Yay, actual good corporate decision!

[pageantmama]

My husband has had a LOT of issues with people lately coming in and saying that they have called about a problem with a pizza and should be "on the list" to get a free one. But lo and behold he has no record of it. Or someone calling in and saying that they have a problem with their pizza then sending someone else in with no box or anything that is required to get a comped pizza. So he finally requested a meeting with the corporate owners and brought up the idea to not only have the box to get a pizza issue fixed but because of people not being "on the list" or people digging in their dumpster or other peoples garbages to get a box to bring in(yes they have caught multiple people doing this and even put a lock on the dumpster, which then gets broken) they should require the person to bring in the box of the offending pizza AND get a copy of their ID. That way they can say Oh we have to check ID's to make sure no one else comes in and gets your free pizza and says they are you (which has also happened several times, someone comes in to get their free pizza, then a few hours later someone else comes in and says they called earlier, and then shows their ID to prove it is really them. So their friend comes in pretending to be them, then the actual person that called comes in and throws up a fuss so they both got free pizza) but in reality they are keeping a record of repeat offenders so that they know who is doing this over and over and can finally bring it up and tell them that they have had multiple issues with them and basically ask why they continue to get food there if it is always wrong

So anyway, after going back and forth with the idea, they said yes! They are going to test it in his store and if it helps cut down on scammers then they will start using it in other stores as well. I told him they should put it in the computer system like Walmart, they do 3 returns without a receipt and then you are out of luck if you do not have your receipt and it is shown at all stores so you can't hop from store to store. That way they can't use up all their free pizza complaints and then move on. He said if it goes well he may bring that up too

[barainga]

Wow...
Its a great idea and it will cut down on scammers but only if corp doesnt cave.

[earl colby pottinger]

Store Records

I hope the store records are already detailed enough to show the increase in profit margins. So even if the number of pizzas shipped takes a major drop, the profits should go up since you are no longer giving away free stuff.

Even if for some strange reason profits stay flat, costs should go down meaning you are making more money per dollar spend by the owners. Increasing ROI is always seen as a good thing.

Hopeful the owners will not only move this to all stores, but they will start boasting to the other chains out there who will have to copy them or see their own scam rates go up.

If this became standard in the food industry, maybe a few SCs will starve them since they don't know how to buy food like the rest of us.

[emax4]

Do you take ideas submitted by posters?

The number can be a date of the month and day with an abbreviated address at the end. So if Joe Schmoe orders it today and lives on 123 main st, it will look like "0115123M11116A" Maybe that's a bit long, but just a suggestion. have it in small printing near the back hinge of the box, which is where there's less chance of it getting torn off somehow.

[LillFilly]

Wow; I never ever thought of going through the trash for a box so I could scam free pizza. That's....a lot of scam for a pizza.

[HappyFun Ball]

I've seen people dig through trash at McDonalds to get a cup to get free drinks.


That sounds like a good idea, I hope it works out.

[EricKei]

This is an awesome idea. As for why the recent increase of people trying this scam...I suspect Extreme Couponing or something similar.

[Racket_Man]

Wow...
Its a great idea and it will cut down on scammers but only if corp doesnt cave.

sadly the idea is great even fantastic, BUT...... I highly doubt that this new tracking proceedure will make it much past the test stage at your hubby's store. Heck it might even last a month or so.

BUT our corp masters are just too used to bending over backwards and being scared shitless of negative information even IF it means more money in their pockets and less crap for the peons to deal with.

Yes it would be nice if they would actaully TRACK the scammers but again sadly most businesses will not just cause the SCs would somehow come out "in force" on the interwebby and "ruin" the company's "reputation" (for being SC friendly)

[cindybubbles]

If this became standard in the food industry, maybe a few SCs will starve them since they don't know how to buy food like the rest of us.

Or maybe those SCs will be forced to learn how to buy food like the rest of us. Or they might move on to a smaller business that doesn't have the kind of leverage that your husband's does. Worse yet, they'll probably find some Mom-and-Pop shop and try to scam the life savings out of the spineless owners.

[XCashier]

Worse yet, they'll probably find some Mom-and-Pop shop and try to scam the life savings out of the spineless owners.

Small business owners tend to have more backbone than major corporations, precisely because they don't have the huge customer base and therefore have to be more diligent about weeding out the bad ones. Large companies can afford to absorb such losses, small ones can't.

[earl colby pottinger]

No

Or maybe those SCs will be forced to learn how to buy food like the rest of us. Or they might move on to a smaller business that doesn't have the kind of leverage that your husband's does. Worse yet, they'll probably find some Mom-and-Pop shop and try to scam the life savings out of the spineless owners.

That rarely works in the long term when you are talking Mom-and-Pop, because the money scammed comes directly out of their pockets and as the owners they have no one higher to concern about pleasing. Look again, and you find most of this stupid scammers are working on chain stores where people higher up the chain never work in the stores to see the results of their decisions but at the same time want to look go to people at the top.

[earl colby pottinger]

I think

sadly the idea is great even fantastic, BUT...... I highly doubt that this new tracking proceedure will make it much past the test stage at your hubby's store. Heck it might even last a month or so.

BUT our corp masters are just too used to bending over backwards and being scared shitless of negative information even IF it means more money in their pockets and less crap for the peons to deal with.

Yes it would be nice if they would actaully TRACK the scammers but again sadly most businesses will not just cause the SCs would somehow come out "in force" on the interwebby and "ruin" the company's "reputation" (for being SC friendly)

I think you missed the point that he did not talk to people higher on the chain of command, he talked to the top IE. THE OWNERS.

This suggests the results will go right to the people who's interest is in making more money first and foremost. I think you will find that the people at this level quickly stop holding the customer's hand once they realize they are being scammed and losing income.

The problem in large chains is that the people working in the stores usually at best only talk to middle men, and middle men don't what to tell the big boss about problems in their department so they try to make it go away using methods that all too often encourage scamming.

I love watching |'Under-cover Boss', but a common theme that always shows thru is how out of touch the bosses are with the lives/work experience of their employees. This a happens even to boss who did the same dirty when they were young. They sit at a desk for 15-30 years and either forget how hard the work was or only remember it as it used to be not knowing about changes in the work-force over those years.

To me the fact he is talking to the owners is a very good sign.