Domino's store owner 'embarrassed' over viral video threatening Aussie grandmother
The customer had returned her pizza to Domino's only to be met by an angry owner who has now apologised after the confrontation was captured on video.
A Domino's store owner caught on camera getting into a heated argument with a grandmother after she complained about the state of her $12 “hot mess” pizza has apologised for the outburst.
Customer Katherine Pickles said she was verbally abused and had a pizza thrown at her when she tried to return the delivered meal to the store in Mount Gambier, South Australia, on Saturday, leaving her “quite shaken up”.
In the viral footage, the store’s franchisee, Akhil Antony, can be heard yelling profanities at the woman, urging her to “get the f***k out” repeatedly. “I own the f***ing store,” he says before telling her he will “smash” the customer’s face.
In a new twist, Akhil has since admitted to Daily Mail Australia that he let his “emotions get the best of [him]” when handling Katherine’s complaint, but that was “no excuse”.
“As anyone who has worked in customer service knows, some days are more challenging than others and you require patience and a calm demeanour,” he said, adding he hopes the local community “will see I am a human who has made a mistake”.
“My behaviour was unacceptable, and I am deeply apologetic and embarrassed.”
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However, the franchisee doubled down on his refusal to believe Katherine’s gripe that her Domino’s delivery “looked like two [different pizzas] put together”.
The grandmother told the publication she had ordered The Lot pizza without capsicum on Friday night. Despite her request she said it arrived with the vegetable included — but that was just one of her issues with the meal.
“There is ground beef on half of it, two slices had mushroom, the slicing across the pizza didn’t match up at all. It was just a hot mess,” she said.
Forgoing a meal that night, Katherine claims she was told a driver would be sent to collect the pizza, but when that didn’t happen she visited the store herself, leading to the fiery fight.
Speaking to Yahoo News Australia on Monday, Domino’s confirmed it has “launched an internal investigation, including into the circumstances which led to the interaction recorded”.
“Following this investigation, we will take appropriate action,” a spokeswoman said, adding the company has a “zero-tolerance approach to aggression, harassment, or abuse of any kind” in stores.
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