I think that’s kind of the point we’re making. “Reasonably good” for six bucks isn’t going to be anywhere approaching good.
I rank Domino’s at the top of the delivery chain. It’s miles better than Pizza Hut, in my experience. Also, if you’re stuck on the couch with a few friends and someone mentions they want chicken wings, theirs aren’t half bad.
I think they are fantastic wings!
I would rather eat my own earwax than a Domino’s pizza.
In fact might rather eat your ear wax than a Domino’s pizza.
Same goes for Big Macs.
Maybe I’m lucky and the large Italian population here in Edinburgh make the local options better. Oh, and you can hold with the cracks about them coming deep fried. I’ve heard them.
Hey, I say that now! But then, I’m a schlubby prole with no taste for fish eggs or grape juice gone off.
I also like Domino’s, so take that as a caveat.
The only pizza I’ve ever hated was from Chuck E Cheese and it’s probably been 10 years since I last ate that cardboard. Otherwise, a bad pizza is still better than most food.
Dominos is competing with frozen pizza, and you have to admit it’s better than that.
That’s the funniest thing I’ve read all day.
Not overly fond of Dominos. The pizza’s okayish, but rather expensive.
Seeing US folk mention Dominos and cheap in the same sentence, I figured I’d check the prices on the .com and .co.uk websites.
.com, the basic cost of a large (14’’) cheese and tomato is $9.99 - just over £6.
.co.uk, the cost of a large (13.5’’) cheese and tomato is £10.99 - about $18. Start shoving toppings on the bugger and non-standard bases then you’re headed into the equivalent of $26 - $30.
Oh I know exactly how you feel. Although I have this feeling mostly with other stuff, like music or movies.
Unfortunately, I have a frame of reference … and I didn’t order a pizza this morning, if you see what I’m getting at.
Yes, I think the answer is that to be successful, a pretty small portion of the populace has to like you. For instance, the box offices and sales of even the most popular movies and music hardly ever equate to 10% of the population purchasing your product even once (and that’s generous, it may not even rise to 10%) So the vast majority of the population can actively hate your stuff but you can still make tons of money.
The greater Orlando area for instance has on the order of magnitude of 2 Million people. If only 1% actively enjoy Domino’s you still have 20,000 Domino’s fans. Even if they order only 5 times a year that’s 100,000 pies a year. At $10 an order that’s a cool million in payroll, more than enough to have several locations.
Of course the real numbers are higher than 1% of people who like Domino’s, but the point is that it doesn’t take nearly an overwhelming majority of people slobbering over a mediocre place for it to nonetheless achieve ubiquity.
One’s skepticism about humanity’s tastes can therefore be reserved for things one cannot avoid, like bad music.
iirc, Dominoes actually was the first to give a consistent product in a reasonable amount of time. Back in the day, delivery pizza was actually rare, and only the small, single owner stores even did it, and usually it took a couple of hours. Pizza was considered a restaurant food, for a family outing. Pizza hut entered the delivery market late, ~1990, which set off the delivery wars and nearly resulted in the bankruptcy of Pizza Hut by the mid 90’s as restaurant sales dropped by 80%. By the time Papa Johns entered the delivery market, it was nearly saturated. As stores closed or consolidated, Dominoes managed to stay afloat and regained dominance.
So, to answer your question:
- They remain dominant because the competitors couldn’t maintain themselves.
- Their sales point is speed and convenience, not quality or taste.
Domino’s is the pizza version of fast food. It’s pretty good in a once in a while guilty pleasure kind of way, and it costs half as much as all of the better options (Papa John’s or especially local stuff). I haven’t had it for six months because I’ve been cutting fast food out of my diet, but before that, $5 for a quick dinner on a busy night? Sure.