The Slices of Summer: 2019

I’m fortunate so many Wisconsin summer activities include pizza.  Heck, there’s pizza at Summerfest, Brewer’s games, Noah’s Ark, even at weddings when sweaty “cha-cha slide” dancing patrons are rewarded with slices as a night-cap.

Amidst all that fun, it’s easy to lose track of all the great slices I score along the way, so, a couple years back I started keeping a journal.

Initially, it was a place to organize my thoughts and dump my ideas, but it turned out to be especially useful for logging the pizza I came across when out exploring.  After a few years into it, that journal has become one of my favorite possessions.

As I sit outside soaking up the tail end of this fun-filled summer I thumb the pages of my beloved pizza-archive and reflect on all the glorious slices I’ve had over the last couple months.

Let’s do a recap…   

Summerfest Pizza.

At Summerfest, you not only get 800 musical acts from all over the world, but you also get an epic spread of festival food.  You’ve got classics like Saz’s cheese curds, AJ Bombers bacon cheeseburgers, Famous Dave’s ribs, sausages at Klements Sausage and Beer Garden and Robby’s Roasted Corn.

As for me, I bee-lined it to the Pizza Man booth.

Pizza Man is a Milwaukee staple since 1970 so it’s fitting they finally set up shop at the “city of festivals” largest festival.  At the Pizza Man booth you a get a slice about the size of a paper plate.  The crust is thin, almost brittle around the edges, with a chewy center loaded with toppings.

Wedding Pizza.

Summer is wedding season, and in your early 30’s the wedding invites can start to stack up quickly.  Luckily for me, I’ve noticed a trend at receptions in which the evening is concluded with pizza as a snack.

Sometimes its late-night delivery while other times it’s a little pizza buffet provided by the venue or caterer.  Next time you’re out celebrating someone’s big day keep an eye out after 10pm—there’s nothing like a late-night slice and a slow dance to celebrate summer love.

Brewer Game Pizza. 

Most folks think of peanuts, footlongs, and waffle fries when they hit the ballpark, but Miller Park the home of our beloved Brewers has some pizza joints sprinkled throughout the stadium.

A couple years ago Miller Park did a $20 million concession stand overhaul and we scored more pizza!  If you’re in Section 210 or 218 you’re in luck, because you’re in pizza town.

I opted for a slice of Zaffiro’s on level 1 behind the “Johnsonville Party Deck”.  It was greasy, thin and cut in squares and a perfect pick-me-up for the seventh-inning stretch.

Door County Vacation pizza. 

A trip to Wisconsin’s Door County peninsula can truly rejuvenate the soul, it also nixes a huge craving of mine which is Wild Tomato Wood-Fired Pizza and Grille.

Cheesy slices ready to go at the back-bar.

The Sister Bay location leveled up their game this year by offering pizza by the slice at the back bar.  So, instead of bearing an excruciating wait (up to 2 hours sometimes!) you can now grab a slice and enjoy it at the waterfront or maybe at an outdoor concert in the park across the street.

Wisconsin Dell’s Pizza. 

Every year Tess and I will do a quick little weekend getaway to the Wisconsin Dells, to enjoy the waterparks and a “kid-free” night out at a resort to act like kids.

Though there are tourist fixtures like Moose Jaw and Pizza Pub, the main event for us has become “late-night hotel room Dominos“.  After hitting the waterslides and lounging around the swim-up bar we’ll hit the hotel room, crank down the AC, put on some late-night comedy and eat some thin-crust cheese pizza in bed (I may even use the hotel-room towels as napkins).

This summer was one for the history books (or at least my current Moleskine). 

Opening up that journal provided me a path to fond memories—a quick skim allowed me to count my summer blessings and gear up for fall.  Out of all that great pizza over the course of this summer, the best was the pizza I shared with Ellis.  He can eat pizza now!

What I’m Eating:  Leftover “Hotel room Dominos”.

What I’m reading: Awaken the Giant Within -Tony Robbins

 

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The Art of Order Taking

In between fantasizing about my weekly pizza excursion and photographing it, I’ve got to order it.  While I wish I could skip right to the pizza-eating part, first I’ve got to pick up the phone, express my vision to the pizza guy and get the logistics figured out.

Though I love pizza, I tend to have mixed feelings placing my order.

Of course, there’s an inherent joy in pitching my weekly plan to another person willing to listen, especially someone who will play a roll in executing it.

And, having a person on the line makes it easier to articulate complex orders and confirm any important questions that may arise (How thin is the thin-crust? Do you cut your pizza’s in triangles or squares?).  

But, there’s the chance that interaction feels like a necessary evil—a social exchange so poor that it’s hard to find pleasure afterward.

I’m talking about the times when nothing is confirmed or heard properly and we aren’t even upsold extra cheese (come on, basics!).  Sometimes the communication is so bad our pizza-night lands in a pickle as we end up with incorrect items, missing toppings and no sides of sauce.

With the prevalence of online ordering, we don’t need to worry about these situations as much anymore, but technical difficulties and peak order periods that cause shops to unplug are still ordinary, meaning we’re faced with picking up the phone and calling in our orders old-school.

When handling information as delicate as someone’s pizza order, it’s evident the employees manning the phones have a great responsibily and must have the utmost attention to detail.  They set the tone for the entire experience—their demeanor, pace, and politeness in that initial contact is crucial.

When I want fuss-free ordering I turn to a spot where the front line employees excel and a great customer service experience is almost guaranteed.

Rosati’s West in Madison. 

When it comes to phone order taking, I consider Rosasti’s West on Mineral Point Road to be masters (at least in my experience, in which there are many).  They are kind, competent, concise and pleasantly nail the interaction every single time.   They repeat everything back to you and will take on most requests.

Beyond killer customer service, you also get the option of “super-thin crust” if you’re in the “know”.  Perhaps the greatest pizza hack of all-time besides “extra-cheese”; all you have to do is ask and they’ll gladly give your crust an extra spin through the dough rolling machine.

Any place that has the option of “super-thin” is good in my book, so I usually go with super-thin, extra cheese and maybe some pepperoni or green olives.  Some nights if I’m feeling frisky I may even venture further into the menu and throw myself a little “Chicago Thanksgiving” complete with an Italian beef sandwich, Chicago style hotdog, and maybe even a calzone.

Calzone (Yes, there is an inch of melty cheese in there)

A botched interaction is more expensive than you might think.

The pain-free ordering at Rosati’s greatly increases my to desire to eat there, so I return to them regularly.

On the other hand, a pain-filled ordering experience can haunt me for months and causes me to pause, consider my choices, no matter how good a spots grub might be—I just don’t want to deal with shenanigans when it’s pizza time.

These days with so many options at our fingertips it’s easier than ever for customers to fall in and out of love with a restaurant based simply on their service and it’s harder than ever to regain that trust and loyalty.  One wrong order, miscommunication or argument and that customer could be gone for good and that could mean losing out on big bucks for the restaurant.

In Seth Godin’s book, This is Marketing he urges businesses to consider the “lifetime value” of a customer when interacting with them.  It takes massive amounts of time, money and energy to earn the business of new customers, so when you’ve got them it’s critical to treat them well, woo them and hopefully retain their business to make good on your investment.

One customer can add up to thousands of dollars in sales over the course of a lifetime of repeat orders.  So, there’s no time to mess around with anything less than stellar service.

What pizza taught me:

A pleasant encounter can make our day, especially if there’s pizza afterward.  Considerate and concise communication is something to strive for—a worthy pursuit that will undoubtedly yield more than well-executed pizza orders.

What I’m eating: Rosati’s “super-thin crust” green olive, extra cheese

What I’m reading: This is Marketing: You Can’t Be Seen Until You Learn To See –Seth Godin