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Phone is still the best way to order pizza

dan.bulwinkle.net

151–160 of 456 posts

Re: Phone is still the best way to order pizza

#151

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…

I agree with the author and you. I think Dominos is the exception though. Pizza places aren't nearly as painful as other places that have javascript bloated, every single interaction has a spinner, there's too much whitespace ordering apps. Looking at you Applebee's.

The last time I ate at Applebees is the last time I will eat at Applebees.

What do you even want to takeout order from there?

Re: Phone is still the best way to order pizza

#153

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…

Domino's was best when they sold only pizza and Coca-Cola. Just Coca-Cola. No diet, no Sprite, no other choices. No choice of crust. No choice of sauce. That's what they built their empire on. I'd go further, actually, and offer only one size; cheese, pepperoni, or sausage. No half this or that -- if you want two different toppings, buy two pizzas. The apps suck (and ordering on the phone can suck also) because there…

What halcyon era of Dominos pizza are you remembering? Dominos has had a choice of crusts for about 30 years now that I can remember.

Re: Phone is still the best way to order pizza

#154

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Other likely scenarios which aren't a problem on the web - the restaurant is busy, nobody answers the phone. - the restaurant is busy, somebody does answer the phone but they can't hear you over the noise of the patrons. - the person who answers the phone marks down your order incorrectly

- the restaurant is busy, they forget to check the printer(s) - the restaurant is busy, the printer ink or thermal paper smudges

- The restaurant is busy, they don't answer the phone, so you call somewhere else that isn't busy.

- The app takes your order, because apps are never busy, but the restaurant is busy and they don't even start making your food until an hour later.

Re: Phone is still the best way to order pizza

#156
post #129
post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Ironically, I picked up Dominos pizza for the first time tonight in many years. The app and the screen on the wall said that my order was ready for 10 minutes while I stood there waiting for them to finish my order. The food was terrible. Their chicken actually used to be good! Tonight the whole thing was just gross.

Where is the irony? I note only a coincidence.

Re: Phone is still the best way to order pizza

#157

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Domino's was best when they sold only pizza and Coca-Cola. Just Coca-Cola. No diet, no Sprite, no other choices. No choice of crust. No choice of sauce. That's what they built their empire on. I'd go further, actually, and offer only one size; cheese, pepperoni, or sausage. No half this or that -- if you want two different toppings, buy two pizzas. The apps suck (and ordering on the phone can suck also) because there…

What halcyon era of Dominos pizza are you remembering? Dominos has had a choice of crusts for about 30 years now that I can remember.

1980s and earlier.

Re: Phone is still the best way to order pizza

#158
On the other side of the communication channel things are even worse! You'd think not calling the restaurant would free the workers so they spend more time making food, but it doesn't always. Now a restaurant would have 3 or more tablets, one for grubhub, another for doordash, etc. There is no way for you to tell the customer you don't have green pepper, you don't have the time to update the thing so people stop ordering a particular item. The customer will still get charged and then complained or you might have to call them and tell them you don't have that thing. This shit happens so often that i's just not worth it. You also have to pay a premium for it sometimes.

Re: Phone is still the best way to order pizza

#159
post #63
post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The coupons are the biggest advantage to placing orders online. If you place your order over the phone, they aren't going to offer any promos - they'll gladly charge you $16 for a medium 1 topping. Gotta get the coupon to get the 5.99 special.

I worked at a pizza place as a kid, we were told to apply coupons regardless if they mentioned it. Probably a midwestern thing. It was a chore.

You and the person you're responding to are saying the same thing.

If you call you won't have a coupon, and they aren't going to tell you about any, therefore you're paying more. How do you find coupons? Check online, but now you're already there so why not just order it there?

A lot of coupons work either online or over the phone, but they're only advertised online and therefore that advantaged is largely to avoid more accessibility/disability lawsuits.

Re: Phone is still the best way to order pizza

#160
I agree, I always call pizza places to order.

Last time I ordered from Dominos, it was clear that the person on the other end was not located on site (sounded like she was working from home), and was putting my order into an app or site. I was only ordering a pizza and salad and it took about 5 minutes: way longer than it should have. Most of it was waiting on her part.

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