A Washington pizza company was surprised at the lengths customers would go to when they couldn’t place their order. That’s what Zac from Zac’s Zzas Pizza (@zacs.zzas), a pizza shop in the Yakima Valley, mentioned in a TikTok post with over 232,000 views.
Zac says the issue started with a simple phone call and then spiraled out of control. He states that on Feb. 18, a customer tried to place an order over the phone without paying for it. So, he refused to take the order. Then, he says the couple who tried to order the pizza came into the store asking where their order was and why they couldn’t place it over the phone, claiming Zac hung up on them. Zac says he let them know it had never been placed, as he had just been on the phone with them when they hung up on the other end without giving their card information.
Eventually, the couple made the decision to go on Facebook to air out their issues with Zac’s pizza shop, Zac says. He says they badmouthed the company at first; then, they found out about an employee’s legal issues and threatened to expose them.
“I don’t understand it,” Zac says. “This is petty at the highest level. OK, you’re trying to hold my feet to the fire for things that I have … nothing I could do about it.”
Zac Takes a Call That Leads Down a Rabbit Hole of Complaints
Zac says that on Wednesday, Feb. 18, he took a call that would lead to a series of threats against his business and employee.
“[A] gentleman called [and] wanted to place an order,” Zac says. “He had never placed an order with us before under that phone number, and our standard practice, because we’ve had problems with people not showing up to pick up their food, is that we take payment with first-time customers with that phone number.”
Because of that standard practice, Zac says he let the man know that he’d need his card information. He says the man told him that the policy was “weird” and that he’d never encountered a restaurant with it. Zac says the man ignored his request and continued ordering food.
He adds that he quickly let the man know that he couldn’t place an order over the phone without giving any card information, which made the man irate. Zac says he told him that he wasn’t going to change the policy. Instead, if he wanted, the customer could order the food in person, pay, and then wait for it.
Zac says he thought that was the end of the conversation—until he saw two cars pull into the parking lot.
The Couple Arrives at Zac’s Zzas Pizza Expecting Their Order
Zac says he noticed that a couple—a woman and the gentleman he presumably spoke to on the phone earlier in the day—had pulled into the restaurant’s parking lot. According to Zac, the woman told him that he “hung up on them and wouldn’t take their order,” something that he denied immediately.
“This is all on video at the restaurant as well,” Zac says. “Everyone, once you pull in the parking lot, you’re on video. We’ve got cameras inside. We’ve got signs all around the parking lot stating that you are on video, so there’s no surprises, right?”
Zac says he eventually told the woman that he wasn’t the one who hung up, her partner was. He says she went to speak to the man, and he continued saying that Zac “hung up” on him. Zac says he once again emphasized that he didn’t, so they stormed out of the store—but not before saying they’d review his business negatively online.
Why Is the Couple Threatening To ‘Expose’ Zac on Facebook?
Zac says the couple tried to message him on Facebook regarding their experience with the restaurant. He says they posted a negative review and sent multiple “threatening” messages to the pizza parlor.
Then, according to Zac, they seemingly found alleged information that is significantly more damning. Zac says they messaged him, letting him know that they knew information about one of his employees.
Zac describes the messages, saying, “They sent some screenshots of … I’ve got an employee that is going through some personal stuff in the … court system, so evidently they’re going to hang me out to dry because I have an employee that’s going through some things.”
Zac says he hasn’t fired the employee because he believes that people are innocent until proven guilty.
“I’m not gonna air out his laundry, but he’s claiming that he’s innocent,” Zac adds. “We’re gonna let the court figure that out ’cause we live in America, and that’s what the court system is for.”
He also states, “He is charged, not convicted. So, there’s two totally different things, and if he is convicted, he will no longer work for us. … That’s cut and dry.”
Zac adds that the employee was going to court the next day.
He defends the employee in his post, saying, “In the end, it does affect me, and I know that we have lost business because he’s there.”
But Zac states that he hadn’t seen the employee behave in any way that fit the crimes he was charged with. For that reason, he didn’t want to move forward with termination.
What Were the Crimes?
It’s unclear what the man was charged with based on Zac’s post, as he did not identify the employee. But commenter sleuths think they were able to piece together some information about the case.
Commenters are conflicted on whether to support Zac’s small business.
On Facebook, where Zac reposted the TikTok, a woman added, “I’m all down for the payment part. But avoiding the fact you have an accused child predator there… yeah I’d stop pretending he’s just going to court for something light. I’m still innocent until proven guilty… but I’m looking at the case… and boss… not a good look.”
AllHipHop reached out to Zac’s Zzas Pizza via email and Facebook direct message for more information. We’ll let you know if they respond.
