PizzaExpress — Restaurant in London

How is Ramona still working in hospitality?

Two friends and myself (it was the third's birthday) had come up to London for the day. We know it was lunch. We know it was the Christmas period. We expected it to be busy. What we didn't expect was to have such a shockingly rude service from the manager.

She barely looked at us as she barked out there were no tables available and it would be a long wait. This was her opening conversation - no hello, nothing. I had to quickly catch her attention before she scurried off to ask for a rough idea of 'a long wait'. She shot back 20 minutes as she made off.

Knowing everywhere was busy, we stayed put and were prepared to wait. We met her with nothing but politeness and could see she was busy.

After 8 minutes passed (I know, how did we manage to suffer for so long), a table freed up and we were seated. Not exactly as long a wait and unavailable as was insinuated. Ramona came over and set up out cutlery and serviettes. The entire time she was at our table we thanked her and kept thanking her, but she did not once meet our eyes, smile or acknowledge anything we said.

To say the least we were absolutely shocked atthe lack of professionalism and friendly, or even polite, service. We've all worked in hospitality and understand a manic shift. Saying that though, we know manners cost nothing and at least smiling can be done without having to drop what you're doing.

On the other hand, Rocio, our waitress was absolutely lovely and a delight. Clearly Ramona could take a few pages out of her book. Rocio showed perfect customer etiquette and friendly service and was just as busy as Ramona. You'd expect more from a manager. You'd expect the level of professionalism that Rocio showed. If anyone should be in the driving seat of this branch, it should be Rocio.

This happened on the 19th of December at around 13:00 or shortly after. I'll continue to support Pizza Express for the Rocios of the world and hope you act accordingly with the Ramonas as they are a stain on your representation of management, and a disgrace to...

Update March 8, 2024:

I have yet to receive a response from the manager about our unfortunate experience. This silence only reinforces the impression that the customer's satisfaction is not a priority for the management team.

Update 4 December 2023. Having been asked to contact the manager which I have done I have received no response after 3 weeks!

After a visit to the Saatchi Gallery, we chose Pizza Express for our son's favorite dough balls. Initially, the staff was welcoming, and we placed our orders. Unfortunately, while my son's pizza arrived, the dough balls were forgotten. To add to the disappointment, my wife, Mia, was severely burnt by the extremely hot ham on her pizza, an incident that could have been avoided with a caution from the server. In seeking ice for her burn, I encountered a lack of urgency and empathy from the staff, particularly one who dismissed our repeated requests while prioritizing dessert preparation. When the ice was finally provided, it was with reluctance and an attitude that added to our discomfort.

The experience was further marred by overhearing the staff speak negatively about the incident and a palpable unease in their service thereafter. Despite this, we finished our meal, which was average in quality - my pizza cold, my wife's too hot, and my son's mediocre. We left without the initially forgotten dough balls and without any acknowledgment of my wife's injury.

I prefer to highlight positives and respect the demanding nature of service roles. However, the service at this Pizza Express was notably poor, overshadowing the cozy ambiance of the place. I'm compelled to warn others and urge management to improve their customer care. Regrettably, we won't return, a letdown in such a...

i am a big fan of pizza express but had never been to the one on kings road and came with some friends and my brother for supper. my brother has severe ADHD and although not the most obvious disability, his actions do make it clear that he possibly does struggle in social situations. it was rather busy and we had waited in the wrong place for a table so immediately the waitress was cross with us and sent us back to the gate to wait for a table. finally we were seated and we were sitting for ages and had not been asked for our order. we called a waitress over and she told us she wouldn’t serve us due to my younger brother’s behaviour and as it was so busy she probably wouldn’t be able to find another waiter to serve us. we promptly left as it was completely unreasonable, embarrassing and so rude. to the waitress in the pink check shirt with dark brown hair working on wednesday 5th july you were incredibly nasty to my brother, with special needs, you completely spoilt our evening and i would even go as far to say you discriminated against him due to his disability. yes my brother had made silly noises, been rather bouncy and possibly not been the ideal customer but your comments about his behaviour were down right rude especially when it is evident that someone has a mental disability. i’m glad we did not stay as i have a feeling this treatment would have continued throughout the meal and that distresses me greatly. i will continue to go to pizza express and enjoy the food there however, i shall never return to the pizza express on kings road for fear i may come face to face with the waitress who...