OUDoc
1/30/2008, 01:46 PM
Boarder will just love this.
After ordering pizza for the gang on Super Bowl Sunday, many folks will be able to go online and track the progress of their pies.
Domino's, the pizza-delivery kingpin, today will unveil a technology, Pizza Tracker, that lets customers literally track their pizza from the moment they place the order until it leaves the store en route to them. What's more, Domino's vows that its online tracking system � for phone or online orders � is accurate to within 40 seconds.
"We're filling that black box of uncertainty � 'Has my pizza been forgotten?' � with information and entertainment," says Chris McGlothlin, technology chief at Domino's.
The system goes up Wednesday at 3,400 Domino's outlets and will be in all stores by June 30, he says. It even gives folks the first names of the workers who take their phone order and deliver their pizza � and asks customers to rate them.
Any customer comments about inappropriate behavior by order takers or delivery staff will be investigated, spokesman Tim McIntyre says.
In a nation ever eager to track delivery of everything from FedEx packages to Amazon.com orders, it's now come down to tonight's pizza. The move by Domino's is aimed at its youthful target: consumers under age 30 who spend gobs of time online.
Sadly, there are probably a bunch of people who will be enamored of this, says Christopher Muller, director of the Center for Multi-Unit Restaurant Management at University of Central Florida. "I guess they'll sell a ton of pizzas to people with no social life who are sitting in front of computers."
But not everyone's so sure.
"It's technology in search of a problem," says Brian Kardon, chief strategy officer at Forrester Research, a technology researcher. "I don't know how many consumers are twisting and turning over the state of their delivery pizza."
Domino's says plenty are. "It's an emotional roller coaster when you order," McGlothlin says. "Customers wonder: Did they get my order? Are they taking care of me? Will it show up?"
With the new system, after an order is placed, the customer can go to dominos.com, click on the Pizza Tracker icon and follow the progress of the order. The site confirms that the order has been received, when the pizza is in the oven, when it's been boxed and when it's left the store.
Alas, a key part of the pizza's journey cannot be pinpointed: the drive from Domino's to your home. But Domino's can tell folks when their pizza left the store, and officials say it should arrive within nine minutes of that time.
Rival Pizza Hut is unimpressed.
PizzaHut.com already provides an estimated time when customers will receive their orders, says Bob Kraut, vice president of marketing.
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/money/20080130/pizza_tracking.art.htm
After ordering pizza for the gang on Super Bowl Sunday, many folks will be able to go online and track the progress of their pies.
Domino's, the pizza-delivery kingpin, today will unveil a technology, Pizza Tracker, that lets customers literally track their pizza from the moment they place the order until it leaves the store en route to them. What's more, Domino's vows that its online tracking system � for phone or online orders � is accurate to within 40 seconds.
"We're filling that black box of uncertainty � 'Has my pizza been forgotten?' � with information and entertainment," says Chris McGlothlin, technology chief at Domino's.
The system goes up Wednesday at 3,400 Domino's outlets and will be in all stores by June 30, he says. It even gives folks the first names of the workers who take their phone order and deliver their pizza � and asks customers to rate them.
Any customer comments about inappropriate behavior by order takers or delivery staff will be investigated, spokesman Tim McIntyre says.
In a nation ever eager to track delivery of everything from FedEx packages to Amazon.com orders, it's now come down to tonight's pizza. The move by Domino's is aimed at its youthful target: consumers under age 30 who spend gobs of time online.
Sadly, there are probably a bunch of people who will be enamored of this, says Christopher Muller, director of the Center for Multi-Unit Restaurant Management at University of Central Florida. "I guess they'll sell a ton of pizzas to people with no social life who are sitting in front of computers."
But not everyone's so sure.
"It's technology in search of a problem," says Brian Kardon, chief strategy officer at Forrester Research, a technology researcher. "I don't know how many consumers are twisting and turning over the state of their delivery pizza."
Domino's says plenty are. "It's an emotional roller coaster when you order," McGlothlin says. "Customers wonder: Did they get my order? Are they taking care of me? Will it show up?"
With the new system, after an order is placed, the customer can go to dominos.com, click on the Pizza Tracker icon and follow the progress of the order. The site confirms that the order has been received, when the pizza is in the oven, when it's been boxed and when it's left the store.
Alas, a key part of the pizza's journey cannot be pinpointed: the drive from Domino's to your home. But Domino's can tell folks when their pizza left the store, and officials say it should arrive within nine minutes of that time.
Rival Pizza Hut is unimpressed.
PizzaHut.com already provides an estimated time when customers will receive their orders, says Bob Kraut, vice president of marketing.
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/money/20080130/pizza_tracking.art.htm