Papalinos Slipping?

I used to love Papalinos (Baxter). I always thought it was better in-house but that delivery was good too. The last couple of times there have been errors (missing items, wrong toppings) or the pizza has been underdone (which I assume is because they are busy and rushing orders).

But tonight might have been the last straw. I call to place my order. The woman asks for my address and as I start to give it to her, she yells at me that they only deliver 3 miles from the store. I explain that I understand and am within the delivery area.

The pizza arrives much quicker than it has of late and the delivery guy is very nice. But when I open the box, I find that my pizza is completely naked- ALL of the cheese is stuck to the lid, leaving just crust and sauce behind (and what happened to the fresh herbs they used to use?). Moreover, it is not only cold but almost raw, which I find strange for such a thin pizza. But I guess that explains how it got there in 30 minutes!

Then I open the other bags. 4 cannoli- check. Large soda- check. Large salad- nope, I have a side salad.

I call the store and tell the woman what happened. I hear her tell the cook that the salad didn't go out. I correct her and say that the salad came but it was the wrong size. She' tells me that there is nothing she can do and that the next time that I call, I will get a free salad. Not much help for the 4 people I am trying to feed tonight.

So we sit down to our raw, naked pizza and sliver of salad. First bite, my friend makes a face, and pulls a piece of string out of her mouth. From the salad. I'm beyond calling again at this point.

But for $47 (not including tip), there has got to be a better option out there!

Sorry for the rant. Is it just my dumb luck or has anyone else noticed that quality is slipping at this location?

Cheers,

Tracey

Tracey, it certainly sounds like you had a terrible experience and I probably would've been even more irate when I called back then you were! I certainly would've expected the correct salad to be delivered as well as a replacement pizza! That level of service is totally unacceptable no matter who it's from. Unfortunately, well maybe fortunately of this is the case, we can't get delivery from them where we live. I certainly will take your comments into consideration the next time we consider eating there.

I would have driven too the store

I would have driven too the store

I don't drive- hence the delivery!

I have loved Papalino's since it opened but it has been slipping lately. The last 2 times I got my pizza I asked for it to be cooked a little longer and it still came out underdone. I know they've had issues with their oven in the past so maybe that's it but I really hope they get the quality back to where it used to be.

Hi Tracey. Welcome!

I refer you to this thread from 2011. Apparently it's been a looooong, rather bumpy slide.

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=16582
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=16582&start=15#p128913

ETA for clarity: Our experience was for carryout at the Baxter location, which at the time was the only one.

Not to discount the two bad experiences listed on the thread referenced above, but it's worth noting that they were from 3 years ago. I do hope the original poster gets her issues resolved - or finds a new favorite spot for delivery if there are irreconcilable differences in the pizza producer-pizza consumer relationship. Seems like there's gotta be a "statute of limitations" on bad experiences, though. Or maybe not - some on this board never forget, which is their choice. But I mean... 2011.

My point is that this spotty service is nothing new. I prefer consistency.

there has got to be a better option out there!

Za's.

Coals and Rockies are both excellent, but Coals is only good if you eat at the restaurant, (it loses much in the transport).

I had a couple of issues with the Papalino's off of Westport road recently. I sent in a comment on their website and never heard anything back. That was definitely poor customer service.

I like their pizza and we LOVE their cannolis. The prices are definitely on the high end though, so, I would expect excellent customer service.

there has got to be a better option out there!

Za's.

Za's is good (and can't be beat if you want to try a new beer with your meal), but I crave Clifton's.

You people need to get on the Cafe Lou Lou pizza delivery tip. We deliver all over the Highlands and St. Matthews. And it's not just pizza, either - though: full disclosure: I work there. You can also have my desserts delivered along with your pizza, pasta, lavash rolls and sandwiches. We make all our own pizza dough, all our own desserts, too.

I love Coal's, and I love Papalino's, too. Variety is the spice of life, though!

I was sad to hear Papalinos discontinued their charcuterie at the Springhurst location. The waiter told me it wasn't a big seller so they stopped. I thought it was excellent. Such a shame.

Had the same experience at Papalinos. Checked it out given the polling here on another thread and having never had it. Other than the fact that I found it incredibly expensive for what it was, the pizza was really undercooked. If I were paying Dominos prices I wouldn't complain, because it's clearly far better, but for $25+, it was a major disappointment.

My Papalino's experiences:

1) First month open - everyone on here was raving about it...so took my college age son, and we declared it a "10".

2) Went back 6 months later and service was pretty bad and we rated the pizza a "6".

3) A few months later talked the gang at work into ordering take out for lunch. Ugh, don't know how much the travel time affected the taste, but give it a "1" (two of us got sick that night).

4) Tried the Springhurst location on it's opening week...bad decision...3 us went for lunch...must have been 12 employees in there (training?), but the service was abysmal...took almost an hour for standard lunch items). I got a slice, can't remember one, and one got a calzone. The calzone was BAD...took 7 napkins to soak up the "juice" that came out of it when it was cut open,,,UGH. Overall we gave it a "2".

Seems to be a steady decline...probably won't go back.