It used to be that "No one outpizzas the hut," but if recent business decisions and customer complaints are anything to go by, Pizza Hut could, in fact, be outpizza'd in no time.
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00:00It used to be that no one out-pizzas the Hut, but if recent business decisions and customer
00:04complaints are anything to go by, Pizza Hut could, in fact, be out-pizzed in no time.
00:10Many large-scale restaurant chains have countless franchised locations to their names. Sadly,
00:15Pizza Hut has recently watched two of its notable franchisees fall into the dark void
00:18of bankruptcy. It started with NPC International, Pizza Hut's broadest franchisee, filing for
00:23Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2020. Not a big surprise, given how heavily the restaurant industry
00:28as a whole struggled during the COVID-19 pandemic, but nearly 300 Pizza Hut locations were shuttered
00:34as a result.
00:35NPC believes that filing will strengthen the overall health and performance of the entire
00:39system for the long term."
00:41Fast forward to 2024, when many restaurants began to pull themselves out of the COVID
00:45rut, except for another one of Pizza Hut's larger franchisees. EYM Pizza LP filed for
00:50bankruptcy in July, shortly after its parent company was forced to sue it for failing to
00:54pay royalties.
00:56Restaurant chains can make the decision to close certain locations for a number of reasons.
01:00Poor visibility, complaints about management, financial and legal problems — any one can
01:05force a corporation to sacrifice a portion of its presence to the chopping block. For
01:09reasons unknown, Pizza Hut recently closed 15 locations without warning in the Midwestern
01:14region, with over 100 more rumored to follow. The company's official website only vaguely
01:18confirmed that an undisclosed number of closings will be put into effect.
01:22The general assumption is that these closures are likely linked to legal battles stemming
01:27from EYM's recent bankruptcy. Whatever is truly going on behind the scenes, a lessening
01:31number of total stores is rarely a good sign.
01:34Investing in the happiness and satisfaction of one's workforce virtually always has a
01:38positive impact on profitability as a whole. And while some large-scale retail and fast
01:42food corporations place employee pay, treatment, and satisfaction on a pedestal, recent reports
01:47suggest that Pizza Hut may not be one of them.
01:49In April 2024, Pizza Hut employees in Los Angeles went on a three-day strike. The basis?
01:55Wage theft by managers, refusal to honor overtime pay, unfair and irregular scheduling,
02:00and eliminated sick leave. Numerous alleged workers have backed up these claims online,
02:04saying a lack of breaks, ill treatment from management, and checks coming up short are
02:07somewhat par for the course where working at Pizza Hut is concerned.
02:11Sure, not every location's work environment is a negative one, but having throngs of dissatisfied
02:15workers throughout Pizza Hut's ranks doesn't exactly bode well for the future of the chain.
02:20In an attempt to better the lives of minimum wage workers, California recently hiked up
02:24its starting hourly pay requirement for fast food workers to $20 an hour. And the response
02:28from two Pizza Hut franchisees in the area was drastic.
02:32Pack Pizza and Southern California Pizza Company, both of which operate under Pizza Hut's banner,
02:36announced a massive layoff of over 1,200 delivery workers prior to the new law-taking effect.
02:41A wave of discontent spread among the company's employees and consumers alike.
02:44It's very sad and disappointing that these big companies, you know, that are franchised,
02:49are laying off the working middle-class people that are trying to survive."
02:53Whether or not this move was the result of the franchise's honest inability to keep from
02:57going under financially, or simply an attempt at increasing profit margins, isn't clear.
03:01But slashing the company's employee force has the potential to backfire in more ways
03:05than one.
03:06Reddit posts like Here's Why Pizza Hut Sucks Now have been popping up more and more recently,
03:11with once-loyal customers now questioning the current quality of the chain's menu items.
03:15Complaints about shrinkflation, the switch from fresh to frozen dough, the use of lower-quality
03:19frozen ingredients, and the seemingly constant discontinuation of favorite items abound when
03:24it comes to Pizza Hut.
03:25While there will always be naysayers regarding any chain restaurant, the amount of heat Pizza
03:29Hut in particular seems to be receiving feels especially elevated and indicates an overall
03:33change in the chain's community favor.
03:36Many restaurants have experienced an increase in menu prices over the last few years, but
03:40customers seem to agree that Pizza Hut's feels especially outrageous, and even downright
03:44unnecessary.
03:45In a Reddit thread about Pizza Hut's prices being higher than other pizza chains, one
03:49customer inquired,
03:50"'Is there a reason?
03:51Like paying workers more?
03:52Better ingredients?'
03:53Allegations that Pizza Hut isn't offering especially worthwhile products or amplified
03:57employee pay followed, along with claims that its prices are higher only because of its
04:01name."
04:02One customer wrote,
04:03"'They still think their name means high-quality pizza!'
04:05Unfortunately, the pizzas at Pizza Hut are not near as good as they used to be several
04:09years ago.
04:10Even add-ons have seen substantial increases."
04:12The customer claimed,
04:13"'Our pizzas usually cost more than $5 more than the list price by the time we get it
04:17how we want.'"
04:19With Pizza Hut's prices becoming unsustainable, many customers are turning to competing chains
04:22for better deals.
04:24Cutting costs can take many forms, but for Pizza Hut, employees claim the company may
04:28be saving some money in one unusual but significant way.
04:32"'Don't!'
04:33Employees allege that daisled dough is often utilized in Pizza Hut kitchens in an attempt
04:36to cut costs, and that it alters the quality of the final product.
04:40When customers online request an explanation as to why their Pizza Hut pies are thinner,
04:44smaller, or have less pillow-like softness in the center, alleged workers are quick to
04:48call out the state of the uncooked dough as the answer.
04:50As one commenter noted,
04:51"'Food cost on dough is so low, but instead of planning it out, they make a s-----ton
04:55and use it for three days.'"
04:57While we can't fault a company for trying to increase profits where it can, it's hard
05:00to imagine using questionable ingredients as the way to go if keeping customers is your
05:04end goal.
05:06From a novel stuffed crust variation to a fresh brownie dessert, newly released items
05:10can generate consumer interest and, ideally, a surge in business.
05:14In an attempt to satisfy eaters and bring in more curious consumers, Pizza Hut has introduced
05:18a number of new pizzas and sides over the years.
05:20But how new are they, really?
05:22"'I may need a little help getting to the bottom of this.'"
05:25According to numerous claims made by alleged Pizza Hut workers online, the majority of
05:29the chain's newly released products are simply rebranded recreations of existing pizzas slapped
05:33with a major upcharge on account of their newness.
05:36Take the recently introduced Tavern Pizza, for example, which employees claim is nearly
05:40identical to the now-discontinued Edge Pizza.
05:43The discontinued Detroit Pizza's rectangular shape bears an obvious resemblance in both
05:47style and dough to the Big Dinner Box Entree.
05:49All in all, the consensus is that Pizza Hut could stand to put some real creativity into
05:53this rather shady menu strategy, as some fans are getting tired of the alleged continuous
05:57swap-out.
05:58The original Pizza Hut business models relied on all-you-can-eat buffet style and sit-down
06:02dining.
06:03These models have been mostly phased out, but while you might think the slow death of
06:06Pizza Hut's dine-in operation is due to the naturally changing market and customers' increasing
06:11preference for takeout, financials could also play a large role.
06:14While many locations still have an attached sit-down space, it's becoming increasingly
06:18rare to find them in operation, with most restaurants choosing to work strictly under
06:21delivery or takeout.
06:23The reason for this, as a self-professed Pizza Hut manager explained on Reddit, is mostly
06:27due to the cost of labor.
06:28Since corporate wants to keep the money spent on paychecks low, many locations will choose
06:32to either close their dining rooms completely or otherwise limit their operation to a few
06:36hours a day, when there are employees to spare who are trained for tables.
06:39In most cases, the operation of the dining room just isn't considered worth it from a
06:43financial standpoint.
06:45Nevertheless, Pizza Hut's abandoned dining rooms are giving many negative vibes.
06:49It's a byproduct of living in the modern era.
06:51Every restaurant has an app.
06:53Whether you consider this a gift or a curse, Pizza Hut and all of its competitors are going
06:57digital for food orders, menu changes, and local deals.
07:00Unfortunately, there are allegations that Pizza Hut's app in particular has quite a
07:04few glitches to work out.
07:05Notably, the ability to apply points and rewards to orders is often disabled.
07:10Adding to the frustration surrounding this malfunction is the fact that folks find the
07:13company's customer support lacking.
07:15Complaints about ignored emails and uncaring automated responses abound, and very few shoppers
07:20report satisfaction with Pizza Hut's service support line.
07:23While a bit of he said, she said goes into the customer service satisfaction at any company,
07:27there's enough negative buzz surrounding the Pizza Hut help department to speculate that
07:30there may be some truth to it.
07:32When it comes to remaining successful as a business, keeping customers happy is paramount.
07:36Can Pizza Hut keep smiles on the faces of its paying consumers, or will the Hut be ultimately
07:40out-pizzaed?
07:41Only time will tell.
07:43Pizza Hut may be headquartered in America, but its reach is hardly confined to the United
07:47States.
07:48The company's presence is worldwide, with locations in the North American, South American,
07:52African, Australian, and Eurasian continents.
07:55But due to recent happenings in the United Kingdom, the franchise might need to take
07:58Europe off its residency list soon.
08:00Pizza Huts in the U.K. have had an especially rough few years from a performance and profitability
08:05standpoint.
08:06Heart with Smart, the organization operating the U.K.'s Pizza Hut restaurants, has reportedly
08:09amassed £73 million in debt, a staggering pit that the franchisee is just beginning
08:14to crawl its way out of.
08:16Luckily, 2022 appears to have been the peak of the company's financial losses, and things
08:20might be looking slightly up for the Pizza Huts in Heart with Smart's charge.
08:24Recent reports put the corporation's current overall operating numbers in the positive,
08:27with approximately £1.75 million gained in profit as of August 2024.
08:32Still, the road to recovery is long, and many experts express concerns over the group's
08:36ability to keep this forward momentum going in the European market.