Will AT&T Hang Up On Austin's Pizza?

Phone problems may put Austin's Pizza out of business if owner J.D. Torian can't get an ongoing issue resolved with AT&T.

He tells the Austin Business Journal that billing problems started last fall—with AT&T charging him for services and equipment he didn't need or request—and continued through this year, with the telecom provider cutting off the twelve-location pizza joint's phone service multiple times despite the fact that Torian eventually gave up and started paying for the stuff he didn't want and didn't order. Now the chain, which delivers 11,000 pizzas per week, is in serious jeopardy:

But last Friday, the service was cut off again, a near death penalty for his business, which includes 12 stores throughout Austin, given that 80 percent of his traffic comes through phone orders received by a central call center number. AT&T issued a temporary number, but that isn't a long-term resolution, Torian said. To make matters worse, Torian's team asked customers to order online, but the Internet service crashed because of high traffic.

For now, Torian tells the ABJ that he's signed a new contract with XO Communications, but it's unclear whether that violates his contract with AT&T or if he'll have to find a new phone number entirely. Goodbye, 512-795-8888 ... hello, 737-something?

· Austin's Pizza [Official]
· Austin's Pizza: Phone Problems May Kill Business [ABJ]
· All Austin's Pizza Coverage on Eater Austin [-EATX-]

The pizza joint's Guadalupe location. [Photo: Austin's Pizza/Yelp]