TravelValue: Restaurants Across The U.S.: Vancouver, WA: Two Minutes Late For A Three Minute Pizza And We Were Turned Away!

Sunday, April 15, 2018

Vancouver, WA: Two Minutes Late For A Three Minute Pizza And We Were Turned Away!

Pizzeria La Sorrentina
9811 NE15th Avenue
Vancouver, WA 98665
Phone number (360) 980-1651
Website: lasorrentinavw.com
Prices: $$$$

We drove nearly 30 minutes from our home, arriving just two minutes after their 2PM "closing" time due to unexpected traffic. We were hoping to sample their offerings because, having lived in Naples, Italy for three years and being married to an Italian (my wife's family still lives in Naples and we visit quite often), I love authentic pizza Napoletana and was curious to see just how authentic theirs was.

When we arrived, the oven was still going strong and the two employees were still there prepping for dinner with the door and window open. We stood there for a minute while the woman looked at us without saying a word, so I finally asked her "Are you closed?" to which she responded only with a "Yes". I was a bit shocked because there was absolutely no reason to turn us away and they did not even bother to tell us why they would not serve us at 2:02 PM.

If this was a sit down restaurant, I could understand why we would not be served and would not expect it. However, having eaten many pizzas in Naples and attended a "pizzaiolo" (pizza maker) course in their this past February, I know that a Neapolitan pizza takes less than 90 seconds to prepare and about 60-90 seconds to bake at 485 degrees Fahrenheit. I understand that they were "officially" closed and may have had things to do, but taking 3 minutes to make a pizza for a customer was, I believe, not too much to expect.

The restaurant business and customer service are all about making customers happy and turning us away so rudely was, in my opinion, uncalled for. Having spent a great deal of time in the business and owned a very successful mobile food operation myself, I would have never turned a customer away in similar circumstances, but that is just me.

After leaving a tip on Yelp regarding my experience, someone (whom I am assuming was the owner or manager) sent me a compliment with a "You're Funny" tag stating:

"I'm not going to serve pizza anyone even 1minutes late. Please come during business sir. Thank you"

Part of my responsibility to readers on Yelp, my blog, and other sites is to provide an accurate, honest "opinion" based on my experiences, so I did not appreciate being laughed at ("You're Funny") because I take my responsibilities and commitment to my readers very seriously. A more professional and customer-oriented response would have been much more appropriate in my opinion. For example: "I am very sorry that we had to turn you away, but our employees were busy prepping for dinner and could not take the time to serve you. Please accept our sincere apology and come back to visit us very soon!" would have been a much more appropriate response and they would have likely gained a return customer. Unfortunately, based on our negative experience and the business's insulting reaction to my tip, I will not be returning any time soon.

CombatCritic Gives Pizzeria La Sorrentina 1 Bomb Out Of 10 And A Spot On My "WALL OF SHAME" ... More Bombs Are Better!