'We don't discriminate our customers' - Pizza Hut

Pizza Hut Malaysia would like to extend our sincerest apology to Mr Anthony Thanasayan for the miscommunication and inconvenience that occurred between him and our Pizza Hut staff.

Pizza Hut takes this matter very seriously and is very much concerned about the incident that happened yesterday at Pizza Hut Mid Valley with the customer concerned. Prompt action has been taken to investigate this incident and a meeting has been set to meet Mr Anthony Thanasayan to resolve the miscommunication that had occurred.

In response to claims stating that Pizza Hut has a policy of not welcoming guests on wheelchairs, we would like to reiterate that at Pizza Hut, there is no such policy in which we discriminate our customers with special needs. At Pizza Hut, each and every customer is important to us. We strive to only provide the best for all our customers without prejudice.

It is our standard practice to ensure that we especially take care of and are sensitive towards our customers with special needs. To explain the miscommunication that occurred between Mr Anthony Thanasayan and the Pizza Hut staff, our staff had offered to seat Mr Anthony Thanasayan in an area where it was more comfortable, spacious and easy for him to enjoy his meal and have his meeting. It was by no means an act in which the Pizza Hut staff wanted to discriminate and not allow the customer to sit in a place he wanted to. Due to the setup of the outlet which is narrow for wheelchair access, it would be most inconvenient and uncomfortable for Mr Anthony Thanasayan to have sat in the area that he had requested. This was all done with good intentions to ensure Mr Anthony Thanasayan would be most comfortable and would have no problems moving around in his wheelchair.

According to Low Kang Moon, Senior General Manager of Pizza Hut Malaysia, “The management is very much concerned about the incident that happened yesterday at Pizza Hut Mid Valley. Our immediate action during the incident was to extend an apology and explanation of the situation from our Restaurant Manager to Mr Anthony Thanasayan. Following that, the customer then called the Area Manager at approximately 1 pm yesterday to lodge a complaint and request for a meeting. The Area Manager once again apologized for the inconvenience caused and agreed to meet up today to discuss the matter further. The customer had agreed to meet up but informed that he will advise the Area Manager on the appropriate time”.

“Today, the Area Manager called the customer again at approximately 10.50 am to fix the proposed meeting. The Area Manager was once again informed that he will get back to her on the timing. Another follow up attempt was made at approximately 11.30 am by the Deputy General Manager of Pizza Hut Operations to check on the best time to meet. Once again, we were informed that he will revert on the time to meet today. At around 1.00 pm today, a text message was sent to the customer to follow up on the time to meet but we have yet to receive any confirmation from him”.

“We have moved to investigate this matter and we will be meeting Mr Anthony at his earliest convenience to resolve the miscommunication that occurred. We can’t stress enough that we take all matters in regards customer experiences with us very seriously. Thank you for your concern and continuous support towards Pizza Hut.”