Seeing red: Schoolboy customer wins apology after Domino's Pizza calls him the 'Ginger Kid'



A Domino's takeaway has apologised after it referred to a schoolboy customer as the 'Ginger Kid'.

Ross Wajgtknecht, 11, visited his local branch with friends and gave his full name when ordering a Texas BBQ pizza.

But when he came to collect his food he was horrified to discover that staff had written 'Ginger Kid' in place of his name on his receipt.

Prejudice: Ross Wajtknecht, 11 who was described as a 'Ginger Kid' on a receipt given to him at Domino's Pizza in Midsomer Norton in Somerset

The keen footballer, from Peasedown, near Bath, burst into tears.

Ross said: 'I was really sad. I get bullied at school about my hair but you don't expect it from an adult.

'After I read it I couldn't stop thinking about it, and brought the packet home because I wanted to show my mum.'

Ross, who is in his final year at Peasedown St John Primary School, took the receipt home to his parents Evette, 43, and Andrew, 45, who demanded an apology from the outlet.

Mr Wajgtknecht , a builder, said: 'It is totally disgusting. You would not describe someone by the colour of their skin or by calling them fat so why is it ok to call Ross ginger?

Apology: Staff at the fast-food pizza outlet have apologised after Ross discovered that staff had written 'Ginger Kid - paid' in place of his name on his receipt

'Surely it would have been easier to write Ross. That only has four letters. Why write Ginger Kid instead?

'I think they picked on him because he is just a lad and they knew he wouldn't defend himself.

'It is prejudice. They offered him a free pizza but the damage has already been done and he doesn't want to go back in case it happens again.'

He said Ross had received taunts over his hair colour throughout his life and had burst into tears after being referred to as the 'Ginger Kid'.

Mrs Wajgtknecht added: 'He is usually quite a strong and confident lad who doesn't let comments upset him but reading that has really knocked him.

'At the end of the day what we want to do is raise awareness of how this can upset people.'

Ross, who has three older brothers, Toby, 20, Josh, 18 and Jack, 14, bought the pizza on May 28 from the Midsomer Norton branch of Domino's after an afternoon at the skate park with his friends.

Manager Pat Bennet said: 'It was for the benefit of the person who took the order, it wasn't meant to cause offence.

'I have apologised to the family over the phone and the member of staff concerned has written an apology to the boy. We will ensure nothing like this happens again.

'A problem we often face is children giving us fake names to confuse orders, we often have a groups of young people come in and all give the same name, then they get abusive if we give the wrong order to the wrong person.'

Ross, who plays for league-winning Peasedown St John Athletic under 11s, said he took strength from his hero, recently retired Manchester United star Paul Scholes. He said: 'A lot of my friends call me Scholesy and I don't mind that.'