On Saturday I was in the sudden mood for “chicken ranch pizza”. The only place locally that I know that has chicken ranch pizza is Broadway Pizza in Apple Valley. We have ordered and dined in at this location numerous times. I believe they used to have a location in Eagan but I don’t see it listed on their website — maybe it closed?
Anyway, I called up to order for *pickup*. A simple large chicken ranch pizza (minus the onions and garlic). I was asked for my phone number. I said I’d prefer to not give it out. The Broadway Pizza employee said that it was required to place my order. I gave them 952-000-0000 and immediately the call was taken over by another person at the restaurant who again demanded my phone number.
I questioned their need to have my phone number for a *pickup* order and they said it was for “order tracking”. IMHO, there is absolutely no need to track orders (or verify orders) with a phone number if the customer is coming in person to pick it up. Well, they disagreed and I chose to take my business elsewhere for the evening. Not a problem for me!
Anyway, after that, I was fairly disappointed and felt that I might get somewhere if I sent an e-mail via their official channels. Here is the e-mail that (as of yet) has not been replied to:
My name is Bill Roehl and my family were fairly regular customers at
your Apple Valley location. Because I’m protective of my personal information,
I don’t care to give out my phone number when ordering for pickup.This Saturday, I called the Apple Valley store for a pizza and was
asked for my phone number. I politiely declined and was pressed for
it. After I told them 952-000-0000 another individual got on the line
who again demanded my phone number. I asked them why they were so
insistent on my number when I was only coming to pick it up. I was
told, “because we track your order by phone number.”In the day and age of Do Not Call Lists and extensive personal privacy
abuse by corporations and individuals, I have a *responsibilty* to
protect my personal privacy. The second I offer your corporation my
phone number I immediately opt-out of any of the rights gained by
being on the DNC list for you and your subsidaries.Your Apple Valley store’s insistence on this information made me
second guess my choice of pizza locations this evening and I was more
than happy to move to a competitor *and* explain my displeasure to
you.My only suggestion for your company is to realize that the personal
privacy of your customers should become more important to you than the
“effective” tracking of pizza order history and that your staff should
be immediately retrained to not ask for phone numbers on orders that
require no staff interaction (i.e. home delivery verification) if the
customer chooses to opt-out.I hope that a change will be made to the way you choose to handle
your business and that I will be notified of those changes. I look
forward to hearing from you.
Well, that’s the last time that I will eat at a Broadway Pizza location and I seriously suggest that you try any of the 1000 other pizza outlets across the South Metro including Carbone’s Pizza in Lakeville.
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May 1st, 2006 at 7:55 am
They do that so people don’t stiff them on their orders. They have to have some way to look up and verify people on their computer system. That’s what I would guess anyway. There are still people who stiff them, but it’s probably fewer in number. Less information=lost revenue. When people call me soliciting I just ask them to put me on their do not call list and I’ve never had anybody say anything to me after that and there have been no calls back.
Or hey, you could at least give a regular fake number.
May 1st, 2006 at 8:28 pm
Then they shouldn’t argue with me when I tell them that it’s 952-000-0000 :) Giving me a hassle = more lost revenue than if they didn’t!
September 28th, 2006 at 6:28 pm
I completely understand your point :) - On the flipside to being *required* to whore out my phone number, the little Caller-ID feature is nifty. Any phone number that is *Unknown*, not in my Address book or a number I readily recognize, goes to v-mail. If it’s important enough, they’ll leave a message :)
October 27th, 2006 at 6:17 pm
I agree with Bill - COMPLETELY!
If Broadway Pizza is concerned about getting “stiffed” for a pizza, they could very easily solve the problem. Requiring customers to pay for their pizza at the time of order (for delivery or pick up) with a credit card, etc. would ensure their payment and our right to keep our phone numbers private.
I live in the Minneapolis area where we have several Broadway Pizza locations nearby. Fortunately, as Bill indicated there are also many other pizza parlors (Mama Donato’s in Robbinsdale is another great choice!). It is any other pizza parlor, but Broadway Pizza, that I will give my business until or unless they find a different policy.
July 2nd, 2007 at 11:56 pm
I always assumed all take-out places asked for your number. . . We’re stuck with only two pizza places in town (neither anywhere near as good as Broadway Pizza) and they always ask for phone numbers for take-out (my number is blocked). I’ve never been solicited by either of them, but they do occasionally call back to confirm a large order (football parties) or let me know if it is running late.
I’ve been to the Apple Valley Broadway Pizza a few times and they seemed nice enough (and the pizza was phenomenal!). I understand where you are coming from, but it may be a bit of an overreaction to get upset at something as minor as this. There are plenty of other things that are much more worth your time to get bent out of shape about … and now you’ve got me craving chicken ranch pizza!
July 6th, 2007 at 9:34 pm
I wanted to respond to these comments.
First of all, thanks to all the positive comments above. We try hard at Broadway in Apple Valley to satisfy every customer. Unfortunately, we fail from time to time.
Bill, I understand where you are coming from. If you do not want to give out your phone number, you should not have to. But on the other side of that, if it is our policy to require a phone number, we should also have that right. I could go through the reasons we require a phone number, but I think that has already been covered. In the 12 years I have owned Broadway Pizza, I have never had anyone hesitate to give their phone number. To be perfectly honest, we did not know how to handle it.
Bill, if you would like to come into our restaurant and place a dine-in or take-out order, we do not require a phone number.
P.S. My favorite pizza is the Primo Plus (Famous Broadway Sausage, Pepperoni, Onion, Breakfast Bacon and Extra Cheese)
Thanks
Dave Trumble
Owner and Operator
Broadway Pizza in Apple Valley
952-953-3303
info@broadwaypizzaapplevalley.com
July 15th, 2007 at 6:57 pm
I asked Dave Trumble in a verification e-mail if it has always been there policy to accept orders without a phone number or if it was changed in response to this post. While he responded that he did indeed write the post, he did not answer my other question.
I am glad that my post did something positive for the community and I really hope that other restaurants and businesses including The UPS Store.
June 25th, 2008 at 5:45 pm
Bill- after accidentally stumbling upon your blog, I have to say I’m a little surprised at your reaction. To me, it seemed way over the top. And Dave did answer your policy question. He said that if a company has a policy, which he indirectly stated that Broadway Pizza does, then they should have the right to enforce it.
I get the uncertainty in giving out your phone number, but I have ordered from Broadway many times and have gone through that process as well, never receiving any solicitation. Anyway, I wouldn’t worry too much if a place asks you for your number.
June 25th, 2008 at 6:22 pm
Shane, to each their own.