Gabriella W.
Yelp
Lazaro's has let us and our friends down in a big way. I'm genuinely sad that, out of principle, I cannot return or provide business or send friends. It takes a whole lot for me to give out one star, as I think most businesses can have tough days and I take pride in being considerate of that with reviews online.
When we learned that the Eagles would be going to the Super Bowl (can I write that on here, am I supposed to say The Big Game), we decided we'd host our friends for a watch party and to avoid the high entry price at most of our favorite bar spots.
Since I know what a mess it can be trying to get food ordered the day of a big event like this, I decided to place all of my food orders in advance. The Tuesday before the game, I placed my online order for 5 pizzas. I was charged immediately upon the order being accepted. I think it's really important to note that you can submit an order, but it is not immediately accepted. I believe this means the restaurant has the option to decline or refuse an order, you know, in the situation that they become overwhelmed with too many orders to fulfill on a crazy day in the city. Too bad that didn't happen here...
My order was accepted, I was charged for the food in advance and was raving to my friends about how we would have my favorite local pizza for the party. Since I wanted to be completely sure that this was going to work out and that I did not need to make other arrangements, I went into Lazaro's on Friday at 5 PM. I let them know I had placed an online order earlier in the week for pick up on Sunday at 5:30 PM. They told me if the order had already been placed, I was all set! Great, this left me feeling confident.
Well now it's Sunday and I send my boyfriend and his brothers to go pick up the pizzas. They get there at about 5:15, because every time we've ordered Lazaro's online it has been finished earlier than expected. I was on the phone with them throughout the process and learned what an absolute mess it was at Lazaro's at this point. They had initially called me because the person at the counter told them they had no order for us. I provided them with the order number, full details, and all other identifying information so the order could be found. Clearly, they had not yet started our order.
My boyfriend asked how long it would be. He was told that they don't know. Strange response. He asked if they could call us once the order was actually ready for pick up, they said no. So my boyfriend and his brothers waited. They had some time to spare... well 30 minutes later there's no movement or update. My boyfriend asks again, how long? They ask him what exactly he is waiting for (this is the second time they are being reminded of our order). He asks if there is any alternative, we live three blocks away and the game is about to start in 20 minutes, maybe could someone drop it off and we pay for delivery? No, they're not accepting any new orders. Well... this wouldn't be a new order, but okay. They tell him give us 20 minutes, the order just went in the oven.
The 20 minutes come and go, my boyfriend sends his brothers back to our house so they don't miss the game. He stands around and watches as people walk in, order slices, and are served and on their way immediately. While our prepaid preorder has now taken over 1 hour since he arrived. Even with all the fanfare and activities that push kick off out a little later than the intended start time, my boyfriend is stuck inside of Lazaro's where they are honestly being d*cks to him about their clear catastrophe screw up in accepting way more orders than they could handle on game day.
Many times he tried to ask for a refund and cancel the order. They told him they would not be giving out any refunds. I really viewed Lazaro's as a nice family business, my boyfriend's office is a few blocks away and he often gets lunch there. Anytime we order pizza (which is pretty often...) it's from Lazaro's. But they showed us that they are greedy and cruel, with no willingness to own up to their mistakes.
By 6:45, 1.5 hour after his arrival, and over an hour after the order was supposed to be ready for pick up, the food was finally done. Undercooked and made incorrectly, but at this point what's the use in picking that battle? They weren't giving refunds and clearly needed the space in the oven.
Goodbye Lazaro's, it was nice while it lasted.