# How was pizza delivery "30 Minutes Or Less Or It's Free!" to now taking 2 hours for a pizza? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 17, 2025, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-was-pizza-delivery-30-minutes-or-less-or-its-free-to-now-taking-2-hours-for-a-pizza/1015700 "2025-03-17T04:09:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2025, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-was-pizza-delivery-30-minutes-or-less-or-its-free-to-now-taking-2-hours-for-a-pizza/1015700/41 "2025-03-17T18:17:18Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > vice the 30- to 40-year old experiences some of us had in college. Ahem, I’ll have you know that _my_ experiences started in _high school_. 🧐 ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2025, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-was-pizza-delivery-30-minutes-or-less-or-its-free-to-now-taking-2-hours-for-a-pizza/1015700/42 "2025-03-17T18:22:01Z")
> [@purplehorseshoe](#): > > But I don’t know where y’all are seeing ten-dollar pizzas anymore. Little Caesars mostly. I’m always surprised at how low their prices are until I actually see/try one. They are masters of illusion. Off topic: When checking Little Caesar menus to check my post I noticed pizza chains are still using the same photography trick we used back in the day for Dominos advertising. Only one slice is cut and there is no ugly sauce on the pie. [![](https://media-cdn.grubhub.com/image/upload/d_search:browse-images:default.jpg/w_1200,q_auto,fl_lossy,dpr_auto,c_fill,f_auto,h_800,g_auto/adkzjnvujaxeypjog13e) ](https://media-cdn.grubhub.com/image/upload/d_search:browse-images:default.jpg/w_1200,q_auto,fl_lossy,dpr_auto,c_fill,f_auto,h_800,g_auto/adkzjnvujaxeypjog13e) ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2025, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-was-pizza-delivery-30-minutes-or-less-or-its-free-to-now-taking-2-hours-for-a-pizza/1015700/43 "2025-03-17T19:04:27Z")
Back in the day when pizza places employed drivers I’d sometimes get a delivery from a Mom’n’Pop local to me, but that was _mumble_ years ago. Back to the present … I don’t use modern food delivery services. As in never tried 'em, not once. > [@purplehorseshoe](#): > > plus the existence of alternatives like UberEats or GrubHub to bring food to people’s homes, have definitely had an impact. Does that mean that some customer with an e.g. UberEats account cannot order from your store for their driver to pick up at your place? Or just that your store doesn’t advertise that? Or is that a distinction that does’t make sense. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2025, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-was-pizza-delivery-30-minutes-or-less-or-its-free-to-now-taking-2-hours-for-a-pizza/1015700/44 "2025-03-17T19:09:26Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Back in the day when pizza places employed drivers I’d sometimes get a delivery from a Mom’n’Pop local to me, but that was _mumble_ years ago. My two favorite local, mom-and-pop pizza places (as well as our nearby mom-and-pop Chinese restaurant) still have their own drivers. Not only are they more reliable, but at this point, they know me, they recognize that I tip well, and my food nearly always gets here prior to the estimated time, and is actually still hot. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2025, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-was-pizza-delivery-30-minutes-or-less-or-its-free-to-now-taking-2-hours-for-a-pizza/1015700/45 "2025-03-17T19:14:07Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > I don’t use modern food delivery services. As in never tried 'em, not once. I’ve never tried them, either. I’be always expected that the food will sit at the restaurant waiting for a driver to pick it up, then sit in their car while they make other deliveries, then sit on my porch before I get notified, and be barely warm by the time I eat it. Pizza is good when it’s hot, and can be good cold from the fridge the next morning, but isn’t great when it’s luke warm. Plus, going out to eat is one of the few times I have any human contact. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.winston_oboogie/32/2945_2.png) [@Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Winston_OBoogie)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2025, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-was-pizza-delivery-30-minutes-or-less-or-its-free-to-now-taking-2-hours-for-a-pizza/1015700/46 "2025-03-17T19:25:23Z")
> [@Asuka](#): > > I understand the original process was discontinued because it lead to unsafe driving practices and even lawsuits and deaths, but now when I order delivery from Dominos it seems an hour to 2 hours is the usual time frame for it. > > I understand safer driving, but does safer driving really double or quadruple the delivery times? I’m going to agree with a number of posters that 2 hours is a bit absurd. I’ll give you an hour, but unless you’re ordering at maximum rush hour EVERY TIME, it shouldn’t come close to that. I think the practice was discontinued for monetary reasons. Yes, they were being sued for drivers doing stupid things, but also, I’m sure they calculated how many free pizzas they were giving out because people would INTENTIONALLY order at busier times so the delivery would come late. “We’re losing more money than we are gaining customers. Shut it down.” ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2025, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-was-pizza-delivery-30-minutes-or-less-or-its-free-to-now-taking-2-hours-for-a-pizza/1015700/47 "2025-03-17T19:26:49Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Back to the present … > I don’t use modern food delivery services. As in never tried 'em, not once. I tried them a few times, but was unimpressed. They got the order slightly wrong every single time, and it usually arrived cold. Now I just go to the restaurant and pick it up myself. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2025, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-was-pizza-delivery-30-minutes-or-less-or-its-free-to-now-taking-2-hours-for-a-pizza/1015700/48 "2025-03-17T19:27:52Z")
> [@Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](#): > > I think the practice was discontinued for monetary reasons. Yes, they were being sued for drivers doing stupid things, but also, I’m sure they calculated how many free pizzas they were giving out because people would INTENTIONALLY order at busier times so the delivery would come late. “We’re losing more money than we are gaining customers. Shut it down.” See this post of mine from 2015 about a pizza promotion in ~1987. > [@I just discovered a major loophole!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-discovered-a-major-loophole/732475/9): > > Years ago I had something similar that I and my cohorts (ab)used the heck out of. Near our work was a Pizza Hut. Which was staffed entirely by uncaring incompetent stoners. Who could never hustle; even at the height of the lunch rush they’d be moseying serenely along. Whenever somebody suggested that place for lunch we all groaned about the long wait but went anyhow because … PIZZA!!! And we were all 20-something and stupid. So World HQ comes up with this great promo to increase sales at lu… ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2025, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-was-pizza-delivery-30-minutes-or-less-or-its-free-to-now-taking-2-hours-for-a-pizza/1015700/49 "2025-03-17T19:28:51Z")
> [@Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](#): > > I think the practice was discontinued for monetary reasons. The guarantee was already adjusted to a $3 discount which was easily absorbed. The guarantee was dropped for PR reasons. > [@Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](#): > > I’m sure they calculated how many free pizzas they were giving out because people would INTENTIONALLY order at busier times so the delivery would come late. “We’re losing more money than we are gaining customers. Shut it down.” As I mentioned up thread, when it got too busy to meet the 30 minute guarantee a store would just take the phones off the hook until they caught up. There is no reason to do that absent the guarantee which explains why delivery might take much longer than it did back then. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2025, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-was-pizza-delivery-30-minutes-or-less-or-its-free-to-now-taking-2-hours-for-a-pizza/1015700/50 "2025-03-17T19:31:36Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > What differentiates it from any other kind of heater? I see what you did there, but it took a while. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2025, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-was-pizza-delivery-30-minutes-or-less-or-its-free-to-now-taking-2-hours-for-a-pizza/1015700/51 "2025-03-17T19:42:08Z")
> [@purplehorseshoe](#): > > But I don’t know where y’all are seeing ten-dollar pizzas anymore. Where I work, a small cheese-only is close to fifteen bucks, and a large deluxe (pepperoni, sausage, green pepper, mushroom) is just under $27. Domino’s has a Two For $6.99 menu (as in you need to order two or more items at $6.99 each to get the deal) which includes two-topping medium pizzas. So a couple of mediums are $14 plus tax/delivery provided you’re not getting “premium” toppings ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2025, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-was-pizza-delivery-30-minutes-or-less-or-its-free-to-now-taking-2-hours-for-a-pizza/1015700/52 "2025-03-17T20:09:21Z")
In my neighborhood, they also have a carryout deal for a two topping large for $7.99. At this moment they also have a limited time 50% off deal, although you can’t combine offers. And I’m the one that doesn’t care if it’s delivered cold, because I like my pizza really well done, close to burnt……so I’m always putting my slices in a toaster oven for 10 minutes or so before eating. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2025, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-was-pizza-delivery-30-minutes-or-less-or-its-free-to-now-taking-2-hours-for-a-pizza/1015700/53 "2025-03-17T20:17:09Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Or is that a distinction that does’t make sense. Dunno. We’re pickup only. Call in your order and come get it … and the “who gets it” doesn’t matter, as long as they know the name on the order and can pay for it. Considering the insane amount of people picking up for a name they can barely cough up (“uh, Smith? Might be Jones…”) & have zero idea of what they’re supposed to be paying for, I’d say there’s an informal underground system 'round here, for folks picking up for their neighbors/friends/relatives. … which is why we ask for the phone number. Hun’chil’ we ain’t gonna call you; we just need to know which of the four “Smith” pizzas is yours. You the one with the double anchovies? (That one always puts 'em in line. “No ma’am!”) ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2025, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-was-pizza-delivery-30-minutes-or-less-or-its-free-to-now-taking-2-hours-for-a-pizza/1015700/54 "2025-03-17T20:19:46Z")
> [@Ann\_Hedonia](#): > > In my neighborhood, they also have a carryout deal for a two topping large for $7.99. At this moment they also have a limited time 50% off deal, although you can’t combine offers. These days, I think Domino’s would prefer it if customers came in to pick up their pizza than have it delivered. They can better control the quality of the product that goes into their customer’s hands, they don’t have to worry about their own drivers, and they don’t have to worry about third party vendors like Uber Eats. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2025, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-was-pizza-delivery-30-minutes-or-less-or-its-free-to-now-taking-2-hours-for-a-pizza/1015700/55 "2025-03-17T20:34:16Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > Little Caesars mostly. I’m always surprised at how low their prices are until I actually see/try one. They are masters of illusion. I have to assume it is the only reason they’re still in business. Chuck E. Cheese has games and once upon a time at least annoying animatronics for the kids. They’re an [experience](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3F_pp9nQtMw), so the garbage pizza can be understood if not excused. But Little Caesar’s has none of that - it’s just awful with no redeeming value other than price. I admit to being a bit of a pizza snob - I can be as there is a high quality pizza place minutes from my house. But I’ll happily eat a slice of Domino’s if it’s free on the lunch room table. LC, not so much. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2025, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-was-pizza-delivery-30-minutes-or-less-or-its-free-to-now-taking-2-hours-for-a-pizza/1015700/56 "2025-03-17T20:37:50Z")
Decades ago, Little Caesar’s pizza was provided side by side on one piece of cardboard, covered in paper. That long cardboard container was awkward to get home in the car. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2025, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-was-pizza-delivery-30-minutes-or-less-or-its-free-to-now-taking-2-hours-for-a-pizza/1015700/57 "2025-03-17T20:45:52Z")
> [@Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](#): > > people would INTENTIONALLY order at busier times so the delivery would come late. “We’re losing more money than we are gaining customers. Shut it down.” My sister had some friends in university who, when they were short of money, would always order from a place that had the 30 minutes guarantee, because their house was in a weird spot the the drivers always had trouble finding. The got free pizza almost all the time. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2025, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-was-pizza-delivery-30-minutes-or-less-or-its-free-to-now-taking-2-hours-for-a-pizza/1015700/58 "2025-03-17T23:02:08Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > These days, I think Domino’s would prefer it if customers came in to pick up their pizza than have it delivered. They absolutely would prefer that – to the point that, in the last few years, they’ve run promotions to incentivize exactly that. > [@](#): > > The commercial showed a woman walking out to her car with a pizza she had apparently picked up at the restaurant. The narrator said that when you pick up your own pizza at Domino’s, you become the delivery driver. > > Fancy computer-generated graphics turned the woman’s everyday casual look into the garb of a Domino’s driver. > > The pizza company promised a $3 tip to customers who carried out their own pizzas rather than have a delivery driver do it. > **[The Paragraph Stacker | Daniel P. Finney | Substack](https://paragraphstacker.substack.com)** > > Uncensored columns from an exiled newspaper man. Click to read The Paragraph Stacker, by Daniel P. Finney, a Substack publication with hundreds of subscribers. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2025, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-was-pizza-delivery-30-minutes-or-less-or-its-free-to-now-taking-2-hours-for-a-pizza/1015700/59 "2025-03-17T23:37:46Z")
> [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > And… pizza must be getting cheaper. Because I recall the price of our pizzas being around $8 to $10, and I am seeing these same prices today. I heard something on NPR recently that pretty much said exactly that – relative to inflation, pizza has gotten cheaper. [https://www.npr.org/2025/03/07/nx-s1-5318011/behind-the-price-war-of-the-major-american-pizza-chains](https://www.npr.org/2025/03/07/nx-s1-5318011/behind-the-price-war-of-the-major-american-pizza-chains) ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2025, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-was-pizza-delivery-30-minutes-or-less-or-its-free-to-now-taking-2-hours-for-a-pizza/1015700/60 "2025-03-18T00:01:42Z")
I am not a big consumer of pizza now. It being not very diabetic-compatible. So I’m a bit on thin crust taking a stance here. I think I’ll say that “the cheapest of the pizzas have gotten cheaper.” Said another way the big corps are competing on enshittification. Just from casual poking around at non-chain pizza joints, it’s not clear that good non-corporate pizza is any cheaper than it once was. Factoring in inflation the real cost (not nominal cost) is the same or higher, and nominal cost is up a bunch. In fact the cited NPR article makes the point that the only pizza (or other fast food) that’s not going up at roughly the rate of inflation is specifically Domino’s & Papa John’s. The guest expert lays that at the feet of them making it up on the volume. Perhaps, but I’ll bet on lower quality (or at least lower cost) ingredients too. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-was-pizza-delivery-30-minutes-or-less-or-its-free-to-now-taking-2-hours-for-a-pizza/1015700.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-was-pizza-delivery-30-minutes-or-less-or-its-free-to-now-taking-2-hours-for-a-pizza/1015700.md?page=4)