Kind of Embarassed, but Thanks Papa Johns!

I work from home, but I work at night and I typically do about a thirteen hour "shift" at a time. I haven't gotten around to buying a new oven or dishwasher since buying this house last year, either. So, needless to say, I do a lot of ordering out. And most of the time, my brother has lived here (while going to the local university - we're both 1,500 miles from our family on the west coast). Pizza, mostly. Papa John's, mostly.

Anyway, hopefully tons of people had this experience, so that I won't feel like such a pathetic fat fatty fat fat asshat, here.

Despite the more than foot of snow and three degree temperatures, I just went out and checked my mail. There was a package in it. The kind of package videogames tend to come in. Weird. I don't have any outstanding videogame orders right now. Must be something else. Says it was sent from Papa Johns. That's odd. Maybe it's a book of coupons or something?

I open it. Inside is a new copy of Madden NFL 12 for the PS3 and a letter thanking me for being one of their best customers.

That's just fucking crazy.

That is one of the best stories I've ever heard.

A pair of running shoes might have been more thoughtful.

What the? That's so weird.

Hah, great story dude. What a weird thing to send you though :).

How did they know you enjoyed video games? Either way, that is pretty cool.

That's awesome. It would be kind of weird though if you were some dude who didn't play video games at all.

A video game seems like such a weird choice.

I need to order more pizza. Is Papa John's any good?

haha that's a great story, but how crazy would it have been if it was something super specific and niche that no stranger could possibly guess you would play? lol

Anywho, never ever happened to me. I like pizza, but not enough to order to get free games apparently.

How many pizzas is Madden 12 worth?

I think that they had been running some sort of Madden 12 promotion; they had the game advertised on their boxes for a while.

@Video_Game_King said:

I need to order more pizza. Is Papa John's any good?

Yes.

Well, that's new. I can only guess how much pizza had to be ordered to earn that, though. Would be nice if it was something other than Madden, but I guess you could always sell it.

That's pretty awesome!

They had the delivery guy go through your mail and find out that you like video games, and then they sent you one as a gift.

They own your soul now.

You'll get calls in the middle of the night - "Why don't you order some pizza from us tomorrow?" "...I know you've already had two this week but remember the gift we sent you? Well, we can just an easily take things away from you." "Yeah that's right, order an extra large with sides, drinks and ice cream."

Just don't order from somewhere else.... seriously, don't.

@Video_Game_King said:

I need to order more pizza. Is Papa John's any good?

Dominos is the best. Papa Johns is..ok at best.

@Branthog said:

I work from home, but I work at night and I typically do about a thirteen hour "shift" at a time. I haven't gotten around to buying a new oven or dishwasher since buying this house last year, either. So, needless to say, I do a lot of ordering out. And most of the time, my brother has lived here (while going to the local university - we're both 1,500 miles from our family on the west coast). Pizza, mostly. Papa John's, mostly.

Anyway, hopefully tons of people had this experience, so that I won't feel like such a pathetic fat fatty fat fat asshat, here.

Despite the more than foot of snow and three degree temperatures, I just went out and checked my mail. There was a package in it. The kind of package videogames tend to come in. Weird. I don't have any outstanding videogame orders right now. Must be something else. Says it was sent from Papa Johns. That's odd. Maybe it's a book of coupons or something?

I open it. Inside is a new copy of Madden NFL 12 for the PS3 and a letter thanking me for being one of their best customers.

That's just fucking crazy.

I'd just be happy you got a free game. There are worse things to eat them pizza.

Cool. Wonder why they choose that game and if it's a company thing or just that local ones owner doing something. If it is a company thing maybe they should just give a gift card with the value of a game to the person that way they don't accidentally give one they already own or don't want.

I think the delivery boy loves you and that's how he tells you.

@TheMustacheHero said:

@Video_Game_King said:

I need to order more pizza. Is Papa John's any good?

Dominos is the best. Papa Johns is..ok at best.

What the fuck? Dominos is OK. I mean, if Dominos is in the room, I'll eat it, but if I'm ordering pizza and the first suggestion somebody gives me is, "Hey, how about Dominos?", I punch them in the fucking mouth because they don't deserve to eat the better pizza I'm gonna order.

Gotta say, they nailed their demographic hahaha.
 
That's kind of terrible, but whatever right? Pizza is awesome, free videogames are pretty great!

That's freaking cool, man!

You can do that?! This can happen to you?!

I need to order more pizza. Is Papa John's any good?

@yoshimitz707:

I can come to Earth, you know. In fact, given my powers, how do you know that I'm not behind you right now?

@TheMustacheHero said:

@Video_Game_King said:

I need to order more pizza. Is Papa John's any good?

Dominos is the best. Papa Johns is..ok at best.

You are not a human being! Human beings enjoy peppers, garlic sauce, and multicheese pizza! Dominos is like crappy motel of pizzas, when you're in a pinch and just want something cheap, Dominos will do.

@Video_Game_King said:

I need to order more pizza. Is Papa John's any good?

Fucking no. NO. Its the Mcdonalds of pizza.

@Jimbo said:

A pair of running shoes might have been more thoughtful.

Or a defibrillator or something. :)

@fishmicmuffin said:

How did they know you enjoyed video games? Either way, that is pretty cool.

They did a promotion a few months ago where they gave a $5 coupon for a copy of Madden with an order, so this must be some extension of that. But also, overweight males who eat pizza once or twice a week are probably not hard to profile as gamers. :P

I wish it was for the 360, but it's cool that the one game they did send is the one game I don't have (not big enough of a football fan to buy Madden anymore).

@Video_Game_King said:

I need to order more pizza. Is Papa John's any good?

I'm not a major pizza fan or anything, but I think they're the best national chain. If nothing else, it at least tastes like its made of separate actual items of food.

Even sadder, last year we had another friend living with us and between all of us, we probably ordered pizza two or three times a week for an entire year. Then, we didn't order anything for about a month. One night, a cute pizza girl shows up at our door and asks if we want a pizza. She said nobody was at the delivery address (a prank or something, I guess) and they thought maybe we'd want a free one on the house. Very cool of them and very sad of us that "the house of dudes" was their go-to for dumping pizza (and when she brought it, she said they were wondering if we were okay because they hadn't seen us in weeks).

I think it's time to go on that tea and oatmeal diet, now. :P

@Video_Game_King said:

@TheMustacheHero said:

@Video_Game_King said:

I need to order more pizza. Is Papa John's any good?

Dominos is the best. Papa Johns is..ok at best.

What the fuck? Dominos is OK. I mean, if Dominos is in the room, I'll eat it, but if I'm ordering pizza and the first suggestion somebody gives me is, "Hey, how about Dominos?", I punch them in the fucking mouth because they don't deserve to eat the better pizza I'm gonna order.

A bit hostile, but I agree. Dominoes the best? I feel sad for you...

Lol, pizza snobs.

That's pretty great.

The only similar thing that has happened to me was this one pizza company I ate at almost every shift I worked at this one indie theatre. Then I decided to start eating a bit healthier, and I cut out all that pizza. When I came back a couple months later they were all "Hey, why haven't you been here in so long?". Hey guys, pizza is cool, but not dying at 35 is cooler.

On that note, I'm gonna get some pizza!

@pyromagnestir:

I don't think of it as hostile; I think of it as correcting their taste buds.

Papa John's has good pizza.

@crusader8463 said:

Cool. Wonder why they choose that game and if it's a company thing or just that local ones owner doing something. If it is a company thing maybe they should just give a gift card with the value of a game to the person that way they don't accidentally give one they already own or don't want.

I don't have the package/envelope down here in my office, but I think the originating address was from their HQ state (Kentucky, I think). That's why I assumed there must be a bunch of other people who got something like this in the mail from them. Even if they gave it to the top 5% of their delivery customers, that has to be many thousands...

@mnzy said:

I think the delivery boy loves you and that's how he tells you.

You know, about a decade ago we would order a ton of pizza on game night (when about eight of us from work would gather at my place and play AD&D for a few hours). The delivery person was usually any of a number of very cute college girls or the occasional young dude putting away cash for a new car or something. And now, it's all middle aged to elderly people, presumably trying to make ends meat because of recent financial hardships that we've all seen. Makes me feel really bummed out (and of course I am a nice tipper, because I know it's not fun work), because you like to think that when people hit their 60s or 70s, they spend their time drinking tea and reading books by a fire or playing with grand-kids. Not having to deliver pizzas to ungrateful strangers in the middle of the night.

So, maybe it's one of the elderly male delivery guys? :P

What the fuck? Dominos is OK. I mean, if Dominos is in the room, I'll eat it, but if I'm ordering pizza and the first suggestion somebody gives me is, "Hey, how about Dominos?", I punch them in the fucking mouth because they don't deserve to eat the better pizza I'm gonna order.

Was the game made of pizza? Please, please say yes.

@awesomeusername said:

@Video_Game_King said:

What the fuck? Dominos is OK. I mean, if Dominos is in the room, I'll eat it, but if I'm ordering pizza and the first suggestion somebody gives me is, "Hey, how about Dominos?", I punch them in the fucking mouth because they don't deserve to eat the better pizza I'm gonna order.

Anyone want pizza? I'm ordering Dominos!

Support your local Pizzeria. Dont buy fast food pizza.

@Branthog: Whats the job? Just interested as you can work at home.

@Atramentous said:

@Video_Game_King said:

I need to order more pizza. Is Papa John's any good?

Fucking no. NO. Its the Mcdonalds of pizza.

No, no, no. Domino's is the McDonald's of Pizza. Pizza Hutt is maybe the Burger King. Papa Johns is the Wendy's. That is, not as good as a really great slice at your local fine pizza establishment (Hot Lips or Escape from New York in Portland, for example) - but pretty good as far as national fast food / delivery quality goes.

In my experience, Dominos lacks flavor and is kind of dry and card-boardish. Pizza Hutt is pretty decent (good pepperoni), but a little greasy. Probably the most agreeable to buy for a group of people whose preferences you're unsure of, though. I can't recall which, but either Little Ceasar's or Godfathers was one of the worst I ever ate in my life (not that they delivered). I had it one time and it was like eating melted plastic.

Man, I would give anything to live in the hart of NY or SF, though. You can get countless gourmet pizza (not to mention chinese, sandwiches, etc) delivered to your door. Out here, it's just... one of three or four pizza chains and a questionable chinese place. I really gotta get a fucking oven. (It has to be a single unit wall-oven though, which is why it's a hassle. . . and kind of more spendy than I hoped).

@Video_Game_King said:

I need to order more pizza. Is Papa John's any good?

It's certainly better than the other chains out there. It's not real pizza, but it's as close as you're gonna get on a budget.

Not a fan of Papa John's and Madden but ya, that's really cool that they did that.

@MikkaQ said:

That's pretty great.

The only similar thing that has happened to me was this one pizza company I ate at almost every shift I worked at this one indie theatre. Then I decided to start eating a bit healthier, and I cut out all that pizza. When I came back a couple months later they were all "Hey, why haven't you been here in so long?". Hey guys, pizza is cool, but not dying at 35 is cooler.

On that note, I'm gonna get some pizza!

Yep, that's exactly the experience we had once! Several dudes in one place living on pizza for months and then stopping and the next time, they're all "we were wondering if something happened to you guys!".

I'm kind of pizza'd out, though. I went through a phase in my late teens that was all about top ramen and I haven't been able to stomach the idea of eating ramen for about the past decade. Now I can't stand the thought of pizza most of the time (except when it's the middle of a long shift and I'm starving and don't have time to make food). I've cut out the soda and coffee and replaced it with quality loose tea. And I'm trying to bring more actual regular home cooked food into my diet. I've never really had the time before, but I'm trying to force the time to be there (listening to the bombcast over the course of making three or four separate meals helps). The kitchen is the one last really big project I have in this house, so once it's done (whenever it is) it'll be a nice experience.

@Afroman269 said:

Not a fan of Papa John's and Madden but ya, that's really cool that they did that.

I think I bought Madden two years and barely played either one (I know fuck all about football and play diagrams look like scribble to me), so I would never have bought this. I have pretty much everything else I'd care about though, so that makes this a pretty fortunate pick. If it was for the 360, I might buy a second copy and play my brother a few states away (he only has a 360 right now). I don't know, maybe I'll sell it to someone and then buy two 360 copies. Or just keep it and dick around with it. Was definitely a cool gesture, though. Frankly, it's a rather Amazon.com type of gesture, now that I think about it.

@Branthog: I love all the stories you've told in this thread. All of the stories. I love them. It's really dumb, I know, but I wasn't having a good night, and now I've cheered up immensely. Thanks for making this thread!

@Branthog said:

If nothing else, it at least tastes like its made of separate actual items of food.

Probably the best you can hope for with fast food. Haha.

@Branthog: Man I had the same progression, I was a ramen nut in high school and I can't stomach the idea, god... if I ever get sick of pizza though I won't know who I am anymore. Total identity crisis.

Well I've been cursed with a love for Italian and French food, as my parents run a French restaurant and on my mother's side it was a lot of italian home cooking, so I have the two least healthy cuisines as my absolute favorites. One's trying to murder me with carbs and wheat, the other is trying to do the same with butter and cream. And of course I'm taking to cooking those meals, so even my home cooked food is terrible too.

I'm lucky the little basement I'm renting for university has a decent enough kitchen for me to work with though, so I'm not caught in the loop of just ordering out all the time. I've been there and it's a giant money sink and it's all bad, bad, bad food.

I'd rather have 4 free garlic sauces than Madden 12 but congratulations anyway if you enjoy that game.

@Lunar_Aura said:

I'd rather have 4 free garlic sauces than Madden 12 but congratulations anyway if you enjoy that game.

Ugh, our garlic sauce is basically butter. I don't know how anyone can stand that stuff.

@Branthog: You have a remarkable amount of pizza-centered amusing/heartwarming tales. Every time you post in this thread you share a new one! :D

@Video_Game_King: Agreed.