ALL POSTSHUNGRY HOWIE’S PIZZAPizza Franchises

HUNGRY HOWIE’S PIZZA Franchise Complaints

The Hungry Howie’s Pizza franchise has a relatively high SBA loan default rate of 23%.


Are you familiar with the Hungry Howie’s Pizza franchise opportunity? Please share a comment below.

According to the Small Business Administration, Hungry Howie’s Pizza franchisees received 32 SBA-guaranteed loans since 2001; 23% of those loans have been defaulted on by Hungry Howie’s Pizza franchise owners.

According to Entrepreneur, the Hungry Howie’s Pizza franchise chain has shrunk from 575 U.S. franchises in 2008 to 545 in 2012… a decline of 30 franchises or 5% of all U.S. franchises.

The Hungry Howie’s Pizza Franchise has a failure rate of 23% for SBA-backed franchise loans

Despite the franchise failures in the Hungry Howie’s Pizza franchise program, Hungry Howie’s Pizza continues to solicit new franchisees on its website.

What the Hungry Howie’s Pizza franchise marketing page doesn’t disclose is that it’s likely that Hungry Howie’s Pizza franchise owners who received SBA loans may have collateralized their franchise loan with their houses or other personal assets, and nearly a quarter were unable to repay those franchise loans… despite serious incentive to do so.

Are you familiar with the Hungry Howie’s Pizza opportunity?

What do you think accounts for the SBA loan failure rate of Hungry Howie’s Pizza franchise owners?

What steps should Hungry Howie’s Pizza be taking to stop further franchise failures?

Has Hungry Howie’s Pizza taken serious action to address the problems that led to the 23% loan failures?

Please share a comment, opinion or insight below.

ARE YOU A HUNGRY HOWIE’S PIZZA FRANCHISE OWNER OR FORMER HUNGRY HOWIE’S PIZZA FRANCHISEE?  ARE YOU FAMILIAR WITH THE HUNGRY HOWIE’S PIZZA FRANCHISE OPPORTUNITY?  PLEASE SHARE A COMMENT BELOW.

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Tags:  Hungry Howie’s Pizza, Hungry Howie’s Pizza franchise, Hungry Howie’s franchise, Hungry Howie’s Pizza complaints, pizza franchise, pizzeria franchise, pizza, franchise opportunity, restaurant franchise, food franchise, franchise failure rate, worst franchise, sba failure rates, SBA franchise loans, franchise information, unhappy franchisee,

38 thoughts on “HUNGRY HOWIE’S PIZZA Franchise Complaints

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  • lucy mann

    you have a store in Steinhatchee Fl at 806 riverside dr, we vaction there have a condo, your manager Diana is so rude to her help yelling and cussing them every time we see her there she sits at a table with other people just baring orders, she is so rude to customers its like we are bothering her while she is on her lap top, one time our food was wrong the girl who was trying to fix it was very nice gray haired lady , she called to Diana who was sitting in dinning room not in uniform to help and looked at the girl ans said what the hell did you do now, the girl kept smiling and explained what happened Diana told us what do you want me to do you got food so we owe you nothing, this is not the first time we have seen her treat her help bad a few we have seen cry due to her, Dianas husband also works there and acts the same way intimidating the help and all he does is sit around and alk to people and yell at the help as they are working we also dont like his sexual talk to my wife and kids he often touches my wife rubbing her arms or back and if he ask my teen daughter for another hug not sure what I might do, so until you fix this problem we wont be back we have lots of friends who feel the same way thank you feed up Steinhatchee

  • Keith frank

    I went to your store at 4511 grand blvd in new port Richey Florida
    When I walked in to get my order sorry I called it in the order forgot to tell
    You that I seen 1 of your employers punching all the company’s equipment.
    I could not believe what I seen. He was punching the outside of the pizza ovens
    And putting dents in them. What kind of employees do you people have. And also my order was screwed up. I will never go in that store again you people need some
    Real mgr!

  • John Roberts

    I ordered a $20 pizza special from a new store on Bethelview Rd. in Cumming, Ga. to be delivered i waited for the pizza about 50 minutes to get the wrong order we were missing the bread sticks and the 2 liter of soda.My wife called the store to let them know where we talked to a manager named Christy. She offered no customer service or apology what so ever for the mistake. Moreover after much back and forth she offered up a free bread stick which i had already included in our order. This is unacceptable in my opinion as i now had to wait for the breadstick that i already ordered along with the drinks. Now my choice is to eat half a meal with no drinks or wait 20 additional minutes for the soda and the bread sticks and eat cold pizza. thank you Howie’s i hope you do not continue to treat customers like this as you will be out of business in this area.Again, this was the worst customer service ever.

  • I have waited 3 hours for just a large supreme pizza; not only did I wait 3 hours but I got a cheese pizza. I didn’t receive my jalapeño on the side. As well as all of that disaster the driver didn’t give us our change and they didn’t earn a tip in my opinion. I am extremely displeased with these actions and services. After I called back and talked to the manager still currently waiting 4 hours latter….. I decided to call again low and behold it says they are closed so I waited from 6 to 10:30 for absolutely nothing!! Pissed, worst experience ever!! Dont eat here!!! Especially delivery!

  • Your subs are terrible. You should tell people you dont use sub bread. Didnt exspect greesey pizza crust instead of bread. I will spend my hard earned money on

  • I put an order in at your store on Michigan Ave.in pensacola Fla.the driver did not only give me my change but he also bring the wrong order. And when i called the store to tell them(the so called manager)she told me that her driver said he had given me ALL OF MY CHANGE BUT THAT’S A COMPLETE LIE!!!! I WILL NEVER ABSOLUTELY NEVER DEAL WITH HUNGRY HOWIES EVEN AGAIN POOOOOOORRRRRR MANAGEMENT AND CUSTOMER SERVICE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • Pete Evans

    The manager at the Haines City location is very rude and when I asked him to call me by my name, he repeatedly called me “bud”. Very disrespectfull and unprofessional. When ordering a 1 topping pizza, I asked to split the topping half ham & half onions and was charged tax for a two topping pizza. That’s dishonest and I’m sure against Florida tax laws. I called corporate to complain and have never heard back from them or the owner. Good pizza, louse Customer service. Basic business 101: when you upset a Customer they tell many more of their experience.

  • R Boone

    Got home only to find two warm pizzas with uncooked dough. When I showed the girl the pizza she says yeah we’ve been having problems with the deep dish pizzas getting done in our oven. I told her I wanted a refund and she said that they do not do refunds.
    Go ahead and keep my 17.42 Hungry Howies. I bet that when the general public finds out that you do not issue refunds for your mistakes, (which they will) you will once again fail as a company.

  • Rudolph Hargrove

    I attempted to attach pictures of my latest meat lovers pizza or lack thereof. Last night I made a purchase at store number 2317, 5611A Old Shell Rd and University Blvd, Mobile Alabama, 36608
    Once again VERY unhappy. # 1, Paid $14.25 ( Out off site ), but if its all it should be, I will pay that. It was sparsely dressed, once again, totally disappointing.

    Just wanted to let you know, as i would as an owner and i will take my business elsewhere in the future.

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    ADMIN note: If you email me the image file at unhappyfranchisee[at]gmail.com I will post it for you.

  • I ordered a pizza @ 6:00 pm well the time now is 9:30 pm I still don’t have my pizza. I was told when called that I would have my pizza in 1 1/2 hour at the most and also not to call back. I waited 3 hours before I called back and the manager answered and got smart with me like it was my fault they were not here. He immediately asked if I wanted to cancell well I didn’t but it’s still not here this is sad. If you can’t keep up with the orders why advertise all week that you will. This is bad business and I will never Order from there again and I will let all my 5000 Facebook friends know as well. #imfuriuos

  • I just thought u guys might wanna know what ur employees r up too after the store closes theres a store in river rouge mi.the general manager is sleeping with employees in the store and also smoking weed while shes doing deliveries i think that is very unprofessional

  • I placed a delivery order for the 5740 N ORANGE BLOSSOM TRAILORLANDO, FL 32810 Location.
    The delivery service for this store is HORRIBLE! Firstly, you can never order delivery online, because it never works. I ordered my food around 3:30pm, and stated I would pay by cash, then I called back about 10 minutes later and paid for my meal by debit card. At 4:45, I called the store and asked if my order was on it’s way. The person told me that they were limited on drivers and would get my order out soon. I re-informed them that my apartment was at the Forest City Road entrance to Magnolia Court Condos, and my unit was directly across from the day care center. I called again at 5:05pm and I was told my order was already being delivered. The driver arrived at 5:19pm and I gave him a $6 tip for a very late order. I’m truly disappointed by the online ordering service and delivery service for the store. Not a good experience at all!

  • Where’s my pizza at 930 they brought me the wrong pizza to 1105 and I got the correct pizza yet

  • craig papp

    I order from the store in river rouge mich all the time. Same thing lg chz pep mush w garlic crust. And a lg antipasto salad with blue chz. Never a problem. The pizza is very good and salads r amazing. But today was a disaster. Took 75 min to even get our food. Their only 7 blocks from me. Being late was not a huge deal but my salad was literally a small handful.of lettuce and slices of cheese and salami not chopped up butslices a few black olives and that was it. Worst salad ever. Someone needs to contact that store. I eat there all the time. But im thinking about going a lil farther for my carryout food. There is a jets close by. Id rather stay w hungry howies. But not w food like this. Contact me if u have any more questions. Craig. [redacted]

  • Junior Carter

    I would like to start out to say I order from this location gave me bad service not to mention I was cussed out by the manager of this location 2934 US Hwy 27, Sebring, FL 33870 and I would greatly appreciate it just as soon as somebody receive this email to give me a call back 863-838-4917 something needs to be done about this as soon as possible cuz he charged my business card a manager is talking to the owner does not need to be speaking like this he is very very unprofessional language

  • Susan browning

    Went to Texas corners mi branch which is off eight street. Saw kid working in back stretched out on top if huge flourbags with his cell phone above his head on his phone will not go back there makes you wonder what else going on.there were no other customers there. I can see why.

  • Susan browning

    This company needs an overhaul like undercover boss or something. The CEO of this company needs to get it together

  • Kenny

    The store on 98 N Lakeland, Florida 00118….I called them for delivery, in which they have delivered to me plenty of times, only to be told 40 minutes later on an order that was confirmed to be here in an hour that we dont deliver to you….it was very unprofessional….they are one street over! Highly upset I have to order from another location and wait another hour! Makes me wish I would have ordered pizza from an entirely different chain! And now because of their mistake I have to wait for my money to be refunded on my card…..Im a very patient person and I hardly get upset though I stayed calm over the phone with them, I am upset…nothing was done to rectify the situation but a sorry and rush off of the phone! Cookie Chip whatever her name was tries, the manager should have been the one to call me back and make me aware of that.

  • Gene Cork

    We built out a Hungry Howie’s store in West Lafayette last year and still have not received the bulk of the money owed us. Contrary to assurances by the corporate folks, the franchisee did not have his financing in place before signing the contract and is still “struggling” to get his loan approved. Of course, the corporate people who solicited our bid and facilitated the contract say there’s nothing they can do. So if you own a business or work for a business that has the “opportunity” to provide products or services to anything or anyone having to do with Hungry Howie’s … I would avoid doing so at all costs! In fact, I would even go so far as to tell my competitors to run as well. Hungry Howie’s as a corporation obviously doesn’t care about doing the right thing and thus they also don’t care that their name’s damaged. Why would anyone trust them to adequately vet and then train their franchisee’s to properly prepare the food they’re selling?

  • I was at the only one in live oak fl. This is so nasty the colored man very wash his hands or put gloves on and wipe his nose and then made my pizza I told him no way he said my cooties will be killed with this hot oven .I was shocked also there bedroom had poo on the toilet and pee on the floor nasty. No healthy outcome here I bet I am calling the health board on them nasty greasy pizza and subs.

  • Yolanda McCormick

    I need someone in charge of Hungry howies on 9mile in Warren. The Manager was rude, gave me the wrong corporate number & hung up on me when I called to complain the my pizza was dry because there wasn’t enough sauce.

  • Just walked in Hungry Howies DeLand FL and the AC doesn’t work. It’s 94 degrees outside and outside felt better than their inside. Asked the manager for the corporate office number and the jerk got mad wanting to know what I wanted it for. It’s hotter than the Florida outdoors and to think I wanted to dine in. This is ridiculous!

  • 7/17/16 ordered a pizza for pick up at the Hungry Howie’s on 4250 N. Wickham Rd, Melbourne, FL 32935. Paid and tipped and returned home. Opened the box and the pizza had not been sliced. Called to shared with the business and it went down hill from there. The “manager” only offered to replace the pizza. Explained I didn’t have time for that (had to get to work) and he again repeated I could come in and replace the pizza. He did not apologize for my inconvenience. That and the non-caring tone of his voice upset me. I told him I wanted credit to my account and that if the two employees had not been bullshitting and focused on their job it would not have happened. He hung up the phone. I called back and he then began to lecture me on being respectful to him and eventually hung up on me a second time. When I initially entered the store to pick up the pizza there were no other customers in the store and no pizza boxes to pick up in the window so they were not busy and should have been focused enough to slice a customer’s pizza before presenting it. The “manager” had no sense of customer service or apology for my inconvenience. They have lost a multiple year customer and I will be contacting corporate.

  • RaShawn Gonzales

    I had a very bad experience at the Hungry Howies on Waverly in Lansing, MI. The manager “Lloyd” was very rude to me and argued with me about my pizza. The first time my pizza was extremely burned. The second time I drove up there I looked at the pizza and the toppings looked cooked. I get home and bite into it and the dough is completely uncooked. I tried to explain to the Manager and he was so condescending and would not listen to me. He kept talking over me and raising his voice. I asked him for the District Manager’s name and number and refused to give it to me. This unacceptable I have never experienced this before. I would like a call back about this. His attitude was unacceptable. I have visited that location numerous times and I’ve never dealt with such disrespect.

  • Ordered again two deep dish pizzas and got some round ,manager didnt offer to fix it and even gave4dollar tip.

  • I HAD PURCHASE A SALAD&STEAK& CHEESE CALAZONE FOR MY SON.AT THE STORE IN LAFAYETTE LA AT 2419CONGRESS STREET.WE HAD PAID WITH A CREDIT CARD!!BUT CHANGE OUR MIND& DECIDED TO PAY WITH CASH.THE EMPLOYEE WAS SUPPOSE TO REIMBURSED OUR $21.00 BACK ON THE CARD WITHIN 5-7 BUSSINESS DAYS.BUT THERE WAS STILL NOTHING.HE ALSO TOLD US THAT HE WOULD TAKE OUR NAME OFF THE DO NOT DELIVER LIST!!SO,I WAITED 7 DAYS THEN CALLED BACK!!THEY CLAIM THEY HAD TO WAIT FOR THE GM TO COME IN,SO THEY CAN GET IT SITUATED.WELL THE G.M. CALLED& LEFT A VM.BUT NEVER CALLED BACK!!I’VE CALLED SEVERAL TIMES TO TRY& GET MY REFUND OF $21.00.IT BEEN SINCE AUGUST 4,2016& WE ARE NOW IN SEPTEMBER.SO THEY HAVE NO INTENTIONS ON REFUNDING MY MONEY.THEY REALLY ACTING LIKE I STOLE SOMETHING.BUT I JUST WANT MYB$$$.I WORK TOO HARD TO SAY,IMMA GIVE AWAY $21.00.HUNGRY HOWIE’S WILL NEVER GET MY BUSSINESS AGAIN.!!& I TOLD ALL MY FAMILY& FRIENDS ALSO!!SO THEY WANT GET THEIRS NEITHER!!THATS VERY BAD BUSSINESS!!!!

  • Brenda Foskey

    I ordered a lg pizza with special toppings and was told it would be ready in 15 min at franchise 4744 I Lakeland Fl. When we arrived to pick it up 21 min later we were told that one of the toppings had not been put on the pizza. The drive through cashier said she would cook the topping and put it on the pizza. We asked to talk to speak to the manager. We observed the worker speaking with the manager who took food to 4 other customers in line behind us and still did not come to the window to speak with us. In frustration we blew the horn and she turned around and rudely told us to hold it a minute. By the time she got to us we had been waiting 40 min. After everyone calming down the mansger named Amber offered to remake the pizza and refund the cost. After 53 min. We got the pizza.
    This is the second time we have ordered from this franchise and both times the order was not correct.
    I understand that working with the public can be very frustrating but no one deserves to be ignored when there is a problem nor spoken to with this type attitude.

  • The manger “Scott” at the store 7448 w Glendale ave, is very disrespectful with his workers and his customers, he never smiles and never say hi. His food is always cold and late. He does illegal things to make his store work.

  • Denise Hadley

    I ordered 2 lg pizzas. Tgey girl taking my order says that it would take 30-45 minutes. It took an hour to get here….n when it finally arrived the pizza was cold. When i called to complain to the manager he then said there was no way she told me 30 to 45 minutes it usually takes a little over an hour to get here. Now i have to wait another hour to eat. Thia is ridiculous! 1884 Drew st. Clearwater, Florida 33765. Store 101.

  • Robert Owens

    Hungry Howies in Bonifay Florida fired me for a mental disability. They are being sued for 22 million dollars. But the general manager there continues to say he’s done nothing wrong and acts like he don’t even care about the situation when he’s the one that fired me. I will never eat at or work for a hungry Howies again, I’d rather live in the streets because I’m broke than to resort back to them.

  • Rosea McBride

    Hungry Howie’s #239
    3073 18th Avenue S.
    St. Petersburg, FL 33712
    727-327-5555
    Hours:
    MTuWThSu 11:00 AM-11:00 PM
    FSa 11:00 AM-11:59 PM

    Your Order: Delivery: 8/12/2017 ASAP Delivery in 60 minutes
    Minimum Order: $15.00
    Qty Item Each Total
    1 2 Liter Pepsi $2.49 $2.49 Edit Remove
    1 16 pc. Howie Wings $13.99 $13.99 Edit Remove
    Item Total $16.48
    Sales Tax $1.15
    Delivery Fee $3.00
    Total Before Tip $20.63
    Tip

    Total $20.63
    Comments:
    I ordered from this franchise online and my total came to the total you see above, when I called to give my credit card info your employee/manager, Alexis gave me a total of $21.63. I would like to know why I was over charged $1, and would a refund given back to me.

  • Brelyn James

    My boyfriend and I have been ordering hungry Howie’s pizza, once a week, for almost a year now. We love the flavored crust! But after the way the manager handled my business today, the hungry Howie’s Auburn location will no longer be seeing mine or my boyfriends business. He and I placed a pizza for pick-up on Monday, September 13. We went into pick up our food order, and they told us to order never came through. We told them OK, well never mind, we will just go somewhere else. So me and my boyfriend left without a pizza. I look at my account the next day and my card has been charged. They promised me over the phone that they will give me a refund and a week later still no refund. I call and ask why and the manager said I need to bring a bank statement up there. So I take time out of my very busy schedule to get my bank statement and I bring it up there. The manager (his name is Victor) then tries to tell me I’m lying and that he handed my boyfriend the pizza and that I walked out with it. He even try to say he gave it to my boyfriends friend and he must’ve walked out with it, even though my boyfriend went in there by himself while I waited in the car. I sat there in the store and argued with him telling him he could check the cameras if he would like that I did not receive my pizza. He continued to refuse to give me my refund, so I got my boyfriend on the phone, since he was the one who came in to get the pizza. The manager cussed out my boyfriend on the phone telling him he was a fucking idiot when all he was trying to do was get the bottom of the situation. He even told my boyfriend to come up to the store, like he was trying to fight him. ARE YOU SERIOUS? He refused to give me my refund until I asked to speak to his manager over the way he was behaving. He told me he was a manager and I said OK well I want to talk to YOUR BOSS. He continued to tell me that he had no boss that he was his own boss. So I told him I was going to look up corporate and call them, suddenly he was willing to give me my refund. What a coincidence. Even his employee on duty was standing behind him mouthing to me how sorry they were. You could tell he was miserable too. It is not the refund that I am mad about, because I did wind up getting that back (I think. Ill know in a few days). But the reason Hungry Howie’s in Auburn has permanently lost my business is the way they allow their manager, VICTOR, to talk to their customers. He even knew the way he was talking me was wrong, because he later apologized once he got off the phone with whoever was helping him. If there is a change in management, I will gladly come back. The product you are selling is amazing, however the face behind it selling it is a monster. I strongly recommend a management change, or I guarantee I won’t be the only business you lose over him. Again, his name is Victor. And I will be sure to tell everyone I know about this, so they don’t lose money going to Victor too.
    PS: I’ve noticed I’m not the only one who has had this complaint. They seriously need a change of management before they run off all their good customers.

  • Brenda Lawrence

    Does your company allow employees to bring their children in to sit while the parent is working?

    My husband and I ordered our food by phone and we were planning on eating at Hungry Howies. There were two little boys who apparently belonged to one of the employees who was working, sitting at a table screaming and singing so loud that my husband I had to take our food and leave. I told the girl at the counter that we would have to get our food to go because we could not stand the noise that these two little boys were making. She did not say I am sorry or anything and a man was standing by her and heard me and did not say anything either. There were several people waiting and they also, could not get over the two little boys making so much noise. I feel that this needs to be reported, because you can’t run a daycare inside a business. It should be brought to someone’s attention that this is going on! We really enjoy eating in sometimes, but we will not be going back if this is allowed.

  • Leslie Rado

    I received the FREE large round one topping pizza offer from the new store at 171 S. Milford Road, Milford, Michigan 48381. When I ordered the pizza I told them I had the coupon for the “FREE large round one topping pizza”. They gave me the time, and started to tell me how much it would be, and then realized it was free. When I got up there they told me that I had to order $10 more of food in order to get it. They then showed me in tiny printing where it said it…”*With any purchase of $10 or more.” He said that lots of people made the same mistake.

    Being on Social Security Disability, I get take-out rarely, and only if there’s a coupon. I didn’t have an extra $10, and wouldn’t have used that one because they had another offer for a large 2 topping pizza for $7.49! I’ve been talking to so many people that it happened to also, but they just added another $10 worth of food. Can you imagine how much Hungry Howie’s has made using coupons this way. At the very least they should’ve mentioned when I ordered knowing I was using the coupon. Unlike most I’m sure I’m one of only a few the turned around and left…hungry.

    I was in advertising for many years, and know that you have to have some sort of symbol at both the offer and what you must do in order to get it. They only had it at the $10 part, but not at the FREE so no one would even look for anything.

    I went the next day to hopefully explain how it works and hoped they might do the right thing and give me a pizza. I asked for the owner or manager and none where there so I just tried to explain it to a girl. She was like a deer in headlights, and then some kid walked out just listening. Then started telling that “in life nothing is free”. When I asked who he was, he told me he was the owners son. I did say I will get my FREE large one topping pizza and walked out as they laughed.

    If anyone else has used these types of coupons I would love to know. I am going to go to corporate about this store and the employees. I asked to have the owner call me but two days so far and nothing.

  • Stacey Williams

    Hello I ordered A Howie Special for 19.99 and 2 liter Pepsi roughly 23.00 plus taxes and my card was charged for 35.00 a 12.00 difference.. yet the manager told me to call back tomorrow April 18,2019 I order two or 3 times a week .. unhappy customer I hate to feel cheated. Hungry Howie’s on Nicholson drive

  • Del Giorno

    You order from Hungry Howies 2-3 times and spend $70 per week? When you get your $12 back you should invest it in a cookbook.

  • Martha

    Went to the store In Erie pa on station rd and I was waiting to order some pizza and heard the manager brenda yelling at the help and even a customer. She was so rude and unprofessional and I was ashamed that I just walked out and didnt order anything . I will not support a company where they treats the help or customers In this matter. I will make sure I tell my friend and family to NEVER go to this company in Erie again.Who ever owns this company should be ashamed to have someone like this leading this store that way. I would hope they would put a stop to it asap.

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