Takeaway giant Domino's pizza has stopped delivering to a whole town - because its residents allegedly complain too much.
The pizza chain is refusing to deliver to East Cowes on the Isle of Wight after being inundated with complaints from unhappy and disgruntled customers.
A 46-year old woman, who orders from Domino's up to three times a month, was told she could not place her order of two large pizzas - a Pepperoni Passion and a Buffalo Chicken for £20 each - for delivery.
The regular customer, who doesn't want to be named, was told she couldn't place her order because of persistent complaints amongst the residents.
East Cowes, which has a population of 7,000 people, doesn't have its own branch and the nearest Domino's is in Newport, which is six miles and a 15 minute drive away.
There are only two others on the island, in Ryde - 7.5 miles and a 16 minute drive - or Shanklin - 12.5miles and 25 minutes.
The shocked customer said: "All the guy said on phone that he has had problems with people from East Cowes getting a bit aggy.
"He basically said they are not delivering here because of the people.
"I told him not everyone from East Cowes is like that. I've never had any problems with delivery from them before."
She added: "I had noticed they had not been delivering for a while. But I just thought it was because of Covid and they had no drivers."
The woman tried to place her order on Sunday but was told she could not do it. She contacted Domino's asking if the policy was correct.
She received a reply back saying: "Thank you for your feedback.
"As discussed on the phone this is the exact reason we do not service East Cowes anymore.
"Head office simply forward the complaints to us. Thank you for confirming we made the right choice."
The woman was left angry with their response, she replied: "Oh my God, I've not been rude to your staff.
"All I said was I don't understand why there is no delivery to East Cowes.
"I have never complained about any service from you guys and have always been a loyal customer. I don't understand why I would receive a message that's so rude.
"Maybe if you create people like this, that's why you would get bad feedback. I've spent a small fortune on your pizzas.
"Well that's it now and I will also tell friends and family how rude you have been from me just asking why you don't deliver to East Cowes."
Her niece contacted Domino's customer service on Facebook and wrote: "You honestly think this is an acceptable response?
"Sending on behalf of my auntie who was aa regular customer and has been treated like c**p.
"Because you've decided to shun an entire area instead of listening to the complaints you've received and battering your service. Absolutely vile customer service."
Domino's replied: "Hi, thanks for getting in touch. This Facebook is mainly used for marketing.
"Although if you have a query or complain please let us know your order number and we will pass it on the relevant staff members to sort as soon as they can."
After her niece sent a message asking whether the response was acceptable, Domino's replied: "Absolutely not. I can't believe my manager has sent this.
"I'll follow up with him tomorrow and ensure the appropriate disciplinary action is taken. Apologies once again and we look forward to returning to service East Cowes in the future."
A Domino's spokesperson said: "One of our core values is no one delivers like Domino’s and providing a high quality of service to our delivery customers is a priority for us.
"Unfortunately, like many businesses, the Domino’s Newport store is currently challenged with a shortage of drivers.
"As a result, the store has had to reduce its delivery catchment area and we are currently unable to deliver to the East Cowes area.
"This decision means we can continue our high standards of service for our delivery customers who live closer to the store.
"We appreciate this is disappointing to pizza lovers in the East Cowes area but customers can rest assured we are doing all we can to get more drivers on-board quickly so we can resume deliveries.
"We’re working with the franchisee and store to ensure complaints are managed in the correct manner moving forward."
