After placing a friendly bet on the results of the National Basketball Association Finals, Steve Wiborg, president of Burger King Corp., North America, was forced to eat his words Monday in the form of a stuffed crust pizza.
Last week, Wiborg, who is based in Miami, and Brian Niccol, Pizza Hut’s U.S. general manager based in Dallas, agreed to work at the other’s restaurant for a day depending on the winner in the NBA Finals, which showcased the Miami Heat and the Dallas Mavericks.
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With the Mavericks trumping the Heat in a close 95-93 victory, Wiborg swapped burger flipping for pizza slinging at a Plano, Texas, Pizza Hut.
“It was a whopper of a wager, but I’m holding up my end of the bargain and am confident my flame-broiling skills will serve me well as I head to Dallas to toss pizzas for a day,” Wiborg said in a statement, adding, “We’ll get them next year!”
Niccol and employees at the Pizza Hut unit greeted Wiborg when he arrived and gave him a crash-course in working at the quick-service pizza delivery restaurant.
“They were there to help me, not hurt me,” Wiborg said after a day making pizzas.
Wiborg still managed to represent Burger King by creating a Whopper pizza, which was topped with all of the ingredients that typically compose a Whopper sandwich, except for the bun and mayonnaise.
“They gave it a thumbs-up,” Wiborg said of the diners.
Contact Marcella Veneziale at [email protected].