from the wall and the music in the centre was The Scientist by Coldplay. It is the first time I've noticed the music to match my thoughts with "Nobody said it was easy..." when I'm scraping this stuff off the wall.

Refills

We are shut, so I'm taking the nozzles off the Britvic machine for cleaning. I leave them on the side, the shutter is half down. I walk away to get the mop and the next thing I hear is "ZZZZZZZZZZZZZ" - the sound of Pepsi syrup and carbonated water spraying everywhere, including on the child who has come to get a refill.

I sold this family a meal about 20 minutes because closing time, so really they did have enough time to get at least one refill...

Then I go away and think "What an idiot.." and see the mother getting up and heading towards me. Oh god here we go.

"I want my refill!"
"Sorry the machine has been taken apart now because we're closed"
"But you advertise free refills."
"You can have refills up until we close - we are closed"
"But it says free refills up there."
"Yes I know - there is also an opening hours sign up there telling you when we shut..."
"Well I want a bottle of water then!"
"Sorry you can't have one."
"Why?"
"You haven't paid for it."
"I shouldn't have to"
"The free refill deal is available up until we close and we are now closed, so sorry there is nothing more I can do".

I walked off and could see she was still hanging round...probably thinking about trying to get a drink, or asking to speak to the manager. Bugger that! I put the shutter down right in front of her before she had time to react.... I think you had to be there to see exactly how this worked, but it was brilliant!

There was some more general weirdness but I'll post about that tomorrow.

General weirdness

Hmm today my shift went quite quick, probably because it was half busy and the weirdos were out.

The first one I got was when cleaning the lobby area:

"Oooo this Pepsi is DELICIOUS!"
"Oh right...good...you can have refills"
"Wow - that is fantastic - this is the most delicious Pepsi I have ever tasted"
"Ok..."

What the hell was that about - the thing is, she was in her 50s and was actually being sincere about what she was saying.

The next one I had was about tea.

"What tea is it..?"
"Erm..its Twinings"
"God no, thats awful!"
"Huh?"
"That Twinings stuff is terrible."
"I'll just show you box so you can check.."
I get the box out
"PUT IT AWAY - HIDE IT - PUT IT AS FAR BACK AS POSSIBLE, I'll just stick with Tango please."

Another - what the !?

Then I had a guy from McDonalds who I spoke to just once before, came up and start chatting about how he'd had a beer on his break. Do I care? No - I don't even know your name - bugger off and flip some burgers.

Then I had a woman bark at me - like really shouting when ordering things. I can hear you thanks, no need to bark. She used no manners so I tried not to use any - but it is very difficult and I feel very rude when I don't - so she got "Thanks. Bye"

No I will not give you pepperoni on a kids meal. No you cannot 'upgrade' it. Don't moan at me, I can give you what is on my till and will only ever give you something not on it if I either: like or know you or you've waited a long time so need a bit of 'compensation'.

Oh and then at the end of my shift, these odd children came along and were attempting to do ICF themselves. Approx a 6 year old, lifting up a 2 year old to get the machine - she was really struggling and in the process making a hell of a mess. The parents are no where to be seen - arrrrgh!

100th post

This is my 100th post...which isn't all that much...but then when I think it is - in total it is probably the longest bit of writing I have ever done.

Anyway - check out this blog...Mystery Guest Alert.

I like to be stubborn sometimes.

This woman (I wasn't keen on her) has just paid for her meal. Then "omg" she produces some vouchers from her handbag.

"Oh yes...and I want this free dessert"
"Ah well I needed that when you ordered and paid because now I can't put it through. Sorry"
"WHAT"
"I can't give you the dessert because it has already gone through"
"What has gone through?"
"The order, in the till"
"Oh that is everyone's excuse these days! The till, the computer - just give me the pudding!"
"Sorry, but it does say on the voucher present at time of ordering. You have already ordeded...ok..."
"Well get your manager because I'm sure he can sort this out"

I go and talk to the manager, who I explain the story to in the back with some derogatory comments as well as discussing my hours next week.

"I asked him, he said we couldn't give it out for audit reasons"
"Well can I speak to him myself!"
"Sure..!"

"Hello - _____ has explained the situation to you, so unless you want to buy another meal you cannot get the free dessert, ok."

"Hmm well that is a load of bollocks!"

She went to sit down with the rest of her gypo family.

The same woman later:

"Can I just get a cup?"
"Yeah"
"Ok thanks"
"£1.09 please"
"WHAT?!"
"We charge for the cups...you can have as many refills as you want after though"
"This whole place is a load of bollocks!"

She slammed the cup down on the counter and went off.

Later on, we had a man with a moustache in. His pizza wasn't ready - but he seemed fine to wait for it. So it was in the oven, on a conveyor, cooking - nothing we could do, and by chance 3 of us were talking at the front while he was waiting. Then he flipped:

The manager was the one replying...
"What are you lot doing??? I have been standing here waiting for 10 minutes"
"Your pizza is in the oven..they take 6 minutes.."
"WELL MAYBE IF YOU LOT WEREN'T JUST STANDING THERE IT WOULD BE READY"
"Ok....."
"It isn't just 'oookay' - stop chatting and get my pizza"
"Calm down"
"I AM CALM, but I am getting fed up of waiting"
"Ahhh it is out now"

This manager doesn't have the best customer service skills, but that makes it all the more amusing.

Also, we have all got Pizza Hut Discount Cards now. They have punctuation errors on them of course - head office produced them.

eBay

I wondered how long it would be until these appeared on eBay.....

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170103267782

Not very long anyway!

Maybe I should get a bundle and make some £££.

Searches

I have this clever little tool, like many other Bloggers which records how people get to this blog.

A few are through searching the internet....and here are some of the terms they used to get here.


kids meal restaurant - yes, we have kids meals.


how to become a pizza hut manager - most of the managers have been promoted from lower positions.


isn't worth the hassle of returns - IT IS ALWAYS WORTH THE HASSLE!!!


securitas vehicle under attack - I wonder why.


pizza hut team member blog - a very precise search, bordering on scary.


pizza hut team member - another precise search.


alasdair murdoch pizza hut - he is the new-ish CEO, and he seems to be doing quite good!


pizza hut uk application form - get one from your local restaurant.


how old do you have to be to work in pizza hut? - 16.

Veggie berk.

I started my shift with this:

"Veggie burger and small fries please"
"Erm.....ha...this is Pizza Hut"
"Yes and I want a veggie burger and fries"
"We don't do veggie burgers.."
"YES YOU DO - IT SAYS IT UP THERE - VEGGIE"
"Yeah, that's a veggie pizza."
"THATS WHAT I BLOODY WELL WANT!"
"Oh right because you said a veggie BURGER"
"I did NOT do such a thing"
"Okay........"
Then I went through the process blah blah blah.

Then I was cleaning some dirt of the little door, and I get "IS ANYONE GOING TO BOTHER SERVING ME???!!!!!!!!" She bought a tea which was 79p. I then watched her fill it with a hot chocolate which is £1.39. We give out smaller cups for tea, so if you have anything else we know. This happened, haha. I could of told her she couldn't have hot chocolate because she'd need to pay more - but watching her spill it was funnier. (She knew she couldn't have hot chocolate because I saw her trying to shield what she was doing.)

Ooo and we have the new menu. It is nice, upsells galore on it. The kids meal has got confusing. The chocolate pudding has got even more confusing. It is the exact same one as KFC have (we are both part of Yum! Inc). Now - guess what KFC call it - Baked Chocolate Sponge. This is exactly what it is. Pizza Hut decided to call it - Chocolate Mousse. They soon realised their mistake however, THREE weeks after...and they have now renamed it "Chocolate cheesecake, with a sponge filling, chocolate sauce topping and milk chocolate swirls". We have no idea where the cheesecake bit came from, there is nothing like cheesecake in it. So we have 13 words as opposed to 3 - you know it makes sense.

And those in charge have also, decided to give us some vouchers. We sometimes put them on the tray ready for a customer. You get some vouchers when you buy something. Please don't steal one, and then try to use it in the same transaction. When I tell you can't do that, don't come back in 2 minutes and try to use it - I AM NOT THICK.

Also, on the subject of me being thick - never try to give me crap foreign coins, because I notice everytime. No I will not accept this 20 god knows what, from god knows where in replacement for a 5p. Yes I know it is only 5p - but I don't care, if you haven't paid in full then why should you get the food.

Finally - I saw one of the water boys/chav/general horrid children getting an application form for another fast food outlet...aaaaaaahahahhaha even they won't have you - well not after our manager told their manager about you getting removed from the centre because you threw ice cream around in our restaurant.

So slow.

Some people are just SO SLOW. I wanted to clean up the drinks areas, because it was dutty and I needed to stock up the lids. I was standing there for what seemed like an hour (probably 30 seconds) watching a prune getting a drink, then waiting for the fizz/bubbles to go down, because they'd gone a bit crazy, and then stirring TANGO.

Oh and on the subject of drinks I also over heard someone go "No don't get me the full fat Pepsi - get the skimmed one if they have it". Ok..

Then I went outside to dump some rubbish and witnessed a Securitas van being robbed. Ok it wasn't being robbed but it did have an alarm and was shouting "HELP HELP - security vehicle under attack - please call the police!". The driver was just standing there going "No don't call the police, the computer has gone wrong so I'm just waiting for the battery to die". He was so concerned about the alarm that he went to McDonalds, bought a coffee and sat down.

One last thing - how should I respond when someone goes "How big is a 6 inch pizza?". It happens everyday and I need something witty that won't get complaints.

Wallets

People's wallets/purses are quite personal things. If you lose it, then you are probably buggered for at least a day, and more likely a week whilst waiting for things to come through...plus you might have lost photos etc.

Anyway, the reason I'm saying this, is because I served a bloke who was using an empty cigarette packet as a wallet. Hand all sorts of stuff in there...just seemed funny/mean at the time.

And in the same day, someone dropped about 10 passport photos of children...must have fallen from their wallet, we've still got them - so maybe they haven't noticed.

That's all really - bit of a gap filler!

Extra cheese

Our new pizza:

'Pepperoni Feast Extra cheese, double pepperoni'

I've been studying the manuals and I can't get where they get that this pizza has extra cheese. It has half a cup on the bottom + half a cup on top. Thats one cup. All pizzas we make get one cup.

Hmm...

That's all I had to say!

WELL DONE

This is my 92nd post. Soon I'll reach 100 posts...

Today a man asked for his pizza 'well done' like he's at some posh restaurant ordering fillet steak! I said they were already made, showed them to him - he liked them, so thats £7.98 in my till! Brilliant.

The brainiacs at Imperial Place are on to a winner with the new menu they've introduced. The Pepperoni feast is very popular, and the double your fries deal for 30p has increased average spend by around 20p - that's a lot of money each year for Pizza Hut..more bonuses for the managers, and if we're VERY lucky maybe some Capital Bond vouchers for us. They've nicked the Whitbread discount from us though, apparently we're getting a new Pizza Hut one - hmm!

I had another one of these idiots in who likes to complain about the prices. I don't set them, I don't care what you think to be honest about them - I get what I want for free or if I'm not working at the time, for 50%, so it will never be expensive to me thanks.

Basically the new menu has changed the kids meal...although it is better it has made it difficult for the simpler people to understand. I don't think this guy was simple, just a bit odd:

"I don't really think fries and chicken dippers is a very substantial meal for kid."
Thinking "Me neither" Said - "Oh...well you do get a drink, or have a pizza instead - and add a dessert for 50p"
"WELL IT IS ALL JUNK FOOD!"
Thinking - "YES IT BLOODY IS!!" Said - Nothing
"Well I want the pepperoni on the kids meal"
"You can only have margherita on the kids meal"
"WHY ON EARTH IS THAT"
"Because it is only £2.49 and it is a kids meal afterall"
"Well kids meals should be cheaper than an adults meal!"
"A kids meal is actually cheaper than buying a pizza on its own.."

They then told me what they wanted (oh yes he had a approx. 7 year old daughter with him)...

I told them it would work out cheaper if they had a pizza meal.
"WELL THAT WAS WHAT I WAS GOING TO HAVE - IT IS NOT FOR KIDS!"
"It is cheaper like that, and you don't get a toy or anything in the kids meal anyway"
"I think Pizza Hut in general is just ripping people off you know."
"Oh well, if.."
"THERE ARE PLENTY OF OTHER PIZZA PLACES YOU KNOW!"
Thinking - "Oh really can you name any other chain that has 700+ stores in the UK? :-)"
He then wanted a 'special' pizza making. In a FSR this isn't a problem, in Express it isn't really a problem either but I wasn't keen on him.
"We have 5 set pizzas so that the pizzas are ready instantly." I pointed to the "READY TO GO" sign while saying "This is Pizza Hut Express."
"This is bloody stupid. I am not going to eat what YOU want me to, I will eat what I want to."
"Shall I cancel your order?"
"YES - COME ON ----- WE WILL GO TO A PROPER PIZZA RESTAURANT!"

So off they went...probably spent about 15 quid in our neighbouring FSR!

Eww and finally, we had a group of 7 chav scum in today, I hate them with a passion now. They think because they've bought a 99p ICF they own the place and can demand what they want. When I said no they couldn't have a 4th spoon, they said "I'll report it to your manager then!" - ok you do that, he is the one who just turned off the ICF to stop you and your nasty dirty crew making a mess and being general scabs. Arrrgh.

Did I ever post about the guy who wanted his pizza wrapped in 2 boxes and 2 bags because he was afraid it would fall out, then was complaining that the boxes were 'crap' along with the fries which were 'shit'? I can't remember now...