The Dominos Pizza Tracker Saga – Part 1

If your kids are like mine, you have likely spent more time than you’re willing to admit publicly staring at the Dominos Pizza Tracker, waiting to watch your doughy goodness go from order placed to prep to bake to box and then – squee! – out for delivery.  Last month during a school holiday that managed to fall on potentially the dreariest day of the year, my kids and I decided to order a Dominos pizza and the new stuffed cheesy bread (I’ve heard you can jump rope with the cheese) AND some Cinna Stix.  We decided to go all out and make a Monday lunch a little something special.  We ordered our food, sent an encouraging note to our pizza guru via the Pizza Tracker, and then watched with growling tummies as our order worked its way through the system.

But then something strange happened.  Our pizza got stuck at the quality inspection point.

Time passed, tummies growled, kids complained.  I called my Dominos and asked about the status of our stuck pizza and was told that rather than the 17 to 27 minutes I was quoted my order would take to arrive, it was actually going to be closer to an hour.  Apparently it was a very busy Monday lunch?  When I pointed out that my pizza was already made and being inspected – very thoroughly – I was told that the Dominos Pizza Tracker is not real.

Who told me this? The Dominos store manager.

I immediately posted this to Facebook: “So depressed. Just found out from my local shop that the Dominos tracker is totally not real. What next?!?” and shared something similar to 35,000 people or so via Twitter.

I was suddenly hit with a flurry of tweets telling me stories of similar discoveries from pizzas shown to be delivered that never showed up to a little girl asking to thank “Katie” who made her order only to be told that the names were made up and there was no Katie.  The other downtrodden pizza lovers of the world tweeted with me and watched as my pizza tracker status changed at 11:59 to say that my food had been delivered and continued to listen when I updated them at 1:14 that it still had not actually arrived at my house.

Phone calls to the shop confirmed yet again that the driver hadn’t brought my food, which I already knew because of the lack of saucy, cinnamony, cheesy goodness in my house.  But that pizza tracker?  It wanted to know if I was enjoying my pizza.  You know, the one that had been “delivered.”  The kids hung in there, refusing to eat PBJ, my son’s face planted up against the front window watching for any sign of his food.

Dominos themselves quickly got into the tweeting frenzy, disputing people’s claims that the Pizza Tracker was not real.  I tried to believe.  After all, I had just spent the day before convincing my seven year old that the Tooth Fairy exists.  I really was not in the mood for another man-behind-the-curtain moment.  But all signs were pointing to marketing ploy.

Dominos continued to swear by the technology behind their Pizza Tracker as well as its validity, and so I did what any loud blogger would do – I requested an interview with the Dominos VP of Communications.  In tomorrow’s post, learn the answer to the question we’re all asking – “Is the Dominos Pizza Tracker real?”

And yes, the food did eventually arrive and my kids and I watched as the driver got out of his car in the cold January drizzle, our boxes stacked on his seat, no warming bag to be seen.  Thank God for patience and microwaves.

(Read the conclusion of Is the Dominos Pizza Tracker Real.)

Disclaimer: My local Dominos did not charge me for my order following the hour and forty minute lag between when I placed my order and when my food arrived.  Dominos also offered me a $50 gift card, which I politely declined and was able to instead donate to a family in need, then sent me a letter confirming the donation.

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11 Comments

  • I got such a good laugh out of this! I saw a few of your tweets, but I had no idea the extent of it. We don’t do Dominoes, so I didn’t know. It is to laugh.

  • OH can tomorrow come now? I remember your tweets from last month and the sadness that ensued because there was no real pizza tracker.

    I can’t wait to read tomorrow’s interview! (Kinda feel like I’m waiting for Santa and I should go to bed early so tomorrow can hurry up and come.)

  • My guess is that the tracker is as accurate as the information put in by your local store. And from the sounds of it, they were completely overwhelmed and dropped the ball along the way.

  • Amy, I just love your writing! Two snort out loud moments for me:
    “I pointed out that my pizza was already made and being inspected – very thoroughly…”
    and,
    “After all, I had just spent the day before convincing my seven year old that the Tooth Fairy exists. I really was not in the mood for another man-behind-the-curtain moment.”

    BRILLIANT!
    I look forward to post #2…

    Keep it coming!

  • Genius! We love the pizza tracker and now I feel like I was tricked. For the kids sake we’ll keep this little pizza tracker info on the D.L.

    • Cheree, you need to read the update later today! Keep hope alive 😉

  • I can’t wait to read tomorrow’s post!

    But, the part I loved the most: “Dominos also offered me a $50 gift card, which I politely declined and was able to instead donate to a family in need, then sent me a letter confirming the donation.” You are too sweet!

    • Sara, it was like that episode of Friends where Phoebe wants to do a good deed for the sake of the good deed, but then she receives things. I thought I donated the gift card and that was it, but then the letter came telling me I could use it as a tax deduction. LOL

  • What? The Pizza Tracker isn’t real? Logistically, I did ponder how it could work and never figured it out. But now that I know it’s not real, I’m kinda annoyed. It’s such a brilliant idea. Sorry to hear it was just an idea.

    • Becca, I think you’re misunderstanding. Did you read all the way through?