Pizza Hut and the Great Pizza Mystery

I'm sad. I've lost my favorite pizza. I know, I know. You say "Pizza Hut? Are you kidding?" But it's true. I've loved Pizza Hut's thin crust pizza since I first discovered hanging out at the Pizza Hut by the high school was cool. Some of my most "in" teen moments happened over a thin crust Italian sausage and mushroom with creamy Italian dressing on top.

Over the years, I graduated to a thin crust Supreme and while I lived in California, I'd dig into a North Beach Pizza with spinach, feta cheese and white sauce, but I was thinking about that cracker-like crust from Pizza Hut.

But after all these years, they've failed me, they've let me down, they've left me bereft. A couple of weeks ago, after a function on the north side of town, I called them up, ("Pizza Slut" on my phone's speed dial), talked to a nice person, made my order, then proceeded to wait the requisite 20 minutes for my pie. I arrived at the shop -- the same one I've been calling and ordering from for years. No order for me. No record that I called. And the worst -- no pizza.

I'm thinking, wait a second, are you kidding me? You don't have my order?! The guy even made me confirm which number I'd called. I'm looking around a not-very-busy shop at 5 employees knowing that *one* of them was the one talked to. One of them confirmed my number, took my order, and even gave me a total before not noticing that my pizza disappeared into thin air. No one copped to it. No one stepped up. How do you take an order, put it in the system, and then never notice that it doesn't show up on the monitor for the guy who takes the dough out of the freezer and adds toppings to it? The manager started to put my order in again saying it would take 20 minutes. I declined. So, I'm bummed. I hate to reward places for crappy service, so unless I cave or find another Pizza Hut, I'm stuck.