Sarpino's Pizzeria Shawnigan Lake — Restaurant in Area B (Shawnigan Lake)

Ordered a pizza on September 20th just before they closed, so I fully understood how annoying that probably was. I was outside my house until 11pm and never saw a car drive up my driveway or the driveway next to me, and I was on alert. No calls were ever received even with my phone being on loud. I tried to order a pizza tonight (two weeks to the date) and was refused service until my previous order was paid. I was confused since I never received my “order” and was told the owner would call me back to discuss. When the owner called me back I was essentially told that I am SOL.

I was informed that a voicemail was left (never got one) and that attempts were made to contact me. I have no records of this, my call logs have no records of this, yet I am suppose to take their word that they attempted to call me and pay for an order never physically received. When I questioned the policies grey area, the owner made it seem like I was “firm in my refusal to pay” because I disagreed about the communication attempts.

The owner took zero accountability, was clearly unwilling to have an adult conversation and had no remorse about loosing a customer.

It’s not like the previous order was over $100, it was maybe $50. I could understand having to pay for a large order. But as customers who ordered at least twice a month, it seemed preposterous that a busy and profitable business would not just make an exception this one time. I understand that making an exception every time would be costly. Which begs the question - does this mistake happen so often you know it would be costly because it’s a common mistake?

In business the number one thing is client retention - the cost to gain new customers is higher than the cost to keep loyal ones.

Well, unfortunately you have now lost a loyal customer as well as word of mouth advertising.

This may not appear as a big issue to you, however a bad review travels.

Do not order from this company unless you want to feel taken...

I've really gotten to know the staff here well over the last two years, and have watched them make many changes as the new owners settled into place. The owners, who work there daily, and the staff, who are more than a bunch of kids making pizza... Everyone there make their job a personal thing, making connections with the regulars, and greeting new people with a ton of immediate respect.

The reviews i'm reading, i bet, are not made by the people that continually support this franchise and send their kids down to pick up the family dinner on a regular basis..

The diverse menu offered, in the middle of a tiny village, supporting a giant delivery area, is pretty tough to facilitate PERFECTLY. These guys are faced with the challenges of fulfilling the ebbs and flow of EVERYONES hunger needs, which includes closing early on days it's really slow.

I live very close to one of the other long term competitors, and i prefer to make the 20 min drive, to ensure i get my dinner hot, and i get to know the folks that make that dinner. So if you live in West Shawnigan, and don't want to wait an hour for your dinner, just go get it, and grab some milk and catfood while youre at it, besides, it takes ten minutes to get there and ten minutes back.

Of the four pizza joints in my area, this is my place hands down. They put more effort towards their customers, then the rest,...

Two and a half hours to deliver a pizza? When we called in our order we were not told to expect a delay. After an hour and a half wait we called to ensure our order was on route or in the queue. We were told it was not yet in the oven, it would take twelve minutes to cook and then be placed on top of the oven to keep warm until the driver could get to it. The young person on the phone could not provide any ETA other than it would not be another hour and a half. It was also clear the boss did not want to get on the line. I would have cancelled then, but the girls waiting for their pizza were more tolerant. An hour later the pizza arrived barely warm. The driver was a good guy and clearly had been put in a bad situation. He apologized and explained that pick ups are moved ahead in the queue to avoid a line in the store. Apparently delivery orders can be pushed back indefinitely: who knew? Two and a half hours to deliver a barely warm pizza. Worse than the actual delay was the fact that with the exception of the driver they acted like it was business as usual. No advance warning of delays, no ETA provided after the initial hour and a half wait, no apologies... Must be good to be one of few suppliers in a small market. The product might be fine, but the service was genuinely...