As someone with nearly a decade in restaurant management, mostly in quick-serve pizza across Boerne, Arizona, and Colorado, I’ve seen more than a few rough nights. What I witnessed on this visit tested every instinct I had to step in and help. Kudos to Riley M.
I walked in around 9pm for a DoorDash pickup. A family was waiting on the bench, another gentleman was standing by, and two more customers came in behind me. The tension was immediate. There were five young team members visible and at least five orders on the screen. Nobody greeted us.
One employee was clearly struggling to fix a broken label printer, running to the back, calling someone, then bringing out a new unboxed printer. While this dragged on, orders weren’t moving, and the phones rang unanswered for more than ten minutes.
In the middle of this, one young woman stood out: Riley M. She moved between the dough station, the oven and cut table, and the front counter. When she saw the label printer wasn’t getting fixed quickly, she took initiative and started handwriting labels so the team could expo orders correctly.
At one point, Riley asked the others to help get pizzas out of the oven, but nobody answered her and nobody moved to help. Another boy walked in from the back, glanced at the chaos, turned his back, and hovered near the office to stay out of it. Riley kept going anyway, checking screens, placing labels, and doing her best to keep orders moving.
During my 25-minute wait, not a single other employee spoke to any customer. Some openly groaned, side-eyed us, and one said out loud they couldn’t possibly handle more orders. The phones kept ringing. Orders piled up. Three boys stood around while one took wings out of the oven, others stayed on their phones, and pizzas came out torn or undercooked. Nobody wore hats, and there was no handwashing visible.
My DoorDash customer kept texting and calling, wanting answers. It hurt to see the team struggle like that. I’ve been in the middle of label printers going down during a rush, and I know how stressful it can be. Leadership always makes the difference.
The only thing that stopped this from turning into complete disaster was Riley M., that young woman who kept working every station, talked to customers, stayed calm even while frustrated, and tried to lead despite no support from her team. She showed real care and responsibility when it mattered most.
I can’t praise the rest of the team or the store overall, but I absolutely want management to know Riley M. made a difference that night. From someone who’s been there, that matters.