Okay' so when you order a pizza and you ask if they can put on a bit more sauce..

[oneofthe99]

I called in a order to a local pizza house.

Large onion and sausage , I asked the girl if it's possible to add a little extra sauce on the pizza.

She said sure no problem. I go to pick it up and they charged me for a 3 item pizza.

So instead of this pizza costing $19.00 it cost $23.00

Did I get robbed?

[Egnever]

1. No they just pushed you to another pizza place.

[oneofthe99]

2. I didn't say anything to the girl at the counter

I just thought it was crazy to charge this as another topping

Maybe I should have said something to her.

[MADem]

3. You should have said "Last time I got a pizza here, you were cheap with the sauce.

Make sure there's enough sauce to cover the darn pizza, please."

That's not "extra" sauce!

Damn--pizzas are twenty three bucks?

I make my own so what do I know...?

[oneofthe99]

5. This place it is

It's not a chain like Domino's or Pizza Hut

They charge $11 for a large cheese plus $4 a topping

[Scootaloo]

7. $4 a topping? It's not robbery if you agree to it.

[oneofthe99]

10. Not every topping is $4 , they have the specials where they have 4 or 5 toppings combined

but if you order just 1 or 2 toppings it's $4 a topping

[customerserviceguy]

61. $4 for extra sauce

is robbery, sorry. A buck extra, if the sauce is something special, OK, but four bucks (even for a meat topping that's pretty pricey) for a bit of extra sauce is just plain greedy.

If the pizza is the best in town, you might have to suck it up in the future, but in most places I've been, either the pizza is not good at most of the places, or it is really good at most of them. If your town is one of the exceptions where this is the only good place, your only recourse is to talk to the owner or manager, and tell them calmly why you were disappointed. Maybe they'll find a way to make it up to you, and right for the future.

But if you have other choices, exercise them. Maybe even tell your story to a manager of another place, and they'll see that as the hook to keeping your business.

[MADem]

44. Many years ago I paid thirty some bucks for a pizza...but that was in London!

You expect to get ripped off there!

I can't imagine paying half a tank of gas for some flour and water and salt, maybe a little olive oil, some tomato and garlic and oregano, and some mozzarella! Dayum!

It had better be good pizza!

[mitchtv]

78. Round Table is getting up there

you can pay 23 easily therebut you get an XL

[TexasTowelie]

4. For that price it should come with a bag of catnip!

[Gravitycollapse]

6. Did you offer to pay extra when you asked for extra sauce?

[oneofthe99]

8. No ' I didn't think about asking if it was considered an item

[Gravitycollapse]

9. That may have been the mistake.

There are certain things which tend to deeply bother employees in retail and service industries. One of them is the assumption by the customer that he or she is entitled to "a little extra" without paying.

I experience this surprisingly often and it isn't the specific little extra but the attitude of the consumer that bothers me. Maybe I'm jaded but I've discussed this kind of thing with coworkers and they feel the same.

4 dollars extra is ridiculous for some extra sauce but it may have been different had you suggested you'd pay extra for the sauce in the first place.

[oneofthe99]

12. It just didn't cross my mind and she was pleasant on the phone

when she said no problem.

[Gravitycollapse]

19. The "no problem" is irrelevant here. That is the right response regardless of circumstance.

I'm not saying you committed an egregious mistake. But, as I've said to someone else, customer etiquette is extremely important.

Offering to pay extra for anything you ask extra of is standard practice excepting services or products which are unambiguously free of charge. Like napkins or ketchup packets already at the counter for customers to grab themselves.

I know, however, that most if not all of the pizza shops I've been to specifically state on their menus that extra sauce costs extra. That doesn't mean that they always charge you. But it is never safe to assume that they won't charge you.

[U4ikLefty]

26. You experience is contrary to most on this thread.

Most mid-priced pizza shops don't charge for extra sauce.

[U4ikLefty]

13. That attitude can cost the owner some customers.

Extra sauce at a mid-priced pizza parlor is not out of bounds.

It's not like asking for 10 ranch sauces for a 6-piece chicken nugget meal.

[Gravitycollapse]

16. Anything extra inevitably costs more somewhere. The courteous thing to do is to offer to pay extra.

If for no other reason than to mark symbolically to the employee that you understand what you are asking for is more than what is naturally given out. It is a sign of respect to those who are giving you service.

I'm not saying that is definitely the issue here. It could have simply been a mistake or the pizza shop might like to charge extra for little things. But it is certainly possible that the employee was offended. Employees in industries like food service are usually overexposed to terrible customers. It's the little things that drive them over the edge because it's such a common issue.

It seems trivial but that kind of persistent public indifference can really put pressure on workers. Proper customer etiquette is extremely important even though it's very rarely ever discussed.

[U4ikLefty]

21. I have worked in food service and understand it can be stressful.

Part of the job is to deal with rude and unreasonable customers. Not an excuse for driving away good customers...owners don't like that.

Proper customer service is equally important.

The OP asked for extra sauce on a mid-priced pizza. I cannot recall ever seeing a decent pizza place charge for extra sauce...extra cheese? Yes, but not extra sauce.

[Gravitycollapse]

22. Yes, but proper customer service is probably the most overstated issue in industry history.

And the issue of customer etiquette is easily the most understated.

The claim "the customer is always right" needs to die off because it completely mischaracterizes the kind of healthy relationship that should exist between consumers and workers. I say this because I'm vastly more concerned with the welfare of the employees than I am with the owners or the customers. And we are often very quick to show concern for the customer or the capitalist while completely ignoring the workers that basically keep everything from falling apart.

Employees in retail and service are very often treated like shit. By very often I mean every single day they work they are bombarded by the idiocy and inconsiderate ways of customers who really should know better. It becomes a matter of prescience to "know" that the next customer is going to treat you in a disrespectful manner. So seemingly harmless things like not offering to pay extra while asking for something extra rubs workers the wrong way and they do things like charge you full price for something that they might otherwise not charge for.

Like I said, I'm not saying that is definitely what happened here. But it's certainly a possibility.

[U4ikLefty]

24. Not in this case.

You seem to think the OP was burdening the employee with a PERFECTLY REASONABLE request.

The plight of the retail and service worker is a separate issue. It is wrong to take out frustrations on a good customer.

[merrily]

28. I think the mistake was the place classifying a little extra sauce as a topping and failing

to mention to the customer that he or she would be charged more for sauce on a pizza. Prices on cheese, sausage and everything go up, so I can see charging for those, though I think $4 each is steep. But, really, even with rising prices, how much does another spoon of tomato sauce cost?

I have been to a heck of a lot of pizza places in my time and I never heard of charging extra for sauce. At a minimum, a head's up to the poster was called for when the poster asked for extra sauce.

I think the the poster's mistake was failure to ask to see the manager when he or she got charged for it


I never believe in being rude or punitive to employees, like chintzy tips when you don't like a place's policy. They are not setting the policy.

But, by the same token, it's not a courteous customer's duty to adjust their behavior to make the work experience good for the employees. That is the boss's job, if he or she knows what's good for them. It is the best interests of anyone dealing with the public, boss or employee, to make the experience good for a paying customer. There is a direct connection between that and keeping the place open, so people continue to have jobs.

Offer to pay more to have food made the way you like it? Does anyone offer to charge the customer less when they are especially courteous or tip exceptionally well?

Those things may be necessary in a souk or bazaar in Morocco, but that is not how Americans typically operate. Someone tells us a price and we either pay in full or say, too high and go elsewhere or do without.

[JNelson6563]

58. I agree and disagree.

Yes, it gets really tiresome what some customers will do to get some extra freebie whenever possible. Still, if a customer asks for an extra something it should be up to the business to let them know there is a charge. Best way to avoid just this type of situation.

Julie

[unblock]

83. customers should not be expected to "offer" to pay. vendors are expected to reveal prices.

yes, in this case, the customer could have headed off a problem by inquiring if there would be a surcharge, and perhaps phrasing it as "i don't mind paying a bit extra" would have been a particularly courteous way of doing this. however, the goal of any such exchange would be to establish ahead of time the existence and amount of any extra charge.

but this is at best an *optional* action on the part of the customer.
it's a *required* action on the part of the vendor to let the customer know there would be a surcharge, especially if it's not inconsequential.

i've been in or ordered at many restaurants and asked for something special or extra or unusual and invariably, if i'm charged more, they say "i'm going to have to charge you a bit more for that". they don't often tell me the amount, but they always initiate that topic and open the door for me to ask how much.

on the odd occasion when there's an unexpected charge on the bill, i pretty much always can get it removed simply by asking about it.

[Control-Z]

11. Yes, you did.

Sauce is not a topping. Never has been. Never will be. Unless, of course, they start putting it on top of the toppings and cheese.

Seriously, though, it sounds like the employee who charged you for your order is new there, or possibly just a moron. I would complain to the management/owner. (And my kids would be mortified that I said anything at all.)

[oneofthe99]

14. That very well could be , (not a moron) ..lol... but she could be a new girl that just started

and she took it as 3 topping order.

[Control-Z]

30. Yes, this is what I meant to actually say

in between my childish accusations.

Seriously, it sounds like someone just didn't know how to charge - probably because they were new to the job.

And bringing it to the management's attention wouldn't hurt if done so in the right spirit.

[peabody]

54. Yes, the employee could've been new

Something like this happened to me once at a KFC. The employee charged me $3 to substitute corn for another side. I paid it without saying anything because my wife really wanted corn instead of cold slaw, but I ended writing to the KFC website customer service about it saying that it was out of line to charge that much for a substitution. The manager of the KFC called within an hour, apologized and offer me a free meal. My guess is that the employee was new and the manager didn't realize she was doing this until someone brought it up. Since then, KFC has never charged for a substitution. The girl at the pizza place could have been new too so she might not know that it would be okay to give a little extra sauce at no charge.

[JI7]

15. not robbed but it is one of those things common with food places these days

so it's best to ask about whether things cost extra next time.

[JHB]

17. I think the person who needs to answer this question is the place's owner

I'd replace the "did I get robbed" line with something like "was that the way it was supposed to be handled?", but otherwise ask him or her what you wrote here.

The answer should provide enough information to tell you if you got robbed.

[Aerows]

18. I have never had extra sauce cost more

I regularly order extra cheese, and yes, that costs more, but I expect that. If they are skimpy with sauce, I ask for extra sauce. If they are so skimpy that they try to CHARGE me for extra sauce because of their skimpiness, I leave the pizza on the counter and ask for a manager. If they INSIST on a charge of 4 bucks for enough sauce which should have been present anyway, I leave it on the counter and contact the Better Business Bureau. It's like saying it is a "pepperoni pizza" because there is one lonely little slice in the middle of the pizza, in a desert of crust with a dab of sauce and a small puddle of cheese surrounding it.

[JHB]

23. I think the main question is whether counting extra sauce as a topping is store policy...

...or if the order-taker had not been adequately trained and simply assumed that extra sauce was like extra cheese and thus counted as a topping.

[pinboy3niner]

35. To be fair, it was a VERY impertinent little pizza

It was EXTRA saucy!

[U4ikLefty]

70. DOUGHn't go there!!!

Please no cheesy puns about pizza.

[pinboy3niner]

84. Okay, if you say so that's gouda nuff for me

iirc, when you and Fire Walk With Me and I met for the first time at an Occupy protest in L.A., we went out to eat...at a local pizza place.

[SwankyXomb]

38. If you're the kind of guy who flips out and calls the BBB,

then enjoy your pizza.

[Recursion]

40. We always rang it up as a topping

Obviously that depends on the particular restaurant.

[rudolph the red]

20. Most places I have dealt with with will just add the extra sauce

I've never been charged for it.

[steve2470]

25. here's what I would do

When you get time, go look at their menu either at the store or online if they have a web site. Look for the "extra charges" section. If there's none....then it's truly debatable. If they're going to charge you for extra sauce, I think they can politely inform you of that before you get off the phone. As you said, maybe the order taker was new. To me, paying $4 extra for some extra sauce is a bit much. A dollar or two, ok. YMMV.

[Nanjing to Seoul]

27. yes you did. . .and they lost a customer.

[oldhippie]

48. They did?

How do you know that they lost a customer?

[Nanjing to Seoul]

49. i'm not even going to dignify this with a response.

[oldhippie]

50. So, you don't know?

That's OK also. Funny, though, seeing how you made such an assertive statement.

[Warren DeMontague]

29. If the "sauce" is 15 year old single malt scotch, then no.

Otherwise, yes.

[Helen Borg]

31. Must be some special sauce!

[PADemD]

32. Next time, order a Stromboli

Folded pizza with sausage, green peppers, onion, mozzarella, mushrooms, peppers, and ham, with dipping sauce on the side.

That's what I order. The large is $16.50; but I'd be eating that for a week, so I order a small ($10.95) or personal ($7.95) size. Even the personal size lasts for days.

[merrily]

33. I think I would have had a word with the manager or owner, gotten the $4.00

taken off and told that him or her that, in every other place, sauce is not a given, not a topping.

It could have been store policy or a new employee's mistake, I don't know. But, you would find out if you talk to the manager.

Even if is store policy, a smart manager or owner would have taken it off the bill that one time, given that no one warned you and that is a very unusual policy, and therefore requiring a head's up. (I have a lot of experience paying for pizzas in many different places!)

If it is store policy, now you know and you have to decide next time if the sauce is worth $4.00 bucks to you. IOW, this time, it should have been on them, but next time, it will be on you. However, I do like MADem's suggestion. Maybe say that last time, the sauce was very skimpy and, while you did not make a fuss then, could they make sure there is an adequate amount of it this time? (Italians tend not to like anywhere near as much sauce on their pasta as non-Italians do. Maybe that extends to pizza, too?)

If you really enjoy their pizza, I would never tell you to go elsewhere because I know how hard it has become to find pizza that is really delicious and to your individual taste. But, if you are not in love, maybe another place would suit you better.

[dionysus]

62. "I know how hard it has become to find pizza that is really delicious" damn straight! we have tons

of mom and pop pizza joints here, and some are truly awful; $14 for a medium with little sauce, skimpy toppings... (I had a mission of trying out as many of the small pizza places I could, and find the best one)

however I stumbled upon a place a few miles from my house that's been going since the 1970s, the pizza is friggin AWESOME.

the pepperoni and bacon pizza is to die for.... I can place an order, shoot down to the grocery store and shop real quick, then pick up a piping hot, delicious pizza right on the way home

now I'm hungry!

[Notafraidtoo]

34. Here is what happened

Most pizza places have a computer that automatically charges per item, apparently this pizza chain has extra sauce as a topping under their topping section and she simply checked the box for extra sauce. Not her fault, its the chain.

[B Calm]

36. Damn that's an expensive pizza! We just buy frozen Digiorno pizza at

the grocery store and my wife doctors them up with more mushrooms and cheese.

[oneofthe99]

75. I buy that also and have it in the freezer when I don't feel like going out

I like putting pieces of raw hamburger on it , it cooks up nice and the fat
of the hamburger while cooking gives the pizza a good taste

[global1]

37. I've Run Into The Same Situation A Couple Of Times And I've Altered How I Order Extra Sauce.....

To me the thing that makes the pizza is the sauce. Some pizza places don't put enough on and then they pile on the cheese which makes the pizza very gummy and kind of dry and tasteless.

When I used to say 'extra sauce' - in a couple of places I was charged for the 'extra' sauce. So I've altered my order now.

I say - "Easy cheese, heavy sauce". When I do this - even in those pizza places that I've been charged for 'extra' sauce - they now don't charge me and I get the pizza the way I like it.

Try ordering that way next time and see if that works. If you happen to like the cheese as well - just say "heavy sauce".

[Recursion]

39. When I delivered pizza we had an "extra sauce" up-charge.

It's another topping, like extra cheese. (Though I think it was half the price of a regular topping, and any modern system should cost-construct if you exceed a special. $4 sounds too high...)

Though asking for extra sauce also flagged a customer as "high maintenance" in the computer, just as a warning. (Though that can work to your favor: we'd bring free stuff to high maintenance people to keep them from complaining...)

[msanthrope]

41. Yes....for 23 dollars I can make 3-4 homemade pizzas that would make you

weep with joy.

But no self-respecting authentic Italian place charges extra for sauce.

[giftedgirl77]

43. I concur....

I couldn't stomach commercial pizza if I tried.

[FSogol]

59. I'll take 3. Let me know when I can pick them up. Thanks.

[Ghost in the Machine]

42. I would say you got ripped off for sure! I *ALWAYS* ask for extra sauce when I order a pizza...

.... and that's been for over 32 years, since I was a teenager, and I have NEVER been charged extra. I'm talking about ordering in several states too,... Florida, Georgia, N.C., S.C., Virgina, Tennessee, Michigan and Ohio. It didn't matter if it was Dominoes, Papa John's, Little Caesars, Godfathers, Pizza Hut or just the local family owned pizza joint down the street.

I *have* been charged for extra Marinara dipping sauce for the bread sticks, and extra garlic butter dipping sauce, but it was only like a quarter or 50 cents at the most, but I knew ahead of time...and expected it, because those packets aren't free for the restaurant. The cost for a little extra sauce in the ladle, when it's coming out of a big industrial sized can of pizza sauce, is negligible though.

Just my 2 cents worth.... as a former restaurant owner

Peace,

Ghost

[Javaman]

45. Always ask for it on the side. nt

[snooper2]

46. No, that sauce is really special... :)

[MineralMan]

47. Have you visited that place's web site.

Generally, you can see the menu, which may make it clear that extra sauce or cheese counts as a topping. That's not uncommon. Should they have told you? Yes. I always ask for the total after placing the order, so I'm sure I have enough cash to take with me when I pick it up.

That's a pretty expensive pizza, though. I hope it was extra good.

[randome]

51. Okay' so when you order a pizza and you ask if they can put on a bit more sauce...

...then Skinner delivers! No hidden charges!
[hr][font color="blue"][center]No squirrels were harmed in the making of this post. Yet.[/center][/font][hr]

[chrisa]

57. How does one sample Skinner's homemade pizza.

I've tried posting in the Lounge, but no luck.

[Arugula Latte]

52. I'd write a polite note or email to management.

Just give them a heads-up so they can discuss the issue with their staff -- unless it's their policy, in which case I'd go elsewhere and let them know why.

[Bluenorthwest]

53. I have no idea, I like less sauce than most places apply to a pizza so I'm usually seeking asking

for less. I never expect a discount, if that helps.

[CreekDog]

55. how many places are you ordering a pizza from?

did they all arrive yet?

[chrisa]

56. It's silly for restaurants to lose customers this way.

That sauce costs how much to them? That's vs. the revenue lost when you feel cheated and no longer go there. Not a good decision on the restaurant's part.

Bending over backwards a bit for a customer brings more money in the future.

[GeorgeGist]

60. Yes you did.

[OriginalGeek]

63. I worked at many pizza places from my late teens to late twenties

and not one of them charged extra for extra sauce. If I was making the pie I bumped the sauce a little anyway because that's how I like it too. But we never got in a twist if a customer asked for extra sauce. And if they asked for extra something that cost money, we told them up front there would be a charge.

[ManiacJoe]

64. PapaJohn's and PizzaHut give the extra sause for free.

[GusBob]

65. First.World. Problem.

I'm guessing 167 replies on this one

[callous taoboy]

71. Snicker.

NO extra sauce for you.

[egduj]

66. You are a victim.

Of poor customer service. Nothing more.

[PeteSelman]

67. Where do you live and how good is the pie?

I can't tell you without knowing these things.

[oneofthe99]

74. CT and the pizza was very good

The sausage was a fresh not the type where it is bought frozen and all ready cooked up.
The cheese was a good quality mozzarella and I think just a bit of cheddar to give it that good taste.

Crust was crisp but not too crisp....all in all it was a very good pizza.

[struggle4progress]

68. I walked into a carry out shop a year or two ago, ordered a pizza, shopped nearby for 20 minutes,

came back to pick up my pie, and the guy said, "You wanted it without sauce, right?"

Me: "What gave you that idea?"

Him: "I thought you said you wanted it without sauce"

Me: "No. I want sauce"

They finally made me another one

[boston bean]

69. I'm the opposite. I like pizza with less sauce.

They don't reduce the price.

I don't know if they would have charged more because I would never ask for more sauce.

[In_The_Wind]

72. Yes, you were robbed.

[rhett o rick]

73. I am assuming that your local pizza house was a chain that employees min wage

employees. They are trained to push buttons on the cash register to describe your order and the charges are added automatically.

They may be able to over-ride the machine and give you free extra sauce but you probably have to ask them.

If you were at a mom & pop pizza shop, that charges more, you probably can get it your way.

[elleng]

76. I think so,

but have to do some research!

Have ordered pizza delivery from domino's (only available one in neighborhood,) and one of their options is xtra sauce, which I usually get. Will check to see if that costs more.

[oneofthe99]

79. I am most curious to see if they charge you as a topping

[elleng]

80. Will take a while to research

as I'm not there now, but in another neighborhood. Will try to remember to do this, when I return.

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

77. I think you got robbed on it being considered an extra 'topping'

@$4 a pop. An extra 50 cents or a buck, sure. $4 is outrageous, though.

I'd stop going there, unless it's the only pizza place around, and if it is, in future, buy my own extra sauce at a store to add when you got it home. Or just start making pizza at home. It's not that tough, and a LOT cheaper.

[Blue Owl]

81. According to John Bohner that's a whole serving of vegetables

[unblock]

82. if they were going to charge and extra 21% for it, they needed to tell you ahead of time.

there's no excuse for not letting you know that they would charge you extra, particularly if it's a hefty surcharge.