God's Word and pizza don't go well together, a restaurant worker has found out.
Dozens of Domino's Pizza customers in Indianapolis, Indiana have expressed indignation after a restaurant delivery man gave them gospel tracts along with their pizza orders, according to WTHR, the local NBC affiliate in Indianapolis.
Steven, the pizza delivery worker, admitted that, on his own, he had been giving pamphlets titled "Eternal Life Is a Free Gift" to customers. He said he just wanted to share the Good News to people, adding that he thought of this after he was shot at while on the job several weeks ago. That experience, he told WTHR, changed his thinking about life and compelled him to share the gospel with his customers.
Unfortunately, customers were not pleased with his action. In a Facebook post, Andrea Stone said it's "unprofessional and downright rude to proselytise [to] your customers. You're entitled to your personal beliefs, but this is simply not ok."
"You don't know my religious beliefs; you don't know anyone's religious beliefs. For all you know, I could not be religious at all, I could be Muslim, I could be Jewish. It's just disrespectful. ... For a big corporation like Domino's to let their employees do something like that, I think that it is a big misstep," Stone wrote.
Christina Watson, another patron, likewise objected after receiving the gospel tract.
"To just be on company time, to walk up and try to promote your version of Christianity or Catholicism or whatever your religious beliefs are, I find that invasive, I find it intrusive and I find it slightly rude," Watson told reporters.
"It's not an anti-Christian thing, it's an anti-proselytization thing," she added. "I'm a paying customer. I don't want a side of your religion when I'm ordering pizza."
The hail of criticism prompted a Domino's corporate spokesman to issue a statement to say that the company does not condone what one of its employees did. "We are a publicly traded company that does not subscribe to or endorse any single religion," the spokesman said.
Steven said he was surprised at the angry words thrown at him. Speaking to WTHR, he said no customers had complained about the pamphlets until Stone's Facebook post came out.
He said he has been asked by a restaurant official to stop handing out the tracts, and he has agreed to comply.
