East of Chicago — Restaurant in Troy Township

My daughter and I were out of town and noticed there was an East of Chicago pizza in Lexington, ohio. I was excited because our location where we live was closed 15-20 years ago, so we went inside to place an order to go. As we walked in a guy came to the counter who initially was friendly. I told him I would like to place an order to go. He asked me “name?”. I gave him my first name. He said “ok last name?”. I let him know he could just put it under my first. He rolled his eyes while saying “ok, what can I get for you?” saying my first name twice”. I asked if there was a problem, and he replied that I was being rude because I wouldn’t give him my full name and tried explaining it away as a way to get customer database and general rapport with guests and what if someone comes in with my first name as well. I replied “I’m rude?” He replied “yes”. I’m a restaurant manager as well, and all that is valid what he said, but if a guest doesn’t want to give us their full information for a to go order we don’t make them feel bad for doing so or tell them they’re rude for not giving non necessary information. I let him know that we are from out of town and I prefer to not give any more than my first name. At this point, I looked down at my 7 year old, grabbed her hand and walked out. I said take care and the guy said have a good day. I will note again that the guy didn’t refuse my business. He would have taken my order, but after saying I was rude for not providing non necessary information that wasn’t going to happen. After getting to our car I called into the location and spoke to a girl who told me when I asked to speak to a manager that the guy who I spoke with was the manager. The girl apologized and I said thank you and take care. The next day I called the corporate office of east of Chicago and spoke to a woman and gave my info. Received a call a little after 3pm the same day from the owner of the east of Chicago in Lexington. I could tell it was the same guy. So not just the manager of this east of Chicago, but the owner named Rick he said. Initially when he called he didn’t mention that he was the one I spoke with, but I could tell. I asked and he said yes it was him. It’s sad that a manager would make a customer walk out of a restaurant and even more depressing that an owner would because of simply wanting to use their first name for a to go order and then calling them rude for doing so. Note that once I knew it was him on the phone and he was not just the manager, but the owner I knew there was no need for further communication and I told him best of luck, take care and hung up. Note also that he wasn’t mean in the short phone conversation and I believe even said he appreciates me or something to that affect as I was hanging up, but it’s all a façade. It’s his restaurant. If he wants to lose sales by making customers feel like trash that is his right. It’s unfortunate though for something so trivial and not necessary. As a restaurant operator I urge you to rethink your future interactions with your...

My wife and I enjoy trying pizza from different places and I can assure you that this is some of the worst pizza we have ever had. I was a walk-in customer and I placed my order at the counter. During my one-hour stay, I watched 8 customers come in and complain about pizzas that were made incorrectly. Their pizzas were remade and given back to them before I even got mine. The management, some boy around 21 years of age, continuously mishandled every situation. He was a smart mouth and rude to every customer that came in whether it was a complaint or not. If there was a mistake in the order then he immediately started saying that it was the incompetent staff making the pizzas. After standing around for about 10 minutes noticing that there were no more pizzas coming out of the oven, I had to ask for my pizza to be taken off the top of the oven and brought to me because they had forgotten about me.

Let's talk about my pizza. I ordered a vegetarian pan pizza. By the looks of the place I wasn't about to trust any meat so I thought I was going with the safer bet. The dough was very old and stale and did not rise very much. The toppings were sparse and they too looked old. Only the very edges of the pizza cooked all the way through. The middle of the pizza was raw dough. Very disgusting! I cannot and will not recommend this particular pizza establishment. If this is any indication on how the rest of the restaurant chain does business then I cannot recommend them either. Enter at...

Terrible customer service besides 1 driver who was very nice and tried to help. TERRIBLE manager. Ordered a Cheese pizza, came in 2 boxes, both burnt and completely inedible. Called them to ask for them to fix it, told me I had to pay for a new one. I don’t know why I did, but went to go buy the other one, expressed again how upset I was, manager said he can’t refund my first pizzas or replace them again. I got even more upset and expressed how wrong they were. He then spoke up as I was walking out the door, said he would refund that pizza they made, that fixed the one they messed up. CHARGED ME TWICE. Refunded one. Like it was never refunded to begin with. Took proof to him and he said “no I didn’t” and just laughed in our faces with the other employees outside in parking lot as we walked out without the complete money back. Absolutely terrible and scammy. Used to go here once a week. Absolutely will never order here again. Went downhill at this place. Wish corporate or owner would reach out to me to give me my refund, for at least one or...