Residents of a Houston suburb are drawing a line in the sand after a complaint about a popular pizza restaurant sparked a heated debate on social media. At the center of the discussion is Fuzzy’s Pizza in Katy. An aggrieved customer alleged recently a simple request on a takeout order led to an explosive departure from the restaurant. But Fuzzy’s owner Jafar Hajjar said this was a restaurant trying to stick to policy and keeping employees safe.
Lisa Olsen’s weekend complaint on the Katy Foodies Facebook group has generated hundreds of comments as of Wednesday. It has also added another valuable case study when it comes to how restaurant operators … well, operate. Is sticking to your principles worth it when a situation escalates?
Customer vs. pizzeria
Olsen wrote Sunday evening that she called in a takeout order for Fuzzy’s Pizza’s 613 S. Mason Road location. She was at Mason Washateria, about a half-mile away, around 6:30 p.m. Sunday. She claimed that it was about 30 minutes before the restaurant’s online hours showed it would close (as of Wednesday the website says it closes at 9 p.m. Sunday).
But when Olsen and her family visited Fuzzy’s, she wrote she saw signs advertising extended summer hours, with the pizzeria closing at 9 p.m. Since the order was not yet ready, she wrote her family asked whether they could change it from takeout to dine-in. The request, she claimed, was immediately denied. She alleged the owner of Fuzzy’s yelled and cursed at the family before telling employees to call the police.
Hajjar went to the comments of Olsen’s social media post to defend himself and his restaurant, writing it is the restaurant’s policy that “carry-out orders remain carry-out.” He alleged Olsen’s family indicated they would not pay for the order if they were not allowed to dine inside, so the order was canceled and they were asked to leave…