Vouchers fire up pizzeria owner

‘‘They are not my regular customers anyway, they are just budget eaters.’’

Customers are accusing an Auckland pizzeria manager of hurling abuse and refusing to accept their discount vouchers.

According to its website, Lil’e Roma Woodfired Pizza in Onehunga offers ‘‘warm hospitality and a spirited atmosphere’’ however its customers’ reviews paint a different story.

Three Kings resident Emma Gilbert is among a number of customers alleging the restaurant’s manager, Parvis Jahanrakhshan, yelled at her after she tried to order pizzas with a GrabOne voucher.

Gilbert, on her first visit to the restaurant, presented a GrabOne voucher and says Jahanrakhshan went off and removed half the chips they had ordered. Her husband confronted Jahanrakhshan about this and Gilbert says the owner replied that he did and ‘‘I’d do it again too’’.

Earlier this month in a separate incident, Gilbert says she ordered her pizzas over the phone after an error occurred though online service Menulog.

When she went to pick up her meal and presented the GrabOne voucher, Gilbert says Jahanrakhshan yelled at her when she said she tried to order the discounted pizza through Menulog. The manager was angry that he would have had to pay commission to both GrabOne and Menulog, she says.

Gilbert alleges Jahanrakhshan told her ‘‘I don’t need your f****** $9 for my pizzas, don’t ever come back again’’.

Jahanrakhshan says GrabOne required a 35 per cent commission for every purchase which customers tried to pair with other deals or demanded free stuff.

‘‘It’s not just me mate, you can go onto any website and restaurant and you can see GrabOne customers complaining about every restaurant.’’

He says he no longer works with GrabOne. A spokesperson for GrabOne confirmed they removed the restaurant from their directory in August.

‘‘I didn’t yell at [the customers], it’s just a misunderstanding or miscommunication... they want something extra or they want things for free which does not exist in this world anymore,’’ Jahanrakhshan says.

‘‘They are not my regular customers anyway, they are just budget eaters to put it that way... They are looking for the next bargain and the next bargain and the next bargain.’’