Though my family has ordered Padula's for years, it was my first time I ordered tonight.
I might also mention I ordered a take out at the counter whereas my family usually pre-orders by phone. I also have worked in the food industry and as a manager in the same. I've also had plenty of friends who worked in pizzerias. This was not a night where they were being inundated with orders and what I saw while it might not be against health code, it certainly lacked respect for their customers.
The price was a little over the top (by half), but what isn't nowadays? Their small shop has four tables with four chairs each. Considering they had 5 people working plus a delivery boy where they could have made do with two or three people explains why they are overpriced.
The order was taken easily enough, and I was told by the young lady that it would be 20-25 minutes. I didn't have anywhere to go, so I stuck around. I ordered an extra-large (advertised as "12 slices" on the boxes hung on the wall) with two toppings and a soda, gave them a twenty and left all the change (it wasn't much) in the tip can.
I was really just dazedly watching, but suddenly I noticed they were scraping off a white sauce from the pizza dough. Then I realized they were making my pizza. What is this? I get a second hand pizza? I guess I didn't have a very pleased look on my face, because the young lady told the pizza maker something and suddenly he swiveled to look at me.
It isn't unhealthy what he did, but it's rather inconsiderate. Honestly, if he had turned to me and asked "I made up this white sauce pizza, but don't need it, would you mind if I cleaned it up and used it for yours?" I would likely have said "It's probably okay, no problem." but instead he tried to sneak it.
After placing my pizza in the oven, he then proceeded to make two small pizzas, making the wrong sized pizzas for someone else, then using both hands to grab globs of the white sauce and toppings to put on a larger pizza and wiping his hands on his shirt/pants.
I then saw him slopping oil onto a calzone he had cooked and handling the cooked food with his hands (something of a no-no in my mind).
He then turned to me and told me "it's going to be 15-20 minutes" in a way to (politely) suggest for me to leave.
Apparently he doesn't like people seeing him making mistakes left and right.
Later on he made a statement which might be out of context, but he said just loud enough for me to hear "Nobody scares me."
I thought "The health inspector doesn't scare you?", "How the customer thinks doesn't concern you?", "Losing your business doesn't scare you?" Then you are a fool.
I felt like walking out a couple of times and considering it a loss, but I had family waiting for pizza dinner back home. I also considered taking my tip money out of the can.
When I got home, I found the pizza was cut into 8 monster slices so we had to cut it up ourselves into smaller pieces.The food was edible (nothing to rave about) though I noticed the taste of the different sauce.
Instead of having a confidence problem, the pizza guy (who I think is the owner) should have taken it as a chance to recapture a fumble and try to shine.
Instead, it looked like he was treating everyone's food like he was making slop for the pigs.
I will not be going back. read more