Smokin' Oak Wood-Fired Pizza and Taproom — Restaurant in Broomfield

I have tried this place a handful of times. The food quality varies visit to visit, when the items are cooked well or not burnt it's good food. Unfortunately, the last 2 orders/experiences have put us off here.

The first order was put in through the Smokin' Oak app for delivery. It did not clarify that it was delivered through a third party, but they end up using uber to deliver. The first delivery driver cancelled, and the app continued to send new drivers to pick it up from the store, with the drivers cancelling over and over. When I called the store to ask about what was happening, I was told the order was picked up already and that for some reason people keep coming trying to pick it up but that they were sending them away.

When trying to resolve this with the store, I was informed that since I ordered it through uber I had to contact them since they think the first delivery driver stole the order. I explained I didn't order it from uber, but through them, and they insisted. I called uber, who told me that to have the app stop sending drivers they would need to cancel the order and resend it in, and that they were unable to refund me since I ordered through the restaurant. Instead of just remaking it, they just continued to send them away. When I called back, the person on the phone told me they have no way to cancel and resend the order and that it would be uber who would have to do it on their end. They then tried to give me their district managers personal number to "just call and explain what was going on for a refund," which - pass? That is so weird and unprofessional. They then told me I could just come on down and he would remake it for me right then, not sure why that was not just the resolution for the multiple drivers that were turned away. I also was not able to drive at the time, and shouldn't have had to have that be the resolution regardless. I ended up reaching out to the corporate contact through the app and ended up with no resolution or refund, just $50+ wasted, and time wasted on multiple customer service calls when I just wanted to order some pizza delivery through your app. Whatever delivery company you use needs to be on YOU to handle when they mess up, not your customers.

Next one, I placed an order around 11:58am that that was listed to be expected pick up at 12:12pm. When we arrived at 12:15 and got to the front of the line and gave literally just the order name, the employee immediately got defensive and said "I don't know when you put it in. I just got it. It hasn't even been started yet." After asked for how long it would take, she said another 15 minutes.

During that time, we watched at least 2 other customers have their pizzas made and given to them first, including people who had arrived and ordered in store. Seeing as how our order was already delayed and we were waiting on a scheduled pick up - it seems obvious that our order should have been made first.

When the food was finally ready, she put them into the warming bags where orders go while waiting for pick up. Didn't call any names - actually had to go up and ask to check in on order status after sitting in there waiting the entire time. If we didn't catch that it might have been our order that she put in there, who knows how long our food would've been waiting there. Ended up leaving at 12:30, which took most of my lunch break.

Also just a side note - don't advertise for app/rewards if every time you check out and try to use one it just says this location doesn't honor rewards.

With the varying quality in food, obvious issues in whatever system that is being used for ordering and poor customer service - we...

I have worked in food service for over 3 years, so when I say that the service I experienced at this location for lunch was unacceptable, I have some understanding of what issues can come up while working in the industry.

My friends and I ordered while there were no other customers in the restaurant. They placed an order before I did, and one other customer came in and ordered as well. Neither myself nor my friends got a receipt from the counter (and were asked to leave a tip before service was rendered, which was a mistake I would find out).

I received one of my food items (an appetizer, the "cheesy garlic bread") after approximately 10 minutes. The store did pick up and get busier after we sat down to wait, which could explain some of the wait that we experienced.

You would think that food would be made in the order that it's given out- however, I didn't see any tracking system for orders to make sure they were made correctly, and in the right order. I received my food after about 25 minutes of waiting; meanwhile, other customers who had placed orders 10-15 minutes after us received their pizza orders before us. We received one other pizza around 30 minutes after placing an order- it was nearly inedible because it was apparently quite spicy compared to what it should have been.

My friends never received their final pizza order while we waited at the restaurant for nearly an hour. One of them eventually walked to the counter and asked if they could just get their pizza "to-go" because we were unwilling to continue waiting, and was told "we didn't forget about it". It was clear they had, because we had to remind them 3 times about our missing food.

The main cashier/worker no less than 3 times walked around the store with pizzas that were made but did not have an "owner"- I am guessing this is because they accidentally made multiples due to poor procedures.

Perhaps the main cashier was having a bad day, but it does not excuse the very poor treatment my friends received (I didn't have much experience with it, but I did witness it on their behalf). It is clear that the their employees need additional training and management needs to establish clear procedures so that this does not continue to happen.

Based on reading some other reviews, it looks like others have experienced similar poor service. I wonder if it is the same person we encountered today.

The food we had was mediocre, even when fresh. The atmosphere is decent.

Find better places to spend your money and time, as there are...

I'm a local, so I know this area VERY well. I went there once, and here's my review:

Pros: Great pizza, friendly staff, decent wait times, nice restaurant design.

Cons: PRICE relative to PORTIONS. This makes the product (a pizza) a poor value, and you can see that reflected in many reviews here. The pizza is more expensive than Mod Pizza, which is cheaper and bigger.

The issue here is that this business seems to have started with a strategy of trying to max out their profit margin. This will result in a lot of one-off customers who try it once, like the pizza, but don't see the value and won't come back, and you can't survive as a restaurant without repeat business unless you're in a tourist area like the end of the Brooklyn Bridge or in an airport, where the captive audience of tourists will pay high prices since they're splurging on a trip and have few other easy options.

Now, it could be that the two hotels next door will help this business survive, but I doubt it. It'll turn out like DD Pizza: sending all the homes in the surrounding area a flyer defending why their prices are so high and begging for business.

The way to find the correct price equilibrium is to start at a moderate price, then slowly inch up prices until you find what the local market will bear. This business did this in reverse, starting at the max price for a pizza, which will eventually require them to send out marketing materials telling everyone that they've lowered their prices so they don't have to be scared off any longer and can come back and get a pizza.

This business would make way more money with a lower profit margin and higher volume, but that's not what they're doing. We will see how that works out, and I hope they stay in business, but with so many of us seeing the price as too high for small portions, I'm not optimistic. As it stands, I paid for one pizza and can't justify going back unless the price drops or the portions increase. So now, they're getting 100% of none of my money instead of the small margin they'd get if they lowered their prices. Eventually, this place will run out of one-off...