You would think that getting a ridiculous number of phone calls would mean business is in full swing for a pizza joint. Unfortunately, for one New Jersey restaurant, the phones ringing off the hook has been nothing short of a nightmare. And it's all thanks to the video game series, Five Nights at Freddy's.
According to the Asbury Park Press, Freddie's Restaurant and Pizzeria is dealing with a world of trouble because of the game series, Five Nights at Freddy's. Apparently the restaurant, which has been around since 1944, is receiving a ridiculous number of phone calls asking if they are in any way associated with the game. The answer is a resounding, and we assume exhausted, "no."
Five Nights at Freddy's first launched back in 2014 and, several sequels later, it has received a huge following of fans eager to play the games, watch broadcasts of others playing the games, buy swag, etc. It's an interesting sort of phenomenon, one that has caused great frustration for folks who own pizza restaurants with the word "Freddy" in the name. According to the initial report, a restaurant in California by the name of Fast Freddie's Pizza & Pasta is also having issues thanks to the game, all in the form of people asking if they are associated with the Freddy's game series.
Here's the super frustrating part for me: The names aren't even the same. The fictional location in the game is called Freddy's Fazbear Pizza. Not only do these restaurants have completely different names, but they spell "Freddie's" differently, too. Still, apparently folks have been scouring the internet looking for the "real Freddy's" and this has been the result.
As for that New Jersey restaurant, the owners have had to reorganizes shifts and employees in order to handle all of the phone calls coming in from seriously confused gamers. They've added extra phone lines, too, which only makes it possible for them to receive even more phone calls.
One of the employees interviewed in the original story reports fielding 200 calls an hour, saying that it is a huge pain to answer the phone as soon as you hang up with the previous caller and have to field the same dumb question, all while you're supposed to be working your actual job.
To make matters worse, all of these calls about the Freddy's game series mean that folks who actually want a pizza can't place their order, costing the restaurant business. As for changing their number, that could also hurt business and, in the end, people will just find that new number online, too.
We understand loving a game but, come on, folks! There is no real Freddy's restaurant, so maybe let these poor folks do their jobs?
Even Freddy's developer Scott Cawthon has addressed the matter, explaining that the game is (shocker) based on a fictional location. He even asks fans to please not call restaurants like this, but apparently nobody is listening.
