"We visited this branch of the Pizza Hut on Thursday to treat the children. I’d pre-booked the table online. On entering the restaurant, I waited a minute or so and then the waitress, which I later discovered was the manager, pointed to a table...and said, ‘the one with the menus on’. So I made my own way over to the table and my husband followed shortly with the children. We hadn’t room to put our coats in the booth so my husband put them on a chair and tucked it into the end of the table. We were told that we couldn’t put a chair at the end of the table so I asked what we were to do with our coats and were informed that we could leave them on the chair at an adjacent table. We then waited a while for our order to be placed, my husband got the drinks while we waited and mentioned to a waitress that we were ready to order. He then noticed that person take other customers to their table before coming to take our order. I thought they must be busy but looking around the restaurant it wasn’t even half full. We eventually placed our order and I went to the salad bar. The food didn’t take long to come but the general service terrible and miserable, we weren’t asked if everything was ok with our food. We waited ages for someone to come and see if we had finished, the children hadn’t had their ice cream so we were told where that was and then waited for the bill. Someone eventually arrived and i asked for a box for the left over pizza and a box for the left over salad. I was then informed to my surprise that I could have a box for the pizza but not a box for the salad as I couldn’t take that away. Because I hadn’t hardly eaten any of my salad, (not re-filled, it was my first and only salad) I felt this such a waste. I asked the waitress why I couldn’t take it, she started walking away from the table saying it wasn’t their policy, I said well, what are you going to do with it? she smiled and walked off. Presuming they would throw it away. This made me rather cross. I asked to see a manager, who also re-enforced that I couldn’t take away the salad, and was given the reason that people can fill up for free and so it’s to prevent people filling up to take it home. I said that I hadn’t re-filled the bowl, that it was my first salad and re-iterated to her that I would like to take it away. She smiled a sort of sarcastic smile and said well it’s not our policy and that I couldn’t take it. I then felt pressured to make her understand the reason why I had only managed to eat a few mouthfuls of my dinner. So I was compelled to explain that I suffer with peritoneal cancer and so eating very little can make me feel full up quickly. On this particular occasion I’d eaten some pizza and had picked at my salad and what I’d like to do is take my pizza home and when I feel a little more settled I’d like to eat my pizza with my salad. Again I was informed it was not company policy but that in light of what I had said, on this occasion she would waiver it and I could take it home. A box was put on the table without a word being spoken. I asked for the bill which was handed to me in silence. No word in fact was spoken to me or my family as we left the restaurant. I had a feeling that they didn’t believe me and when I left the restaurant and walked to out car which was rightly parked in a disabled bay I saw them talking to each other the one shaking her head and thought they were talking about me and didn’t believe me. Other than going back in there and showing them pictures of when I hadn’t got any hair months ago or my cancer appointment card, there was little else I could do. I thought how mean of them and left thinking they think I’m a salad thief. Never again will I go back to the merry hill branch of Pizza Hut. And I’d like to take this moment to share that we can all be reminded that there are people out there who have invisible disabilities, me being one. And with a diagnoses of having months to live. It’s a wonder I’m out treating the children to a pizza and being positive in the first place but find human nature can be rather ignorant and hurtful on occasion. I hope the waitresses get to read this message and consider their behaviour and change their beliefs. Not everyone is a salad thief."
