Pizza Wars. Eddys or Papas?

The eating of Pizza does not fascinate me as much as the names of Pizza joints. In Ghana like other west African countries, eating pizza is becoming a craze, a somewhat irresistible crave. Bread and stew? Whew! That’s the funny way some people refer to it. 

Trust me, there are people who eat pizza as much as politicians are daily accused of corruption. It’s that frequent, boy! For others, it’s a ‘dream come true’ on Occasions. No wonder, Pizza joints in Ghana hit the jackpot on holidays. Several see people throng them like Mega Church Crusades and or 31^st December Nights.

Congregants at a crusade drown the stage, in an attempt to catch the Preacher’s attention. Pizza Wait staff likewise witness all forms of threat from ‘congregants’ if their pizzas did not appear the next minutes.

‘Lady, if you need to get into that kitchen  and fan the oven, you better do so because if I don’t receive my pizza in sixty seconds, I will ...’ He doesn’t end his statement before another aggrieved customer jumps in, ‘Hey lady, where is my pizza? You took my money and now you are here doing what ...’ the staff is confused now. She does not know whose question she should answer. The customers are screaming now ‘Where is the manager!!!’

In Ghana, there are two names that lead the chart in the hearts of Pizza lovers. Common! Spare me that look, Its Eddys Pizza and Papas Pizza. My focus is to examine what these figure heads are doing to get your attention, as they fight for a larger chunk of the cake called ‘customers’.  This undoubtedly is a microcosm of Performance. ‘Microcosm, are you kidding me?’ Yes, microcosm. Assessing their performance will ultimately be measured by the level of satisfaction their customers enjoy.

Branches

The headquarters of Eddys Pizza sits on No. 66, Ringroad, the same building where Mr. Harry Zakour has run his famous Bus Stop Restaurant for about thirty (30 years). Eddys Pizza, when it began, enjoyed some goodwill’ as a result of its location on the same premises with renowned Mr Zakour.

Interestingly, the Bus Stop restaurant, which has now a pale shadow of its former self now benefits from Eddys Pizza, which is generally viewed as the ‘People’s Darling’. ‘A good turn deserves another’, they say. How? You buy Pizza from Eddys and marry it with beer from Zakour (for those who take alcoholic drinks).

Papas Pizza, on the other hand, minding their own business at East legon, on the American House Road, suddenly heard a rumour about Eddys, bringing the game to their doorstep, right under their nose; their headquarters. Initially, it seemed a joke.

One morning in 2014, Papas woke up to realise that the Eddys Contingent had set up Camp about 200meters away.  ‘What?’ he exclaimed. A closer look revealed that Eddys had forgotten to come along with a generator (laughs). Like seriously? Going to bake pizza without power?

Papas began to hatch a grander plan. ‘An eye for an eye’. ‘A tooth for a tooth’.  By midyear 2015, Papas had set up on the Ring road close to the Police Headquarters, and ironically named the newest shop ‘Papas Pizza Osu’. Clearly, this is a Tyson and Hollyfield affair.   

Papas Pizza has a branch at Spintex, Eddys Pizza have an ‘Opening Soon’ banner at Spintex, mounted on the building they intend to occupy. Yes, a banner. The question is ‘Are they ready for another bout with Papas on the streets of Spintex?’ If yes, the earlier the better. If no, continued stay ‘Opening Soon’ could damage their general reputation. Opening soon? Hey! It’s almost two years right? What kind of ‘Soon’ is this?

Glo Telecommunications Network, prior to entering the Ghanaian market made all the noise. Remember? However, by the time they actually opened for service, they had developed sore throat from the loud singing.   

Pizza flavours

Papas Pizza manages with about twenty (20) varieties of Pizza while Eddys run twenty-two types. See? However, Papas Pizza has managed to attract John Dumelo, Ghanaian movie star and Businessman (of course, including his followers) to the Papas’ Home. The brains behind Papas have gone the next step to honour him with a J.Melo Pizza. That’s Strategic leveraging. Hold on! Before you run off, Caroline Sampson of Yfm (inside the Silverbird Cinemas, Accra Mall) fame is also on their train.

Which Star is on the Eddys’ train? Does it matter? Eddys have managed to transform the ‘Supreme’ and ‘Meat Lovers’ flavours into some kind of tin-gods. If you try these, you could go bankrupt in your attempt to satisfy your appetite. The only turn-off will be ‘delay’ in having your Pizza baked.  Just visit Trip Advisor for further details. Eddys Pizza. Their website puts ready time at 20 minutes though.  

Customer Service

I cannot say anything about this. Do visit any of their branches on separate occasions. Eddys, perhaps on a weekend and Papas, on a holiday. Your personal experience will be the best assessment of their performances in this area of hospitality. Oh blimey! Forgive me. Pizza eaters constantly leave their reviews on Trip Advisor. You can pause and check them out. Those who don’t take customer service seriously in their business lose out by huge margins and risk collapsing the business.

Staff Attire

Papas Pizza Front staffs are often spotted in Jeans trousers with T-shirt and a Cap to match. Shoes? They wear flats. In my mind, I’m thinking, this aids smart movement in serving customers. In developed countries, this is how Pizza front staff dresses. Talk of Dominos Pizza and Papa Johns Pizza in the United States of America.

Eddys Pizza management, on the other hand, have for a greater part of their existence, preferred to have their front staff don attires that could make anyone mistake them for Bank workers. They often don white or black long sleeves shirt over a pair of black trousers, a necktie and black shoes. Ladies wear black heeled shoes.  This may be the Eddys way of standing out from the crowd, but in a pizza joint, where movement and speed rank topmost; their mode of dressing will be counterproductive.

What have I been saying all along? *Sips Apple Juice* Eddys Pizza and Papas Pizza are in a race, One thinks he has arrived and is gradually losing out, while the other, relatively less popular, continues to push the limits in order to win more customers and conquer new territories. The former thinks he has the customers already while the latter is doing everything to win customer loyalty.

Ooosh! I did not comment on the taste of the Pizzas. *I will be right back. Two hours should be enough*

Thank you for staying with me. I took a break to do some consulting with friends who often patronise Eddys and Papas, so that I could juxtapose their experiences with mine.

Conclusion

Many pizza lovers claim and I agree that Papas Pizza does not taste as nice as Eddys but they are great with their time. Also, a good number of my friends think they have been improving the taste of the Pizzas.

Who is who? Eddys Pizza or Papas Pizza; War Of The Pizza Mongers.

Footnotes

1. Eddys and Eddys Pizza are one and the same though used interchangeable to achieve certain effect.

2. Papas and Papas Pizza are one and the same though used interchangeable to achieve certain effect.

Image Credits

1st image: www.asiagopizza.com

2nd image: www.eddyspizza.com

3rd image: www.santabarbara.com

4th image: www.dailymail.co.uk

5th image: www.papaspizza.com.gh