TOP 50 PIZZA CHAINS

Delivery Dilemma

Finally, let’s talk about delivery. To deliver your own pizza or not to deliver your own pizza? That is the question. And if Hamlet were a pizzeria operator, he’d doubtless agonize over the answer, too. Third-party platforms pose an increasingly vexing dilemma for the pizza industry. According to Technomic’s 2022 Pizza Consumer Trend Report, 24% of pizza delivery orders were placed via third-party platforms versus the restaurant itself in 2021—that’s up from 16% in 2020. Outsourcing delivery can be expensive—and risky. But reliable workers aren’t exactly lining up outside your door these days. Aye, there’s the rub. In a perfect world, pizzerias could afford to maintain an in-house delivery team and fully control the delivery experience. But third-party delivery, coupled with increased demand for delivery of all types of food during the pandemic, changed everything. Thanks to thirdparty platforms, customers now have more delivery options— tacos, burgers, you name it. Unfortunately, restaurant owners using third-party delivery might lose control over when and how their food gets into the customer’s hands. And that’s problematic.

According to Service Management Group, a customer experience management platform, a customer who has a poor third-party experience will often blame the restaurant, whose online review ratings can decline by as much as 1.5 stars. It’s your reputation that’s on the line, not DoorDash’s. Moreover, the Square report found that 68% of customers would rather order delivery through a restaurant’s own website or app, not via third parties.

So what’s a struggling pizzeria operator to do? Creating your own app would help. Partnering with a local restaurant delivery service (RDS) is another solution. The key word here is “partnering.” Sit down with your local RDS and hammer out a deal. Negotiate commissions and fees, lay down some ground rules for how your brand can and cannot be marketed online, and ensure that your local delivery partner has a team that will quickly respond to customer complaints. And protect your customer data! With in-house delivery, all of that valuable data is yours and yours alone, to do with as you will. If someone orders from your restaurant through a third-party partner, you want that data for your POS system so you can market directly to the customer, offer specials, encourage dine-in visits and control your branding message.

Before you choose a third-party partner, try out their service several times on different nights—slow weeknights and busy Fridays or Saturdays—while seeking objective input from friends or family members who have used it. Was the delivery driver courteous, prompt and professional, or did he look sloppy and harried? Did your food arrive hot and fresh? What happens if they get the order wrong—who does the customer call, and will someone answer the phone?

If your community doesn’t have a local RDS, you can still try to cut a deal with a national service. But when both the restaurant and the RDS are deeply embedded in their community, cross-promotional opportunities abound. You scratch their back, they’ll scratch yours.