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Phone is still the best way to order pizza

dan.bulwinkle.net

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Re: Phone is still the best way to order pizza

#91

Post by ineedasername »

iwanttocomment wrote: post #53

Who on earth has ever ordered just a "large pizza for pickup"? Without specifying ingredients, type of crust, anything. This is like ordering a chair by phone from a furniture store by dialing the number, saying "Armchair for pickup" and heading on over to the store. Why reserve books online from the library? Just call them and say "10 books for pickup" and then hang up.

Because traditional pizzarerias don't have crust options like that, and if they do they are not the default. With my local place the call really is as simple as:

Me: I'd like a large plain pie for pickup.

Pizzeria: what's your name? [Name]. Okay $name, 15 to 20 minutes.

And we're done.

If you're ordering from a big 3 chain then you have to deal with a bunch of non-dedault options, but if you know what you want it can still be as easy as "I'd like a large stuffed-crust pizza with the hearty marinara". (Though plenty of people consider the big 3 to be pizza the same way that Olive Garden is Italian food... A rough facsimile, but not the real thing. I'm a little more open minded than that).

Pizzas are a lot more fungible than furniture or books.

Re: Phone is still the best way to order pizza

#93

Post by alar44 »

urthor wrote: post #39
post_break wrote: post #9

I'm sorry but I don't agree. Dominos pizza has coupons, deals, etc. Trying to get those deals over the phone is a chore. Ordering specific toppings can be a chore since it's a relay back and forth vs a button. Multiple pizzas with multiple toppings? The delay just compounds. If you live alone and order one pizza or one style of specific themed pizzas then sure, it might be faster, if that's the metric of "best" but i…

That's the entire point. Dominos is happy to offer you those coupons and deals etc, in exchange for using Dominos's preferred platform (its website, which doesn't cost minimum wage) and providing your user data (via channel tracking the coupon, logging in etc). A decent pizza place will charge more to let you skip all that. In the age of data and free, ad driven services, "you get what you pay for" is paramount.

They still track you with your phone number anyway. Unless their app is pulling data from your phone, I'm not exactly sure what they're gaining here.

Re: Phone is still the best way to order pizza

#94

Post by ryanlol »

oceliker wrote: post #49

I remember posting this in a similar thread a while ago but I’ll repeat it here. As an international student with an accent and an uncommon name, I will literally never order a pizza over the phone.

But why would you care if the pizza place gets your name right? My name is difficult too, but I just don’t give restaurants my real name.

Re: Phone is still the best way to order pizza

#95

Post by Spooky23 »

shagie wrote: post #75
Spooky23 wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Weird. Literally the opposite of my experience. I don’t do delivery except pizza because I don’t want to pay a premium for cold food. Websites always have built in timers that take longer. Usually 45m. Meanwhile I can call a pizza place, have pizza and wings ready in 15m, pay cash or whatever and have hot food. Order online, chances are it’s sitting there for 10m to avoid getting penalized on the SLA for online order…

Dominos has a patent on this - https://patents.google.com/patent/US10262281B1/en - and its rather accurate. The "its done" in the app or web page and it is within a minute or so of being able to walk out the door with it or have it show up. And ordering with Dominos you get a dominos driver - not a middleman.

Dominos is tough as their systems are awesome, but the product itself is… not so much.

Re: Phone is still the best way to order pizza

#96

Post by alar44 »

Spooky23 wrote: post #10
MattGaiser wrote: post #3

That is the happy path. It has a lot more possible sources of error/time consumption than the app and there are many benefits to the app. 1. The line is busy. The app is next to never busy. 2. The line has static and you are not heard correctly. Especially problematic for delivery or complicated orders. Or they may get your name wrong. My first name is common and my last isn't great over the telephone. 3. You have to…

Weird. Literally the opposite of my experience. I don’t do delivery except pizza because I don’t want to pay a premium for cold food. Websites always have built in timers that take longer. Usually 45m. Meanwhile I can call a pizza place, have pizza and wings ready in 15m, pay cash or whatever and have hot food. Order online, chances are it’s sitting there for 10m to avoid getting penalized on the SLA for online order…

Sounds like your proximity to the restaurants is the issue, not using an app.

Re: Phone is still the best way to order pizza

#97

Post by Vixel »

iwanttocomment wrote: post #53

Who on earth has ever ordered just a "large pizza for pickup"? Without specifying ingredients, type of crust, anything. This is like ordering a chair by phone from a furniture store by dialing the number, saying "Armchair for pickup" and heading on over to the store. Why reserve books online from the library? Just call them and say "10 books for pickup" and then hang up.

I often order "the large" from a place by me. They feature a different pizza every day and you can just order it by size. It's kind of mystery box. I've found that I don't really care what the toppings are because the crust, sauce and cheese are so good. Pick off what you don't want.

Re: Phone is still the best way to order pizza

#99

Post by mulmen »

cm2012 wrote: post #56

I just timed myself and was able to get to the final button of ordering a delicious pizza on DoorDash in 8 seconds.

I find this hard to believe. When did you start the count? At opening the app? Did you decide on a pizza before ordering and attempt to order that thing or did you just accept the first deal you saw to save time?

Re: Phone is still the best way to order pizza

#100

Post by lostgame »

jimmyswimmy wrote: post #23

Most of the comments here are focused on the question of why you would prefer an app to calling. The author's point is a great one though, and something I've wondered a lot. Why should I create an account to order a pizza? The app should reduce friction even from the very first order. Instead it adds, and adds for every order... Got to go look up coupon codes! On the phone I just ask the guy what their best deal is i…

>> Why should I create an account to order a pizza?

Most of the apps in my area (Toronto, Canada) absolutely do not require account creation and allow you to just use a ‘guest’ account; usually just requiring (reasonably) your phone number.

As to why I’d want an account to order?

Let’s say I have a local favourite pizza joint and a favourite pizza I like to order. Having my personal info and payment info already filled out and hitting ‘reorder’ makes ordering and paying a literal 5 second experience.

Since it’s optional almost everywhere online and in app here; I don’t see the big fuss.

I ordered from Jolibee last night and was happy to find out I didn’t need to make an account, since I don’t eat there often; unlike my local pizza joint. I used the guest system and my girlfriend just gave them my name and picked it up.

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