Pizza Hut Refuses Military Discounts, Veteran Discounts-Truth! & Fiction!
Summary of eRumor:
Questions about whether or not Pizza Hut offers military discounts and veterans discounts emerged after a man named Caleb Lee posted on social media that an Alabama Pizza Hut denied him a military discount and asked what the military has ever done for Pizza Hut.
The Truth:
Like many franchises, Pizza Hut allows individual branch managers to decided whether or not a particular Pizza Hut offers a military discount or veteran discount.
Some Pizza Hut locations offer up to 10% off for service members and veterans, but you’ll want to check with your local Pizza Hut about its military discount policy, the website Military and Veteran Discounts reports.
Questions about Pizza Hut military discounts surfaced after Caleb Lee posted on Facebook in January 2017 about a situation that unfolded at a Pizza Hut in Huntsville, Alabama. Operators of that Pizza Hut location acknowledged that Lee had visited the restaurant and was denied a military discount — but the restaurant operators say the rest of Lee’s story was fabricated.
In the post, Lee wrote that he was asked what the military has ever done for Pizza Hut, and that a corporate manager said he was sick of veterans, cops and firefighters thinking everyone owed them something before telling Lee to “get the F$@%” out of the restaurant:
Management at the Pizza Hut in Huntsville launched an investigation into Lee’s claims and found that he was, in fact, a customer at the restaurant and that he did ask about a Pizza Hut military discount. However, the restaurant’s Facebook page said that security camera footage showed that the exchange ended there — without Lee talking to a branch manager or corporate manager about a Pizza Hut military discount:
The franchisees of that Pizza Hut location told local news outlets that they’ve been in the community since 1967 and that Lee’s false claims had damaged the business’s reputation and sales. In Fact, in the fallout from the post, a local veterans group began meeting at the Pizza Hut location in a show of support, WHNT 19 reports:
Local veteran and founder of the Bearded Warriors Ty Oswald said the whole situation is frustrating because now a business is taking a hit, and a veteran is put in a negative light essentially because of how viral social media can make something.
“Something that may or may not have happened or maybe exaggerated a little bit can turn out really bad really fast,” he said.
The incident, whether it’s true or not, has really hit a nerve with the community. Oswald thinks this is due to the large military presence in the area.
“Whether they’re huge franchises or a mom and pop shop that wants to come out and discredit veterans for their service or asking for a discount or whatever the issue may be, it’s kind of unheard of for this area,” said Oswald.
We’re calling this one truth and fiction because it appears that Lee was correct in reporting that the Huntsville Pizza Hut denied him a military discount — but that other elements of the story, like him being told by a manager to leave, appear to be untrue.