The Failed Papa John's Order That Had Reddit Cracking Up

We've all experienced the crushing disappointment of being served an incorrect food order. When you've got your heart set on a particular meal, it's a difficult burden to accept when something goes wrong and all your hopes are destroyed.

The issue may be especially acute with online food orders, because the feeling of control over their fulfillment is removed compared to the experience of physically ordering in a restaurant. Given that the U.S.'s contribution to the $150 billion worldwide food delivery market is only expected to grow (details McKinsey & Company), the opportunity for mistakes is likely to also increase.

Papa John's is a beneficiary of online sale boosts, with those orders making up a greater proportion than traditional methods, such as telephone requests, reports Restaurant Business. But any suggestion that the swing toward online orders and deliveries means more mistakes by food outlets is refuted by a Papa John's pizza order showcased on Reddit. The pizza was supposed to feature every topping of a BBQ meat feast, but instead, the customer accidentally removed them all — leaving only a plain barbecue base. This triggered huge hilarity on Reddit.

Placed after a night at a pub, the unfortunate order received lots of appreciation on Reddit. The uploader — Crunch1eTwix — never realized they were removing all the pizza toppings. "Must have been a great night at the pub" remarked one Redditor, while another described it as being like toast.

Mozzarella, bacon, pepperoni, spicy beef, ham, and sausage are the pizza's standard ingredients, notes Papa John's. However, the customer did manage to request a garlic pizza stick and three garlic dips, which a Redditor suggested might have helped "wash it down." "Heart breaking" was how one commenter described the order, while another compared it to the meme none pizza left beef. "The one time you'd want them to mess your order up," concluded one comment.

Redditors shared other order horror stories, with one ex-Papa John's worker revealing a request for green toppings only — and that canceled orders are eaten by staff. A further pizza mishap was an order for "just onions" (the result being solely onions on a pizza base), while a different commenter recalled accidentally ordering a burger from McDonald's with nothing but cranberry sauce.