My Domino's Delivery Experience

Just placed my order on the Domino's.com website.  Was especially glad I had an excuse for ordering lunch today since husband is working from home today, and I have FULL day of activities, work, teething baby learning to crawl, picking up 6 year old from kindergarten, laundry and more laundry (see INSANE photo of pile of clean laundry awaiting folding on chair while rolling around baby heads under chair), afterschool bowling event for 6 year old, the typical homework battle then off to my neighborhood TownWatch meeting ( I am on board so can't skip it).  And to top it off I am still in pajamas! (Note: No babies were harmed in creation of photos for this blog!)
So it was a little frustrating to use website since for some reason it never works when I use log-in feature so I must re-enter all info.  But in this day and age, not suprising since you need password just to print out toothpaste coupons...

Decided to use coupon which I received with last order- a Mix and Match Choose any 3: Medium 1 topping pizza, any sandwich, or any bread bowl pasta.  Chose a medium pepperoni to put away for 6 year old (and 8 month old who eagerly eats pizza after I chop it all up).  Ordered husband sausage marinara breadbowl and TRIED to order self Chicken Carbonara (sans the bacon for health reasons).
Annoyingly the website CHANGED my pizza size to large after I know I selected medium.  This has happened before with Domino's site.  (Once I could put it down to operator error, but it has been several times, so wonder if they are just trying to up the size in hopes consumer won't notice. )
Also had trouble using coupon code- system would automatically add a chicken parm sandwich for 7.00 and still leave on the chicken carbonara.  Not sure WHY since there were no exclusions mentioned on coupon, so in interest of time, I just decided that since I wanted to try Chicken Parm ANYWAY, just cancel what I wanted originally.
Feeling a bit guilty about ordering Domino's- especially since I got renewal notice from swim club.  And wondering how on earth I will lose weight by Memorial Day! Hence no dessert item this time.

Oh Wow, tracker feature just indicated that "Bernard left store with your order at 11:25".  Time to locate tip money!  No time to change out of pajamas sadly.

So I guess Bernard had a few stops since it is now 11:48 and you could pretty much crawl from Domino's to my house in that time.  No big deal, except realized I am ravenously hungry since as usual all I have done is drink coffee so far and eat a few grapes despite being up since 7:15 a.m.
Wow, just looked at tracker and apparently they think food has been delivered!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It says " Mmmm, It's there  We hope you're enjoying your meal".
So... I am on phone with store, since I paid with credit card, and I am hoping no one else is enjoying my food.
A most helpful employee say that there have been problems all day with the website ordering, and that the website is administered by corporate and no one at the actual store has anything to do with the information provided by website.  The delivery information is all based on estimation of distances, travel time, etc and sometimes it is wrong.
But she assured me that the order did leave the store and that Bernard had 4 other deliveries.
Sort of sad, but knowing that you are dealing with franchise, you sort of expect it!  At least here in Philly there are TONS of pizza places, so if you complain to an independent one you get the feeling they value keeping your business.
So then at 12:03, it arrived.
I did photograph the food - well at least the stuff we will eat now, not the pizza for later.  Since I am starving and could pretty much eat the cardboard box at this point.

I have to say the sandwich and "bread bowl" are disappointing.
At first I thought "bread Bowl" was a deep dish small pizza and that they messed order up!


Burger King makes a much better "Italian Chicken sandwich" for 1/2 the price.  There is a generous amount of grease-soaked bread but the actual  amount of chicken, sauce and cheese are negligible.
The "Bread Bowl" pasta looks like a small pizza crust.   My husband (who is Italian American from South Philadelphia) will laugh his ass off about the portion.
So there is actual pasta- but not much- in the bread bowl crust.  Certainly not 7.00 worth!  He did concede that it is very good.
But given the fact that with both our orders we are mostly paying for BREAD, we may as well have ordered pizza!  The pizza is a much better value.
I find it hard to believe that in Philly, home of the cheese steak and "hoagie", that they will do much business with these products.  You can get much better value (and some actual vegetables) with free delivery thrown in usually with the local Mom and Pop pizza places.
My husband just commented that it was "Pizza sauce on pasta, not Pasta sauce on pasta, and there is a difference".  (the latter bit was no doubt added for my benefit since as a mostly Irish-American I call it sauce, not "gravy" and I also add pasta to water before it is boiling adequately!!!!")
When I told him it was supposed to be marinara sauce, he said no way, it was pizza sauce, but he did say it was good tasting just not what he thinks of when he thinks of pasta.
Then the scariest thing about the bread bowl was that he left most of the bowl and it SLID like a SLIMY SLUG on trail of grease out of the box when the box was bumped!
I was sort of suprised when he left the bowl as he will usually eat everything, but maybe that's why!  No, he has come back down to eat the bowl.  I did not point out the grease- I am sure he knows, but maybe does not care.

So it is sort of hard to compare both of my recent experiences with Domino's, since in the case of home delivery I had the weird situation with the website telling me my food had arrived and also, I ordered different things.  Also, I did not focus so much on the greasiness, lack of fresh vegetables, calories with my first order.  But after thinking about change with the second blog post, it seems that there is not really ANY change at Domino's.

I think that I have probably never ordered Domino's this frequently since it is sort of expensive, and since no matter what you order, it has a certain distinctive heavy, greasy, albeit GOOD flavor.  I don't want to be hypocritical- I hate people who are always on a "diet" but never seem to lose weight!  The food is good, but there are hardly no healthy options.  Not really too much variety either- seems that greasy, garlicky dough is basis for everything except chicken or desserts!  (And they certainly have their own detractions).
I am curious what the pasta is like without the bread bowl.  I guess you get MORE pasta, which arguably is also dough...

Domino's obituary

Blog post #4: Domino’s obituary. Imagine Domino’s was a person, and that person died. Write an obituary for Domino’s. Answer these three questions in your obituary: ·     What killed Domino’s?
·     What was Domino’s about to do / working on when it died?
·     Who or what will replace Domino’s, and why?
Also consider writing about Dominos’ place in the world, who Domino’s spent time with and why, who would miss Domino’s the most.


(In the interests of time, I am writing this obituary somewhat prematurely, since I plan to order this afternoon.)


Domino's has died, after a long battle with arteriosclerosis from high cholesterol intake, congestive heart failure from extremely high sodium intake and diabetes, brought on and worsened by excess calorie consumption (in particular the chocolate lava cakes).  
Sadly, in a time when consumers sought more healthy options, Domino's appeared to be  trying to bring about some change through menu options like pasta and sandwiches.  But even these were plagued with the same characteristics that marked their pizza throughout the years.  Offering fresh vegetables as toppings did little to offset the overall lack of healthy menu options.
Beloved for their consistently good tasting foods, they just did not offer flexible options or a focus on healthy eating that has enabled the rise of chains like Subway.  In many areas, local pizza restaurants offer options such as salads, as well as good tasting pizza, pasta and sandwiches that are less expensive than Domino's foods.
Domino's will be missed by consumers who valued good tasting, consistent meal options over concerns such as healthy options and variety.  Some comfort can be taken in the continued existence of longtime Domino's rival Pizza Hut, although it is questionable that they offer the same quality of foods. ( Although plagued by many of the same health problems, Pizza Hut is somewhat less expensive and does offer salad bars at the eat -in locations).

Assignment 2 Part 2 Photos.

Then take and upload some photos of things that represent that change. Be creative and show us-- are there products, foods, equipment, tools that have helped you along the way? Give your pictures some captions so we understand the significance of what you’ve shot.





One of the things I am trying to do is exercise more.  I can't always get out to walk, and with 2 kids a gym membership seems silly.  I often am so busy with them that I have to work out early in morning or late at night when gyms would be closed.  So one thing that represents change is my treadmill.  I can jump on when kids are busy, or sleeping without worrying about going to gym.

My youngest is 8 months and I still can't fit into regular clothes!  So I really need to make a change, but it is very tough with an infant .  I hope to get out and walk more since I can bring him in his stroller, but the weather does not always cooperate.  


Here is my new food processor, still in box of course since it is one more manual to read and one more thing to find kitchen space for!

And here is the kitchen counter- just so you can see that space is a premium!

Of course this is not a great image of change- more an excuse why there has not been any.


I am thinking of getting a Wii Fit game because it will be something my son and I can do together.  
We did actually get out walking today- weather was in 50's and so I managed to get my sons out to a theater festival downtown and then a long walk by the river.

This represents change since it has been a tough winter here, and it's easier said than done to leave the video game and get out and play!   But this is not without it's challenges since then dinner meant a trip to McDonalds on the way home!

Assignment 2

Tell us how you feel about health and wellness today. What’s your philosophy? Have you made any changes recently to the way you eat, exercise, etc?
·       First, if you’ve done things differently tell us a bit about the specific changes:
          -What are things you’ve done or bought because of health and wellness?
          - Are there any things you’ve stopped doing or buying, and why?
My philosophy is that I try to be as healthy as I can be, and try to get my kids to eat well, but also I can't fight and force them to eat vegetables and stuff they don't want.  I try not to be too stringent, since I have friends who try to limit their kids food choices severely, and it seems to backfire when kids are able to choose their own foods.
I am super busy and rely alot on convenience foods so I try as best I can to choose whole grain options where I can, to make sure we get enough fiber.  
I purchase lots of healthy snacks and try to keep them with us when we run errands so we are not stopping at McDonalds all the time.  
Raisins, trail mix, healthier cereals,  yogurts, nuts, etc, all help us out with being healthier, but we still do eat at McDonalds, etc. fairly often.  
I want my kids to be more adventurous eaters, I just bought a Kitchenaid food processor to try and "sneak" more veggies and legumes into their food.  I want to try and cook more, since I order out way too often.






Also with the spring we are trying to be more active.  My 6 year old got a video game system for Christmas so I try to have him spend part of each day  leaving the game and playing outside.  

Dominos Experience April 1, 2011

Just returned from my Dominos food run.
Stopped by this evening, convenient since I had to run to Gamestop for my 6 year old after I was done at Dominos.
The Dominos in my area is also in a shopping center where I can always find parking.
A nice bright comfortable inviting place. Seems straight to the point without silly slogans or decorations or the employees wearing stupid "flair" or saying annoying artificial things to customers.  Ordering is easy, although a little more complex than it used to be with sandwich and pasta options there now.  I was previously just used to the pizza/breadsticks/chicken wing options.  It was nice to see the other choices available.  I have had the pasta but never the sandwiches which I will have to try.

The store is smaller than I ever noticed, since I usually don't spend too much time in there, usually ordering delivery or even carryout where I am in store a few minutes only.

Store is not in a great area, which I guess accounts for the glass windows at counter.  But it is still more open and friendly than lots of places nowadays.  Plus I like being able to see all the way to back of food prep area. That is alot nicer than restaurants where you have NO view  of the kitchen.

The soda display cracks me up since I don't drink it (just don't like it and prefer to get my useless calories from other sources like the chocolate cakes!) and I don't let my kids have it.  We had drinks at home, but if not there are no real non-soda options available. But I know it's popular, and I guess convenient.

I could not really take too many photos of the seating, since it is Friday and busy.  There is a long bench plus 2 chairs.  But other customers started coming in and I did not want to photograph them!

The Purell dispenser is a nice touch, since it is cold and flu season!  And with space this small, I can understand them not having a bathroom, since it's not like folks dine in.

The counter is clean and it's nice that they have napkins/condiments available in this day and age since alot of places you have to remember to ask.  (I can understand that though as a cost cutting measure, but it still makes it tough to remember the stuff you need).

Sorry this top photo is sideways but this is the glass door back to the kitchen/prep area.  Again, it is nice to be able to bring food home from someplace clean!  Especially for my kids- I am not real squeamish about food, and will grab food from street vendors, etc, but for my kids (even the 7 month old likes to chew on pizza crust)- I want to know the food is safe.   I definitely get the feeling the Dominoes is clean.  Sometimes with Mom and Pop Pizza places in Philadelphia, I don't have that impression!

So  those are all the photos I could get in store front without annoying someone!
But back to my order- even on a Friday night it did not take too long- I was suprised- especially during Lent ( I live in big Catholic area, and although I don't observe food restrictions, many people in this area go out for pizza or seafood on Fridays.
The place smells great- even with the cold I have!  The smell of the food is pleasant without anything being overpowering like a fat fryer grease smell you get in alot of pizza places.
The employee who was working register was polite, professional and asked if I needed plates or napkins which I appreciate since with 2 kids I don't always remember stuff.

It may sound silly but I like the boxes at Dominoes.  The food is easy to transport in the car without having a bag that falls over and dumps stuff everywhere. The containers don't collapse when you try to use them.  The boxes recycle easily also, unfolding to go into recycling container.

One of my big complaints about Dominos is that they do not offer celery with the buffalo wings.  I like to eat them with the traditional accompanimnets of celery and blue cheese and often if I have no celery, I will not order them (like today for example!)
I did order the buffalo chicken pizza which was great.
The pizza is a little bit too salty for me, but I seem to be the only one in the house that thinks so.  The pizza does not seem quite as greasy as pizza from a neighborhood place.

I also ordered the Pacific Vegetable pizza, and am well pleased with that.
I got a small pepperoni for my 6 year old as he is not too adventurous with foods.
Plus the lava crunch cakes, which were completely bought on impulse, and which sadly, only I eat!

I brought the food home to eat and everyone was pleased (except the dog, who felt he did not get enough).
Dominos is a little more expensive than local pizza places, but the quality of the food is consistent.  I have never had any complaints about the food from there.  Local pizza stores are often inconsistent. You may order after recommending something and then feel like an idiot when it is not as you described!  But we usually always agree on Dominos.  And often there are coupons available.  It is just hard to remember them all the time!

It may also be expensive since I wind up ordering more than enough for one meal- but it never goes to waste.
The weekend is usually hectic with running to birthday parties, and other events, so it is nice to have food to microwave!

The Pacific Veggie specialty pizza!

The Buffalo chicken pizza.  Should have gotten some kind of veggie added but forgot.

So I did not mind going in and ordering and waiting as much as I thought I would.  I usually call on the phone. A few times I have done the online ordering but find it a little bit annoying!
And now I see that friends actually put the ticker for when their Dominos delivery will arrive on their Facebook status which cracks me up!  I just don't think that everyone needs to know when my food will arrive!