Blog #3 On-line Audit

I went on-line to place an order last night, only to discover that there are no Domino's locations that deliver to my house.  (We had 2 locations at one time, but they are permanently closed.)  I did appreciate receiving that information right away rather than getting all the way thru the order only to find out it wouldn't be delivered to me. 

I have never ordered on-line from Dominos' or any restaurant.  I think if you know exactly what you want, and it's a pretty straight-forward order, it's easier to just pick up the phone to order.  The on-line system had many nice features though, and I think it would be handy for orders with a lot of details (modifying ingredients, multiple items, large groups). 

If I had been able to have an order delievered, I would have chosen a Buffalo Chicken with Blue Cheese Sandwich, a Chicken Bacon Ranch Sandwich, and 3 Cheese Mac-n-Cheese in a breadbowl.  We have never tried Domino's sandwiches or breadbowls, and I think they look very tasty on the menu flyer.  A few changes I'd like to see on-line would be for the sandwich menu to include the full description.  I had to click on each sandwich in order to see the ingredients.  I also thought the pasta didn't look very appetizing on-line when presented in the dishes.  But I do like the choice of breadbowl or dish.

I scrolled thru the various screens, and liked that you can adjust toppings (none, light, extra, etc).  I also liked the screen that provided meal selections based on the number of people you are feeding.  People always seem to struggle with that, so that's neat.  Fortunately, we don't have food allergies in our family, but I know it's very difficult for people who do to eat at restaurants.  Your allergen info and lighter choice menus were also nice information to have.  But my favorite feature would have to be the Tracker!  Kids are usually impatient, and 10 minutes seems like hours to them when they are hungry, so the tracker would really come in handy!

In comparison to my store experience, I would say both options seem to appreciate a customer's time.  The manager in the store was very pleasant and kept updating me as to how much longer I'd be waiting, and the Tracker does that on-line.  The on-line feature also kept track of your order history.  I felt both options worked hard to fine-tune the whole dining experience from ordering, to paying, to cooking the food, to presenting the customer with the final product.  I would not really consider Domino's part of a health/wellness program, but I do prefer pizza over fried foods.  Luckily, we are not terribly diet-conscious, so that would not prevent me from ordering Domino's if that's what I wanted to eat. 

One final note about Domino's, I do not think they do enough to advertise things like all their menu choices, on-line ordering, etc. I like the new chicken campaign - it's humorous.  I don't understand rating the chicken on the box though.  What do you do with your greasy box top then? Anyway, I remember Domino's mostly from my college days, but I don't think they've done much to keep themselves in the pulic eye, or if they have, I've missed it (which is not good for them).

Blog #4 Obituary

My friend Domino's passed away quietly in our local strip mall.  We believe he died a very lonely death caused by the Dominick's grocery store (in the same shopping center) selling fresh made pizzas for $5 on Friday nights and $6.99 other nights.  Dominick's didn't mean to kill Domino's, but people noticed that their pizzas were larger, took about the same amount of time to make, tasted about the same, and they could do their grocery shopping while they waited.   During his life, Domino was popular with the college students because they cared more about price than taste.  Once those college students were gainfully employed, they looked for, and could afford, better dining experiences.  Current college students will miss Domino, but they will find comfort in other low-cost pizza on their campuses.  Families will search for restaurants offering kids-eat-free nights, or upscale pizza places (i.e. Gino's East)  because they have a 'taste' for that pizza.  Unfortunately, I don't recall anyone ever having a 'taste' for my friend Domino. Domino had a larger menu (oven baked sandwiches, breadbowl pasta, etc.) than most people knew about but he wasn't one to boast.  People knew him only for his pizza delivery business, and even his speedy and polished service was not enough to keep him in business.  Just before he died, he had realized the error of his ways.  He was working on an ad campaign to promote the variety of his menu (including his American Legends pizzas, breadbowl pastas, oven baked sandwiches, and new chicken). 

Blog #2 Health and Wellness

I am 44 yrs old and have never been what I would consider "fit" or the size/shape I would be happy being. I also realize that the people I know who are, work very hard to get/stay in shape, and I make choices both food and exercies-wise that are not always smart.  I have also had a few minor health issues (prescribed blood pressure medication, had small cyst removed, and an ankle injury) since January that have been wake-up calls for me.  Since January, we decided as a family to turn the kids' toy room into a family exercise room.  We purchased a home gym, set up a tv and Ipod docking station, and I just started using it after the boys get on the bus in the morning.  I also play on a women's soccer team and walk with my Shape-Ups whenever the weather allows.  Food-wise, I have really made an effort lately to keep the fridge well-stocked with fruit and veggies, and have started taking Healty Choice frozen meals for lunch (which saves both calories and money!).  We have also tried to eat more meals at home than running thru the drive-thru (again, both calorie and money saving).  When we do go out, we try to eat foods that are not fried (Go Roma, pizza, Chipotle, etc.).  I have also stopped stopping for a coffee (my only coffee of the day) on my way to work (again, money and caloried saving).

Probably the biggest effect these things have had so far on me is I sleep MUCH better.  I used to suffer from insomnia, and now find I sleep through the night almost every night.  I also feel like I am providing my kids with healthier foods.  They are both very active in sports and seem to need a lot of food to keep them going, but that doesn't mean they have to eat junk.  I cut up a big bowl of fruit or hand them a Fiber One bar rather than a bunch of cookies,etc.  I have not stopped buying junk altogether, but try to limit all of our intake and have a larger selection of healthier foods on hand. 

Post #1

I went to Domino's Pizza tonight with my 2 sons (ages 11 and 13).  The 13 yr old had a 5PM baseball game (in the BITTER cold!), so a quick run to Domino's was perfect for a fast and easy dinner (especially considering it was 7:30PM and both boys still had homework to do).  We went to the Palatine, IL store.  It is on a very busy street, but is easy to locate with the bright Domino's sign.  The store appeared to be very clean, and I liked that I could see everything from the front counter to the food prep area, ovens, refrigerators, and even clear to the back of the store.  On the way there, all I could really focus on was thawing out from the baseball game, and on the way home, I just kept thinking about getting the boys fed, and getting homework done so they could get to bed. 

A few things I noticed while at Domino's:

• the man who took my order (not sure if he was the manager) was very pleasant with both walk-in customers and phone customers while I was there.  He told every customer approximately how many more minutes they would be waiting (which is REALLY nice when you are in a time crunch and I felt like he appreciated people's time).  He even offered 1 walk-in customer a 'carry out special' price for his order even though he wasn't asking for or expecting a reduced price.
• It smelled great in there and the photos/menus on the wall were very yummy looking!
• The employees were really hustling and the store was pretty busy, but they still appeared to be enjoying what they were doing.  I have been to other restaurants where the employees look miserable and act like they are doing you a favor by waiting on you. The employees were also very courteous and even guys coming in from a delivery would ask waiting customers if they had been helped, etc.
• While the menus on the wall and counter were nice looking, I found them difficult to read thru quickly and wound up using the menu flyer to figure out my order.  For example, I didn't see where the different crust types were explained on any displays, only in the flyer.
• I liked the order process flow.  It just seemed like a very well-oiled machine from man taking order, order printing on screen for pizza maker, box is labeled and put on rack for guy to put pizza in when it comes out of oven, etc.
• The pizza box sizes were displayed on the wall and clearly marked 'small, medium, large, xlarge' which is helpful for choosing the size you want.

I ordered 2 large thin crust pizzas, 1 cheese, 1 pepperoni.  I was really in a hurry and felt like these would take the least amount of time.  We brought them back home to eat (my sons and I, hubby was at a business dinner).  They both made it home safely and were very good.  I would probably order the hand-tossed next time since this was just a little to thin, but good!  I noticed the verbage on the box about why it is shaped the way it is and I think that's a neat touch.  Obviously, Domino's pays to have that printed on there, and it's important to them to tell their customer why they do what they do. Plus, sometimes it's fun just to know those little tidbits of information. 

 

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