Great idea for Papa Murphy’s – make the pizzas in order.

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What do you get if you cross a bunch of hungry people with an ineffective ordering system? You get the riot that almost happened at my local Papa Murphy’s on Friday. And if they don’t do something about it, blood will be shed next time…I’m sure of it.

I’ve always had issues with Papa Murphy’s. My biggest gripe is cost; they don’t have the same overheads as any other pizza chain and yet the pizzas cost the same, if not more. A large specialty pizza from Pizza Hut, in my area, is $3 cheaper than the same one at Papa Murphy’s. But they have won Pizza Chain of the year for the last 5 years, so they’re clearly doing something right…somewhere.

However, one thing they’ve got dead wrong, at least at my local store, is the ordering system. Or should that be ordering nightmare?

It works something like this –

1. Call ahead and order your pizza.
2. Turn up 20 minutes later and pay.
3. Be told “that’ll be just a few minutes.”
4. Wait a few minutes.
5. Watch some guy come into the store and order.
6. Wait a few more minutes.
7. Watch more people come in with phone orders.
8. Watch them pay.
9. Watch the guy who just came in get his pizza.
10. Scratch your head and wonder why.
11. Wait a few more minutes.
12. Watch some lady wander into the store and place an order.
13. Watch more people come in with phone orders.
14. Try not to laugh at them.
15. Wait a few more minutes.
16. Watch lady who just came in get her pizza.
17. Start getting really annoyed.
18. Watch other people with phone orders get annoyed.
19. Repeat steps 5 though 18 for the next HOUR.
20. Form a protest gang with fellow hungry, pissed off phone order customers.
21. Go to counter, see masses of tickets in no particular order.
22. Watch young store clerk give you bewildered ‘help me’ look.
23. Organize a committee.
24. Sort through tickets, find phone orders.
25. Get phone orders made, hoping there is no spit in the pizzas.
26. Receive, as a way of saying sorry for the long wait, NOTHING extra in return.
27. Leave store with pizza, grumpy.
28. Return home to hungry, annoyed family.
29. Recount steps 1 through 27 while pizza cooks using your own electricity.
30. Eat pizza begrudgingly.

 

 

 

Pizza worth waiting for? Not really.

Now, I know a thing or two about advertising. I also know that more people will recount a bad customer experience than a good one. What surprised me most, other than the shambolic way of making pizzas in no discernable order, was the complete ignorance of the staff that day.

It was obvious to anyone in the store that there was a long line of people getting very annoyed. It was also obvious, due to the hints and complaints we dropped throughout the process, that nothing was being done.

Sure, they were busy. It was a Friday night after all. But most other places manage to process orders in the order in which they receive them…I believe that’s why it’s actually call an order. And having waited a total of 80 minutes for a pizza, to be given nothing in return for my time and trouble was just as confusing.

Papa Murphy’s, your pizzas are tasty. But your ordering system needs work. A lot of work. And I’m afraid I won’t be going back for a long, long time; even longer than I waited for that pepperoni pizza last Friday night.

Additional photo credit: berbercarpet

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Guest's picture
Guest

I've only tried Papa Murphy's once, and it was the same kind of disaster you just described. No way am I ever going back there when I can go to Little Ceaser's and pick up a $5 pizza that is sitting there, all ready and just waiting for me.

I think we're about to see another chapter in the book "Great Ideas with Terrible Business Plans" - chapter 1 was the Krispy Kreme donut story.

Guest's picture
Guest

At my local place, they make them in order all the time, and also any coupons offered through the e-club are usually just done as the weekly special.

Guest's picture
Amy

I love Papa Murphy's and haven't run into any problems there. I prefer going to these take-and-bake places because they cost so much less and I can bring my pizza home and have it hot instead of lukewarm. We don't have a lot of places that deliver and it makes this worth the effort for us. I also love it because when I get it home, I can add additional toppings before it is baked off.

They have a newsletter that I subscribe to. I would highly recommend it, if anyone else goes there regularly, because I get coupons and specials from them all of the time. We usually pay about $5.99 for a large.

Guest's picture
Guest

Their pizza is gross and costs more than Papa Johns. You must work there.

Guest's picture
Alyson

and it still took 80 minutes? I can teach you how to make bread dough, there sauce probably comes from a can and the cheese is probably pre-shredded from Costco or Sam's. Open one at your house. Solicit customers from the angry masses, you'll be rich in no time. And pizza will take much less time than the 2+ hours yours did and it will probably be cheaper.

They really don't cook it? And all y'all fall for it? All y'all? I always though the whole point of pizza from the pizza place was that they had a pizza oven and I didn't, so their cheese is more gooey than I could make it and lovely and brown and bubbly. No?

This is yet another genius idea, like the pet rock, that I should have come up with. GENIUS.

Baffled. Totally, 100% baffled.

But I do have a thing for Krispy Kreme, although it's only good when you have to drive the 1.5 hours from New Orleans to Hattiesburg or Biloxi to get them (instead of studying, of course) and get a warm one and bring back dozens (I'm not kidding, like 6 or more boxes) for everyone else. Somehow, not as interesting when there was one over in Metairie. (Went to Tulane, this is what we did for fun when Northern college students were playing beer pong - beer? we can get that anywhere, I think there's a free tap around here somewhere, but Krispy Kreme, that's an event.)

Guest's picture
Guest

actually i work at a papa murphy's we make every thing fresh every single day we grade our own cheese make our own cookie dough, make the dough, chop, and cut everything(except some of the meats of course) everything is fresh..people have no idea how fresh it all is.

Guest's picture
Guest

I can tell u that papa Murphy's shreds there own cheese, and that the only sauce that comes premade is the sauce for the cheesy bread.

Guest's picture
Guest

I suggest that if you dont really know what your talking about, then you probably should not say anything at all. Im a manager for papa murphys and every morning i go in there at 6 30 and make the dough that we use for that day. I start with water add flour and then yeast. I also chop tomatoes meaning I have to take the core out cut them in half and then put them in a copper one by one that cuts them into bite size pieces. I also do that with EVERY SINGLE other veggie in the store. I also get my veggies in twice a week, never have any veggies there for more than 2 days. And for the cheese, hahaha I wish it came shredded that would save me an hour and a half a day. We get our cheese in #40 blocks and have to cut each one into 6 pieces and same thing with the cheddar and we have to put #10 provolone to every #4 of cheddar. there really is a lot more to it than you think. Im not kidding you but papa Murphy's is the FRESHEST and Im not sure what store you are going in but let me just tell you its not the company its the person who is running that place and I wouldn't be surprised if they are gone in not to long, because papa Murphy's head quarters is very strict and they watch things very carefully.

Guest's picture
Duncan

Alyson has a point. Make it yourself at home cheaper and probably tastier. With fresher ingriedients and healthier choices.
My brother in law came over we went out bought the ingriedients, he made 6 random pizzas that were better than any restaurant within 50 miles for cheaper than 1 large pepperoni delivered.

So all y'all can send your extra money to Alyson and I if you want but make the pizzas at home.

Guest's picture
Lucille

My breadmaker pizza dough cycle is less than 80 minutes!

We have had mixed experiences with Papa Murphy's. In one city we lived the nearby one was well run, and consistently at least good. The one in our new town was a disorganized mess and the pizza was poorly tossed together the last time I went there I ended up waiting for a phone order for quite a while. Either experience they are still much cheaper than any other pizza place. But I quit using it as an option because they were that disorganized. That and we bought the breadmaker.

Guest's picture
Troy

My wife and I had our taxes done at an H&R Block office a few years ago. We called ahead of time and made an appointment (tax offices and kids don't mix). In fact, the office manager suggested we make an appointment so that we wouldn't have to wait. Anyway, we show up before our scheduled time... and we wait... and wait... and wait... When asked for an explanation, the office manager said they had to help the walk-in traffic. The manager couldn't grasp the concept of an appointment. From that point on, we decided to do our own taxes.

Guest's picture
Lynnie

Maybe it's because I live in a very rural part of Oregon that my experience has always been just the opposite. Its always fresh, cheap, and fast. The coupon deals knock the price way down and the specials are usually pretty good too. I'm thinking it's because of the small town attitude that it works here. Everyone knows virtually everyone and you better not mess up a hungry lumberjacks pizza or someone will pay LOL.

Guest's picture
Josh

Another chime in for make your own pizza.

The dough is pretty easy to make, my wife makes a wheat bread dough. She makes a pizza that is so awesome. Ok, I'm getting too excited. Wheat crust, pesto for sauce, onions, green peppers, red peppers, and feta cheese on top. Oh Em Gee.

I've never tried a take and bake place and now I never will, thanks for the heads up!

-Josh

Guest's picture
rstlne

If you're going to have to bake the pizza yourself anyway, wouldn't it be faster/cheaper to get a frozen pizza from the supermarket? I'm trying but I don't see how this makes sense.

Guest's picture
Guest

Frozen Pizza is not fresh. Papa Murphy's is fresh. I was checking out frozen pizzas last week and the 12" pizza that is comparable was almost $7 on sale. At Papa Murphy's the 14" pizza (about 30% more) was on sale for $6.99. When you have a coupon or the pizza is on sale, Papa Murphy's cannot be beat, even with homemade.

Guest's picture
James

While, by all means the staff were completely in the wrong, it's your own fault for waiting there for 80 minutes. When I've gone to Papa Murphy's, the pizza has almost always been there waiting for me. When it's particularly busy, I sometimes have to wait a few minutes, but I would be talking to a manager and/or walking out the door well before 80 minutes had passed, probably before even 30 minutes had passed. You even rewarded them for their horrible service by paying them money for the pizza.

Guest's picture
Jennifer Pardee

On Super Bowl Sunday, you call Dominoes, they say 45 minutes. At the 45 minute mark, do you stand up and open your front door? I doubt it, because you know it may take longer. If you accept late delivery, how is it Papa Murphy's is not also aloud to be "Just that busy" that maybe you'll have to wait a few minutes, when you show up at the 45 minute mark. They get slammed just like delivery. Who has not waited for delivery? Delivery is never on time. If I needed delivery in one hour, I'd call an hour and a half early. Delivery pizza tells you when it will be ready, you tell Papa Murphy's when you'll be there. People are so used to saying "I am on my way" to Papa Murphy's, giving them 10 minutes, and expect 0 wait time. Maybe on extremely busy days, they deserve the same courtesy you give Pizza Hut Delivery. If you need it at 5:15, and don't like waiting, remember you are in control, say you need at 5. Also, I am sure few realize, alot of Papa Murphy's customers show up 10 minutes early, that's why on time people wait. The early people demand immediate pizza. If a customer is in the store, early mind you, causing a scene, their pizza get's made 1st. Moral of the story, be considerate, on bust nights, allow an extra 5 minutes, and don't show up early.

Paul Michael's picture

I waited over 30 mins before I started growling a "harumphing", but I did have to pay for the pizza in advance, and was then told "it'll be out in a few minutes."

I would have argued for my money back if I didn't have a hungry family to go home to. 

Guest's picture
Minimum Wage

Maybe they were making the pizzas in alphabetical order of toppings? (e.g. anchocy pizzas first, then bacon, etc)

Paul Michael's picture

My fault for ordering pepperoni. I should have done the artichoke chicken pizza.

Guest's picture
CharlesP

We always had great experiences with Papa Murphy's. The food was good, they were in our local wal-mart so we would order on our way in to pick up diapers and such and then pick up the pizza on the way home. I live in the suburbs of Atlanta and while our Wal-Mart is very busy the PM's wasn't so busy it was a miserable experience. Being a franchise I'd guess it's just that they don't have good controls on the various franchisees. Prices were pretty nice too. Coupons probably helped my perception of that, but I recall especially liking their cheesy breadsticks for only a couple bucks as a way of adding to the meal of any given night.

Guest's picture
Chris

Did you send a letter to the manager or to the corporate website.

Its always easy to complain about something, but if you don't tell someone who can effect change, it doesn't do any good.

We recently had a bad experience at a McDonald's drive-thru (imagine that) and I submitted a comment via their website and got a call of apology from the local franchise owner and a card for a free meal for our family.

A quick check of their website finds their feedback page here.
http://www.papamurphys.com/public/contact_feedbackComments.cfm

Guest's picture
Brian

I'm hardly a Papa Murphy's apologist, but I have a feeling you've just been bitten by ineffective management at one particular store. Or, at least, I've never had this problem with the two different stores I've been to.

Papa Murphy's is a franchise store so it may be futile to contact their corporate HQ, but it couldn't hurt either.

Guest's picture
Guest

I've worked at three different Murphy locations and only one has had a good management team and from hearing stories from fellow employees who've transferred around I can tell you it's a common issue. All crew members that I've worked with have lodged at least one complaint and the corporate big wigs pay no attention. They reward horrible managers and store owners with more promotional material to make up for poor performance. The pre-made faves are the only way to get an immediate pizza worth the money.

Guest's picture
Guest

Sorry you had such a horrible time but all of our Murphy's around here are great. Their prices beat every local "hot" pizza chain by a mile and they always have our phone orders ready in 15 minutes. Might be the manager and lack of employee training. But as for me and my dollar, when buying pizza, will be spent on papa murphy's.

Guest's picture
Warbo the Great

I've never had a problem with my local Papa Murphy's. Of course I've never tried to order by phone either. I'm usually in and out in under five minutes on a busy day, so who needs to call ahead?

Guest's picture
Tony Bach

2 things:

My biggest gripe is cost; they don’t have the same overheads as any other pizza chain and yet the pizzas cost the same, if not more

 

Price has nothing to do with overheads. It has everything to do with maximising profit by charging what the market will bear. As an "ad man with inside knowledge", you could be expected to know that

 

19. Repeat steps 5 though 18 for the next HOUR.
20. Form a protest gang with fellow hungry, pissed off phone order customers.

 

Er, wouldn't you have wanted to start asking them after 10 minutes or so? 

 

 

Guest's picture
Lisa

This is why I bake my own pizza! Fast, cheap and GREAT! With pre-cooked sausage or just pepperoni and toppings I can be eating my pizza before any local chain delivers and way before I'd ever get to take-out place!

Guest's picture
BSC

Last time I had a bad experience there I took the survey on the receipt and they were in touch with me pretty quickly. You should give that a shot, seems to be a direct link to management if the survey is bad enough.

Guest's picture
Jim

Alyson,

what happened to the Krispy Kreme in Metairie? When I lived in River Ridge, that place was always packed every time I drove by.

Guest's picture
Guest

If I called ahead and when I arrive and the pizza is not ready, I would actually walk away and buy something else. I have done that in the past. The family gets a bit of a surprise and disappointed, but they get over it quickly when I show up with something else that is yummy.

Folks, just walk out and get something else. I do that everywhere if the service sucks.

And never go back.

Guest's picture
Guest

I went once and have never gone back. It's not that I had to wait on the day I went, but I paid so much for it. It was like you said, the same cost as one you'd order cooked. And it tasted lousy. The veggies tasted old and a bit rotten, and they were stingy with the cheese. In the last town I lived, there was a Papa Murphy's that made me a fan. Always great service. Always good pizza. Always cheaper than any other pizza place around. I liked to stop there after work on Thursdays when we'd watch Survivor. It became our tradition so much so that we couldn't watch Survivor without Papa Murphy pizza. I am sorely disappointed that the one near us is so lousy. Maybe the owner's will find out and get a new manager.

Guest's picture
Guest

I am not sure what you have said is either fair or accurate? I hope you thouroughly checked your facts before publicly slamming a franchisee who could be doing there best to make an honest dollar. It is only fair and just to give the owner a chance to make the situation right before displaying comments that go on and on. The average wait time is 3-4 minutes for a Papa Murphy's pizza. If you waited longer, you should have asked someone to check on it. If you still had to wait, you should have asked for a manager. Would you sit back and watch your burger at McDonalds for "80 minutes" without speaking up. It seems there were a number of human errors invloved with the alleged mishaps during your visit. But as a consumer, do the right thing and let SOMEONE know about your experience if it was less than ideal. If you send an email and do not get a response as we have done with Pizza Hut and the other Papa, THEN do not go back. It is only fair to give a small business owner the opportunity to make the situation right! Especially before slamming a company!

Guest's picture
Papa Owner

Thank you for your comments. I could go on and on but I'll try to keep this short enough to read.
As a Papa Murphy's franchisee of 13 years I've seen it all.
Short of being in your store at all times it would seem to be impossible to get an entire crew at one time who will take care of things the way I (the owner) would like. So please use the customer feedback at the bottom of your reciept. We recieve feedback constantly (positive and negative). The company that does or customer feedback only gives us credit toward our percentage scores on a grade of 5. Anything below that is a zero so sometimes it's hard to read the reports but we do anyway. Be sure to mark yes on the area that asks if you would like to be contacted. Otherwise we will not contact you assuming you don't want to be bothered. Working at a Papa Murphy's is rewarding especially when you can make your customers happy. And very stressfull when you can't. I find explainations of some of the circumstances we deal with going through my head but I will not list them here as they sound like excuses. So...please let us know when you have a bad experience...and don't hesitate to give us a 5 if we deserve it. You get a discount on your next visit regardless of which way your feedback reads so what do you have to lose?
To all those comments that came before in this thread...Don't knock it until you try it...We make our dough fresh every day...We grate three kinds of cheese everyday(not from Costco)...There is no comparison between our pizza and Dominos, Pizza Hut, Little Ceasars etc. We use top quality ingrediants and way more than the other guys. I.E. Our Large Pepperoni pizza has 60 slices of pepperoni. We know we are on the right track if they touch each other when we are putting them on.

Guest's picture
Guest

I think you're missing the point.

It doesn't matter if Papa Murphy's is the best, cheapest, tastiest pizza in the world in most places. Here is the point:

It sucks and is over priced where I live.

I don't care how good it is where you live, or what kind of awards they win, or what a great place it could be if my local manager was fired. Those things don't change the fact that I had a terrible experience at my local store and won't be going back. Ever.

I'm relating my bad experiences, "slamming" them as you put it, because I should NEVER have to endure that in the first place. In my case I did speak to the local store manager while I waited, but he did nothing to fix the problem and didn't offer me anything to try and win me back as a customer.

The Krispy Kreme story goes like this:

They had a GREAT product, the stores were always packed, and I had hot, fresh donuts whenever I wanted. Then all of a sudden, the 3 local stores where I live went out of business. Nobody understood why, the stores were always packed. Then I saw something on the news where the VP of Krispy Kreme was asked about his business model. I forget exactly what he said, but it was clear he didn't have a clue what a business model was, let alone what his own company's business model was. Who knows what happened? I'm guessing management at some level found a way to suck the money out of the business and stuff their own pockets.

Guest's picture
Guest

By the tone of your words I can tell your probably a road rage kind of person. Chill out and make the best out of a bad experience. Hey, if you hadn't been stuck there waiting on pizza you may have been spared being hit by a drunk driver...Everything happens for a reason, embrace it, don't let it get to you, it's bad for the soul.

Guest's picture
Guest

The papa murphys near me does a great job about being quick and serving the customers in order. I usually go there because I like their pizza and I have coupons for there. This site has lots of free pizza coupons. If you like to eat pizza, try checking it out. www.1pizzacoupons.com

Guest's picture
jj

Papa Murphys Doesnt even have a freezer in the store.
All veggies are diced and sliced the same day as served.
Their cheese (which is kosher) is grated daily in the store.
Their dough is also made from scratch daily, not frozen crusts like most pizza places.
As for the wait, there is no excuse ! but it sounds like they were quick to respond and correct it.
My # 1 reason is you can see how its prepared,
not having to wondering what is in that cheese covered pie.
Papa Murphys is #1

Guest's picture
Poopa Murphy

i worked at papa murphys in oklahoma. they dont have a "freezer," but they turn their fridge below 29f. the company shelf lives on some products are TWO WEEKS but they are never really honored. fresh my foot. they change labels all the time. the cheese was shredded daily- but used more than a week later! dough is never used the same day. ever. it is all horse crap. especially in the mushrooms. because you are not even allowed to wash them. so there is actual animal feces on you actual pizza. i can go on, but you get the picture. these are minimum wagee teenagers and druggies and felons and you are eating doo doo.

Guest's picture
Nikii

I've always had the opposite effect. When I was a customer, the service was really friendly [still is], they made your pizzas in less than 5 minutes, an it was very well organized. I say was, because now I work there.

As an employee there, I believe we are well ran [which probably helps because everyone knows each other personally and our manager is strict but cool] and organized. Our managers make sure of it. :O

I think the main cause for complaints is management, because we get complaints often of two other nearby papa murphy's. Those I can believe [I've been to the other two: one is just completely lazy, and one slops the ingredients in the middle of the pizza (in which case all ingredients should be spreaded evenly to the edges)].

All of our ingredients really are fresh... we grate the cheese ourselves every morning, we cut the vegetables ourselves, etc... Also, we have our own dough mixer, and our dough is made from scratch [including cookie dough, with exception of the hershey's choco chips] so we make our doughs in less than 10 minutes. Oh, and... And we don't get our sauces from cans... ;D We also have more than one kind of red sauce and dough etc

Management wise, we've never had a pizza bake for longer than 15 minutes [we have our own little oven], and with our store, we're trained to be fast, and we have to have the pizza's off the line in 5 minutes or less [including stuffed pizzas]. Also, our manager always does what they can to make sure the customer is satisfied. And if any customer comes to us, we correct the problem, and if it has to do with the food, we easily hook them up with a new pizza. [*Note: If you get a pizza that seems old i.e. a premake, you should be able to simply ask if they can remake the pizza in front of you so it's fresher... we atleast have that policy at my papa murphy's]

*reads comments to see if I missed anything*

@JJ: like I said previously, I think it's management. We make everything fresh every morning [and we make pretty big quantities]. However, we get a lot of business as well, so we constantly change out toppings to make sure they're fresh. Our papa murphy's has a giant freezer to keep ingredients fresh, and to make sure the doughs don't rise while sitting out [which is annoying to work with and is also less appealing to eat]... We get orders at the beginning of every week, but we also run out fast [lots of business :o], but we can also call up the company we get ingredients from and can have it at our doorstep in less than 30 mins.

I don't get papa murphy's just because I'm an employee, but also for the fact that other pizza places in my area are either disgusting or have horrible service. There's only two other pizza places I go to... other wise, Little Caesars is disgusting and horrible ran here, Papa John's is horribly made, Pizza hut takes 2 hours to deliver, etc...

Anyways, I'll stop. If anyone has any questions papa murphy's wise, feel free to contact me. :o

nikiib@hotmail.com

Guest's picture
Another PM victim

I just google'd "Papa Murphy's sucks" on a whim after dealing with their incompetence locally and found this thread. What a coincidence! I waited 50+ minutes for my phone order a few weeks ago, and filled out the online comment form. A gentleman contacted me the next day from the local store and apologized profusely. He then said he's put my name "in the computer" for "a couple" free pies to keep us as customers.

"Hmmm... maybe these folks really are trying to make things right," I said to myself So tonight I swung by the store to redeem one of my freebies, and the staff looked at me like I was nuts. "Ummmmmmmm... Orrie (the customer service fellow who called me) isn't here anymore," I was told. No list of names to be found, either, and no offer for pizza. Nice. I left, and won't be back.

These guys are utterly, completely incompetent.

Guest's picture
PM artist;)

Our store has a list of all names and issues that have been reported in the past year so that we can keep track of everything. I think you all are on the wrong side of town!

Guest's picture
Another PM victim

As a follow-up, the local store has (eventually) made good, and appears to have a pretty straight-shooter as manager now. They gave me two free pies and a side, to boot, and the new manager was very professional and apologetic. Hope the good service continues!

Guest's picture
Guest

I am a two year employee of a papa murphys, if you just wanna whine like little girl about waiting a few minutes for your pizza order go through pizza hut or something they even bake it for you!!!!!. You have no idea how much bullcrap we deal with as employees, all you fat people come in at the same time and order four pizzas each. some pizzas are easier and faster to make so they get out quicker and some are premakes which were made earlier that why some people get theirs sooner. if youd think and have common sense youd figure that one out.

Guest's picture
Guest

You know, everyone who works retail is going to get crap from customers every now and then. It happens.That's just life. And the comment you made about fat people coming in and ordering four pizzas at a time? I'm not sure if you're aware, but a good majority of the U.S. population is obese.

Guest's picture
Guest

i am also an employee at papa murphy's. as the above person already stated, sometimes certain pizzas are premade or quicker to make which is why some pizzas come out out of order. at the store where i work, we keep all tickets in order(including call in orders) and make them as fast as we can. i'm sure the store you went to was badly run or had new employees or something of that nature. many of our customers say that papa murphy's is the best pizza they've ever had. which is why they keep coming back. i agree that the system is flawed, and if i could figure out a better way to run things i would definitely suggest it. but, at least at our store, we do our best.
suggestions would be to come on a slower night instead of fridays. and if you ever have to wait longer than 10 minutes (unless you were told the wait would be longer) just go ask them to check on it. sometimes tickets get lost or misplaced. mistakes do happen. (again at our store we often offer something for free when you have to wait a long time-free cookie dough or something)

in response to any negative comments or to people who do not understand the concept... i think that people like papa murphy's because it's convenient for a lot of people. you can bake the pizza whenever you want to and have it fresh and hot. also our ingredients are fresh (once again-at least at my store..). all veggies are chopped daily. dough is made daily. as are salads and cookie dough. and cheese is grated daily. if you do not understand the concept of take n bake then don't go there..simple as that. but the reason that people choose it over frozen pizzas from the grocery store is because it's BETTER. and the reason that people choose it over pizza hut, dominos, etc.. is because it's cheaper, hot and fresh when you bake it, no need for a delivery charge or a tip, and many people just think it tastes better. give it a try and see what you think. it may have you hooked. and if you don't care for it, then don't go back.

Guest's picture
PizzaLover

I found this thread looking for pizza coupons. I've read the whole thing and have to respond. I'm not an employee or franchisee of Papa Murphy's...

We live in the Seattle metro area. As has been said, stores vary as people vary, i.e. management and employees in some stores are better than others. I can and have made my own pizza before. I find that for some of the specialty pizzas, it's cheaper to have Papa Murphy's make it and take it home to bake. Our favorite is the Chicken, Bacon & Artichoke D-Lite thin crust pizza. I cannot make it from scratch for what I can buy it pre-made for.

As others have said, there are almost always coupons available that will knock the price down $2-4. Of the two stores we go to, one does a better job than the other and we tend to order there.

We have NEVER ordered ahead and not had our pizza in the rack, ready to purchase. YMMV.

We always thank the people behind the counter and tell them how much we appreciate them. That always gets a smile.

Guest's picture
jennifer

well i think what people don't understand is that every papa Murphy's is owned by someone else . so different store different experience if you can stick to the corporate stores . there listed on website . i have worked at 3 papa murpheys and also a couple pizza huts TRUST ME WHEN I SAY don't go to pizza hut or at least don't piss off the workers you do not want to know what kind of stuff goes into your 23.00 pizza at least at papa murpheys we wear gloves and you can see whats happening to you food

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Nicholas

Whats really sad its I believe this is true, and I worked at Papa Murphy's. The Problem isn't the system its the lazy workers.
Our store is supervised by An area supervisor. So out tickets stay in order pizza's get out on time....when he's there..When he's not people forget to ask for names. also to this little vent about papa murphy's we are supposed to write "Here" on any call-in tickets if they have came to pay and its not ready, then it gets priority and goes before all other pizza's....besides other "here" call-ins. Now this always happens when the manager or supervisor is there. Now see the manager and supervisors leave at 7 or earlier and all the crew members are left to do their work. It's not the system its just the lazy workers.

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papa murphy's employee

well if that is the case with the store where you worked, then it's the manager's fault. managers and supervisors shouldn't leave at 7. there should be one closing.
and it obviously all varies depending on the store you go to. i'm not a manager or supervisor and i still work hard and do what i'm supposed to do even when a manager isn't there.
point is.. every store varies, but give the store/manager/workers credit b/c you have no idea what they have to deal with. if you come in to pick up your call-in order and it's not ready....just think..maybe they got busy. and i know at my store if someone comes in with a call-in that isn't ready we bump it up to the front and it usually only takes about 5 mins AT MOST to get out. so it shouldn't be that big of a deal.

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Joe

What is decsribed by Paul Michael is typical. Papa Murphy's service is terrible. I live in the city where the corporate headquarters are they local store are the worst. The further away you get the better.

Unfortunately Papa Murphy's will survive this downturn. They offer a large pizza for $7. It's cheap and people will buy them. I expect when it turns around they will see a loss in sales.

Joe

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Guest

I think it's pretty low for 1 person's bad experience at their local Papa Murphy's to try to cut all stores down just because their particular store isn't functioning up to standards. Sounds like you work for their competitor.

We couldn't be more pleased with our own local store. Yes, there are times they experience high volume sales they weren't anticipating but they always go above and beyond to make us all happy in the end. People are so impatient now-a-days. If it isn't a regular occurance, there can always be extenuating circumstances. I know that I've gone into our local store to find it packed and the owners unavailable. People treated the employees pretty poorly when they were doing the best they could to get us all taken care of. Come to find out there was a death in the family and the owners had to leave unexpectedly. How can a customer expect things to always go perfectly. Things happen.

I know for a fact that their cheese is top quality and hand shredded every day. I've been in before and watched them shredding it. Their large pepperoni has 60 slices and their Family has 80 slices. Try getting the same quality at a Little Caesars of Papa Johns. You take your pizza home and it's hot when you're ready to eat and it doesn't taste like cardboard. I've spent over $80 for 3 pizzas at Round Table but never over $30 at Papa Murphy's. Sometimes you have to wait longer because their volume of sales is higher than the competitions but that tells you volumes about their cost and quality.

I'm so tired of hearing people whine and complain now-a-days. What the heck is wrong with everyone. What happened to compassion and understanding. If your local store isn't that great my apologies that you don't have the same owners we have running your store. Don't screw it up for the rest of us though.

There's a reason they've won 6 years in a row now as the #1 pizza chain in America. I can't afford to be without our local store in this economy. They make it possible for me to still be able to afford to get my kids pizza now-a-days. They even take Food Stamps! Try to find any other fast food restaurant that can!

Patience and understanding goes a long ways!

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Guest

I've never run into any problems with Papa Murphy's and I know someone who works there. Everything is fresh. At least at the one here in town it is. They make their own dough fresh every day, shred the cheese themselves. Tomatoes, onions, green peppers, spinach, etc. is all cut fresh, by hand. Most places here don't deliver, and whenever I get delivery it's always luke warm and a lot of times the dough isn't even cooked all the way. Guess it all depends on the management and whoever owns the Papa Murphy's where you live.

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Guest

ok... i dont know what kind of store you went to but if that was actually a papa murphys it should be shut down. i am an employee at a minnesota papa murphys and if anyone is waiting longer than 10 minutes for their pizza we offer them a free cookie dough or cheezy bread. and we have never had anyone wait longer than 10 minutes, what im saying is it sounds like your over egzagerating a bit and definately should not blame the entire chain for one shitty one, and our ordering system could not be more simpeler. ask for their phone number, confirm their name, ask what they would like, confirm order, ask if they would like any add ons, and pay, they finish paying and the ticket comes out. and half the time our line has already made the pizza and has it ready for the customer before the ticket even comes out. you need to rethink your anger towards americas best food chain

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slicker

all this talk of pizza is making me want a papa's murphy's right now.

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Guest

first of all dont think all papa murphys establishments function like the one you visited. I have worked at a papa murphys for 2 years and we function quickly and efficiently. balancing people who order in the store and people who order over the phone is a difficult task and a managable one at that. Your issues should not be with papa murphys as a franchise, it should be with the specific store you had this bad experience with. If you wanted compensation for your loss of time, TALK TO A MANAGER, they will work something out for you. As employees we try our best to keep everyone happy. So next time you go to a papa murphys voice your concerns to a manager, he/she will happily listen to your issues.

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Guest

Holy cow!! I've never had an experience like that at Papa Murphys!! I actually love them, much better than Pizza Hut, I think it's just a better tasting pizza. I've never had to wait more than 5 minutes and we get it all the time, even at busy times. So sorry about your experience!! :(

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Guest

you are an idiot

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Guest

I just tried Papa Murphy's in Knoxville, TN for the first time last night. I had heard many good things about PM's, so I figured I would give it a shot. The service was excellent. I was a walk-in and I received my order within 5 minutes. I took the pizza home and it was cooked perfectly when following the instructions. Now, understand, I am a pizza freak. I have eaten pizza from just about every place you can have pizza because it's my favorite food. This is what I thought of the pizza:

Papa Murphy's definitely has a fresh taste. You don't get that nasty "artificial" aftertaste that you get after Papa J's or any of the other fast food pizza joints. Even thought the pizza tasted fresh, it was extremely bland. There was nothing special about the pizza. It reminded me a lot of a Toyota Camry. It gets the job done and there is nothing bad about it, but it's nothing to write home about. It's a forgettable taste, and I don't think I will be going back because of it. I would honestly prefer Papa Johns over Papa Murphy's. I would have to say the worst part of the pizza was the crust. It was VERY plain. Almost like cardboard. The best part of the pizza was the sauce.

If I was in the mood for a pizza to cook at my house, I would either get a Freschetta pizza or make my own at home using the Pilsbury crust. Either method would be half the price and much tastier.

I really wanted to like Papa Murphy's, but it didn't do it for me because it was so generic and plain. I know a lot of people like it, but not me. As I said, I am not complaining about anything in particular. The service was great and the pizza wasn't disgusting. It's just wasn't unique or special in any way.

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pizzaguy

Pizza and beer is always a good call when watching the Superbowl.
www.pizzadominoes.com for pizza coupons

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Guest

SATISFACTION GUARANTEED, if your not satisfied call them and tell them and they'll make it up to you, THEY HAVE TO.

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jc

I've been going to Papa Murphys for at least 7 years. The prices are increasing more than other places while quality is going down. can you say skimping on the ingredients? If they stay on course the will go away soon.

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I've been a huge fan of Papa Murphys my entire life. I've been going there for pizza whenever I get it (except for when I'm in a hurry or have a big party, then its Little Caesars) and I've always been extremely pleased with prices and customer service. But, it may be that I use coupons that the prices don't seem bad. But even without them, they're still the same or less than Pizza Hut and Dominos, and it tastes just as good. Maybe it's just where you live, and the particular one you went to?

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I'm thinking it's because of the small town attitude that it works here. Everyone knows virtually everyone and you better not mess up a hungry lumberjacks pizza or someone will pay.

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Guest

I came accross this site for Papa Murphy's Coupons:

Papa Murphy's Coupons.

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Guest

The Papa Murphy's in Selah, WA is great: Friendly employees and fast service, good prices.

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Guest

Papa Murphy's by me used to be great. Mainly because it was $5 for a large 1 topping pizza. Now their prices have gone up and it's about the same as any other chain, with the exception that when I buy from PM I have to cook it myself. Either stick with any other pizza chain or make it yourself. PM won't save you any money.

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Guest

Forget the price for a moment. I have standards. One thing I will not do, is cook a frozen pizza. If my pizza $5 more than a frozen factory-produced slab of ice, I am the winner, not Papa Murphy's. The next best thing is a 'good' Italian pizza place, and Papa Murphy's has just saved me well over $5.00, in tip alone.
Another thing I will not do, is Dominoes, Pizza Hut, Little Ceasars; or any other grease-pie franchise pizza chain.
I go to Papa Murphy's, not because I am looking for the cheapest meal on the market, but because I am looking for a pizza.
I can't say anything about bad service. Probably, talk to the manager... several days after you abandon the order. Waiting 80 minutes for an uncooked pizza goes beyond the boundary of reason. Don't do that. You had a bad customer service experience, which has nothing to do with pizza.

Guest's picture
TR

My local Papa Murphy's seems to be one of the best around, but they do vary quite a bit by location. I prefer going there instead of the large chain places, because I can watch them make my pizza, and don't have to tip or pay some ridiculous delivery fee. I live south of Seattle and have been to several in the South King county area. The Covington store is terrible, while the Auburn North location is great, and the Renton Center Way store is just average. Prices also vary from location to location, but I get a coupon flyer in the mail about once a month and the coupons never expire-I still have some going back to 2004. If the location near you sucks, try a different one, as they're all independently run franchises. My only gripe with their pizza is the excessive sodium content-they really need to lower it. I'll keep going back as long as the quality is maintained the prices are fair.

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Guest

oh shut up. papa murphy's costs LESS than pizza hut. and is MUCH better than that fake crap. shut your face and stop complaining. you're not important.

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Guest

I cannot believe how MENTALLY RETARDED you and your fellow papa murphy's haters are. I guess you like Papa Johns and Pizza Hut and frozen pizza better because you live in trailer parks and are unemployed and live of EBT. Maybe if everyone on here didn't drop out of high school at the age of 16, you would all UNDERSTAND the concept and realize that it IS fresh pizza. Maybe if you had not been dumpster diving for every meal, you would realize that Papa Murphy's tastes better than the left over chicken from the bottom of the dumpster you've been subsisting off of. (look up subsisting in a dictionary- it's a big book with words and their meanings.) I'm assuming that you're jealous that you are not intelligent enough to think up a concept such as take-n-bake pizza. But, you are from a trailer park so no one expects you to be intelligent, much less successful. I find it VERY hard to believe you waited 80 minutes for a pizza. Do you even know what a clock is?

Oh wait- you must work for Pizza hut! That's why you have such insolent claims (again, look up insolent in the dictionary. Remember what a dictionary is?)

Guest's picture
Nanikins

Actually, Alyson, The sauce doesn't come in a can, it comes in a bag Ha-ha and the Cheese? It comes prepackaged, but they shred it themselves. The produce they get is all fresh; they cut them themselves. They may use help from a slicer, but its' all done by hand. The dough is mixed in a huge industrial mixer using already mixed dry ingredients in a bag for the dough (like a big flour bag) except for the yeast, then they add the wet ingredients. They have their stuff prepped for the next day and the following day they make more stuff. Only occasional things come in a can, like, pineapples and anchovies which, to be quite honest, I would get from the store too! Honestly, to the blog person, if you're having issues with THAT particular Papa Murphy Take N' Bake, go to another one or just go somewhere else instead of wasting valuable minutes of your life complaining. Not everything you assume is correct and not everything you are told is true. My advice would be for the people making assumptions and believing everything they hear: stop! Double check or just don't talk about it. Anyways, have some grace! Be understanding and have a positive, benefit of the doubt about situations like what you experienced. Like you said yourself, blogger, there was a new kid at the counter (apparently) and it was probably their first day at a rush! When there is a rush, there's going to be, most likely, a mistake or two. Forgive them, move on, but try to be understanding. They were probably training new people, a mistake probably happened the day before, you never really know. Don't get angry because if you were in their shoes, I'm sure you would rethink your whole attitude.

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Guest

I can tell you haven't worked in food service before... It's really not as easy as it looks.

Guest's picture
u-waited-an-hr?!- rlly??

Obviously your local store needs new management. Maybe they were understaffed for that day and not experianced. I don't think it's the entire chain, just that the one in your area is full of ding-heads. And you are a ding-head for not asking for your money back and leaving for somewhere else after waiting for an hour, hell in that amount of time you could have made your own freak'n pizza, lady.

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Guest

I'm sorry, but when I order pizza I expect it to be baked and ready to eat. If I want frozen pizza ready to bake I'll go to the grocery store. This "take and bake revolution" is an unbelievable joke.

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Guest

I'm sorry about your experience, that shouldn't have happened. Often employees are left to themselves with no managers after a certain time of day because they believe that the store "won't be busy." When this happens, the employees left there try to clean up and restock. When we have nothing ready and people become rushing in we get backed up quickly and while trying to get walk in customers out the door, more call in orders come to pick up their pizzas that haven't been made yet because of those walk in orders. Every ticket gets thrown around with the pizzas and some might end up getting lost. If there's no ticket, we don't know that we need to make that pizza. If you are waiting on your pizza after 5 minutes still, I recommend going up to the cashier or the lead line person and asking them to make your pizza. We're too focused on the pizzas to look up and notice one person in a crowd of people.

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Guest

You are preaching to the choir! I worked at Papa Murphy for a year and it was the worst experience of my life. It was very disorganized and my manager was a total asshole (after repeatedly reminding him of my hearing disability he would tell at me in front of customers DURING RUSH HOUR). The system is screwed up but the food is fresh and if you sacrifice a virgin and call at the right time you can get your pizza ready in about five/ten minutes. Despite being a fan for nearly ten years I never went back to any of the stores and now neither do my friends. As a former employee I understand and apologize that some of our coworkers can't pull their heads out of their asses