This letter is in response to that of John McElvogue regarding the “rude service” his neighbor received from us at PJ’s Red Hots.

Since 1981, it has been our policy at PJ’s Red Hots to provide our customers with the highest quality food at the most reasonable prices while maintaining the utmost level of customer service.

During periods of normal business activity, we branch out our restaurant operation to accommodate the delivery of our food to the dorms, the NIU campus and the DeKalb proper. Typically, we promise our customers fresh, hot food delivered within 30 minutes.

However, during inordinately busy periods, it can become physically impossible for us to make this promise of expediency. This is an unfortunate fact of life that all restaurants must address at some point or other.

When our capacity to adequately service our customers is inhibited by an unduly large number of orders, we make sure that we inform them that their food might take slightly longer to be delivered. During these periods of duress, we still insist on maintaining an exemplary level of quality service and courtesy.

However, we do not extend that courtesy to individuals resorting to the use of rude, profane, or abusive language as Mr. McElvogue’s neighbor did in the incident in question.

It is not our policy to cater to the needs of individuals such as Mr. McElvogue’s neighbor, who threaten our employees with physical violence and who claim they will “tear this place apart.”

Mr. McElvogue, we do not expect our customers to “serve” us as you errantly insinuated in your letter. We simply expect to be treated with the common courtesy that one expects to receive from any mature adult individual.

Finally, in the spirit of common courtesy, we would like to express our immeasurable gratitude to the rest of the NIU community and the residents of DeKalb for making our first ten years here such a rousing cooperative success.

Thank you DeKalb! We look forward to serving this community for decades to come!

Paul and John Schwartz

Co_owners

PJ’s Red Hots