As for business, I think the pizza parlor owner has it wrong. I'm betting that your average customer will be pleased enough to get a trivially late pizza for free (and evidence of a promise kept) that they'll stay as a customer. On the other hand, it's certainly plausible enough for an business owner to get things wrong, or possibly to amp up fears when the real issue is not getting paid for the pizza.



Except that the pizzas wern't only late; they were smashed. I've seen customers used the "late" excuse as a reason to reject pizzas that were otherwise sub-standard. I mean, it's an easily-referenced and objective line, so it's not unusual for someone to really hate the pizza itself to the extent that s/he might: 1. reject the pizza (and/or payment), 2. not return as a customer to that particular pizza restaurant, and 3. tell the owner/manager that the reason is the pizza was late.