Everyone has heard of Domino’s 30 minutes or it’s free deal, right? Well what if I told you that the guarantee hasn’t been in effect in over fifteen years? That’s right; if it takes 45 minutes to deliver your pizza, you’re still expected to pay for it.
First off, the “You Got 30 Minutes” commercials that Domino’s has been airing for the past few years are extremely misleading. Nowhere in the commercial does it say “get your pizza delivered in 30 minutes or it’s free.” If you don’t believe me, watch it again here http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=zgz5jTfpYUc (Pause it at 28 seconds and check out the fine print). In fact, every pizza box from Domino’s comes with a disclaimer stating “Because safety is a priority 30 minutes is just an estimate, not a guarantee. You may get more.”
So where did the confusion come in? Some people do remember the days when there actually was a “30 minutes or it’s free” guarantee. What happened to it? Why did they take it away? As you can imagine, there are some instances where it’s neither safe nor feasible to make it to a delivery destination in the amount of time the driver is given.
The fastest pizza maker can usually make a one topping pizza in just under a minute and then it takes around 5 minutes to bake. For slower people working the pizza make-line or for more complicated pizzas like the Extravaganzza (which has 8 toppings that must be proportioned accurately), it may take 5 minutes to stretch the dough and top the pizza then another 5 minutes to bake. That only gives a driver 20 minutes to box the pizza once it comes out of the oven, load it into a Heatwave bag, grab your drink, and get to your house. Even in relatively small towns, it can be a challenge to get from one end of town to the other in 20 minutes especially if you have to cross any railroad tracks or if the weather isn’t picture perfect.
Domino’s was founded in 1960, began the 30 Minutes or It’s Free campaign in 1973, and pulled it completely twenty years later, in 1993. In fact, in the mid-1980’s, it dropped from a 100% discount to $3 off due to apprehension about drivers ignoring traffic laws in order to make their delivery on time. The final demise of the promotion came after two lawsuits that were filed against the company in 1992 and 1993. Domino’s was forced to pay out over $82 million due to delivery personnel that had caused car accidents (one which resulted in the other driver’s death).
However, just because there is no longer a guarantee doesn’t mean that delivery drivers always drive safely. There is to a degree, still some issue with drivers speeding to get deliveries to their destinations on time. Often, if they are late they may receive little or no tip when it may not have even been their fault the order was late.
So next time you order a pizza, have a little mercy. Remember the time the person taking your order estimates. If they tell you it will be 45 minutes to an hour before you receive your pizza, you can expect their estimate to be pretty much accurate. There are lots of things that can cause your pizza to be late and the reason is very rarely because the driver took his or her time getting it to you. Especially late at night, there may only be one person working in the store besides the driver and orders can back up quickly when there is only one person to take and make the orders. Don’t punish your delivery driver by cutting their tip. If you have a frequent problem with deliveries being late, call back and speak to a manager and calmly voice your concern. He or she will be able to tell if a particular driver is the problem or if staffing issues need to be addressed, and you may be reimbursed for any inconvenience you endured.
