Pizza delivery

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Scooter used for pizza delivery in Hong Kong

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An Oldsmobile Alero used to deliver pizza. Note the sign on the roof.

Template:Fix bunching Pizza delivery is a service in which a pizza outlet delivers a pizza to a customer, usually ordered by telephone or a web site.

Delivery is normally made with an automobile, motor scooter, or bicycle.

The process

Ordering

Ordering pizza for delivery usually involves contacting a local pizza restaurant or chain by telephone or online. Online ordering has gained popularity in countries with high Internet usage such as the United States and Canada, where most pizza chains now offer online menus and instant ordering. Online ordering is also now thought to be spreading throughout Africa.[citation needed]

Fake orders

Some people order pizzas to be delivered to an unwitting third party, who are supposedly stuck with the bill - or at the very least, confusion - when the delivery arrives. Internet order systems make this easier.[1][2] Fake orders are sometimes used to lure robbery victims, and delivery people have been injured and killed in robberies.[1][3]

Time guarantees

Pizzerias will often incorporate a time guarantee or a promise delivery within a predetermined period of time, perhaps specifying that late deliveries will be free of charge.[4] For example, Domino's Pizza had a commercial campaign in the 1980s and early 1990s which promised "30 minutes or it's free." This was discontinued in 1993 due to the number of lawsuits arising from accidents caused by hurried delivery drivers.[5] Now, pizzerias will commonly state to the customer an approximate time frame for a delivery, without making any guarantees as to the actual delivery time. In early 2008, Domino's introduced the "You Got 30 Minutes," which is not a promise or guarantee, but a goal that Domino's claims to strive for. Domino's Pizza still offers "30 minutes or it's free" in India with local commercial campaign slogan " 30 minutes nahin toh free" means 30 minutes else free, but the offer currently applicable on orders through telephones and not on online orders.

Hotbags

A typical heated pizza bag, with a plug at the bottom.

Bags used to keep pizza hot while being transported are commonly referred to as hotbags[6] or hot bags.[7] Hotbags are thermal bags, typically made of vinyl, nylon, or Cordura, that passively retain heat.[6] Material choice affects cost, durability, and condensation.[6] Heated bags supply added heat through insertion of externally-heated disks, electrical heating elements, or pellets heated by induction from electrically generated magnetic waves.[6]

Pizza boxes

For computer case designs with a pizza box shape, see pizza box form factor.

Common pizza containers include corrugated fiberboard boxes, thermal bags, and other insulated shipping containers. Pizza boxes are often emblazoned with the logo of the pizza company from which they have been ordered. However, some smaller restaurants often use boxes with a generic image. Pizza boxes are not accepted by most municipal recycling programs because food is often stuck to the box itself. Boxes are thus commonly thrown away with household garbage; a more environmentally friendly disposal option that has been proposed is a form of backyard composting for pizza boxes, but it has been found that even newspapers if left in sections can take 20 years to decompose.[8]

Original designs for pizza boxes were patented since at least 1968.[9]

Delivery charges

For decades, "free delivery" was a popular slogan for almost all pizza stores.[10] In Australia, a portion of the delivery charge is given to the driver as the store is required to reimburse the driver for the use of a personal vehicle.

In other countries, a tip given by the customer represents to the driver the sole value of that business trip. Domino's Pizza is credited with popularizing free pizza delivery in the United States.[11] Pizza Hut began experimenting in 1999 with a 50-cent delivery charge in ten stores in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.[12] By the summer of 2001 it was implemented in 95% of its 1,749 company-owned restaurants in the U.S., and in a smaller number of its 5,250 franchisee-owned restaurants.[13] By 2002, a small percentage of stores owned or franchised by U.S. pizza companies Domino's and Papa John's were also charging delivery fees of 50 cents to $1.50, and some of Little Caesar's franchisees charged delivery fees.[13] In 2005, Papa John's implemented delivery charges in the majority of its company-owned stores to increase profits.[14] Papa John's current delivery charge (late 2010) is $2.50, which the driver gets $0.90 of on top of whatever tip is given. Domino's credits delivery charges as a way to adjust for variable ingredient, energy, and labor costs without adjusting menu prices.[clarification needed]

Tipping

In some countries, it's common to tip the pizza deliverer with an optional gratuity upon paying for the order.

In Canada and the United States, tipping for pizza delivery is customary. Opinions on appropriate amounts vary widely, with news articles typically suggesting around 15% of the bill or at least $3.[15][16][17] Slightly more is suggested for deliveries in inclement weather or relatively distant deliveries.[18] The Original Tipping Page website,[19] cited by a few dozen news sources, suggests $1–2 for short distances, $2–3 for longer distances, and $5 or more for large orders.[20][21][22] U.S. deliverers may be employees or independent contractors.[23] Employees are legally obligated to report tips to their employer for income tax purposes, while independent contractors, who may charge a per-delivery fee to a restaurant, are legally obligated to report tips to the Internal Revenue Service.[24] Most delivery drivers are paid less than minimum wage during deliveries, so most drivers depend on tips to make minimum wage.

Hazards

Pizza delivery, by its nature, can pose risks for those engaged in it, as they are required to go to the homes of strangers, in neighborhoods. In the U.S., pizza delivery drivers have been subjected to assault, robbery, and sometimes raped or killed on the job.[25][26] The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, which categorizes pizza delivery drivers and taxicab drivers as "drivers-sales workers," ranked it the fifth most dangerous job category.[27]

In 2004, Pizza Hut fired a delivery driver who shot and killed a robber while on the job, citing its company policy against employees carrying weapons.[28] Other national chains such as Domino's also prohibit carrying weapons, though many independent pizzerias allow delivery persons to carry weapons in a legal manner.[25][29] Employer restrictions on carrying weapons is a controversial issue in the U.S., where most states in the U.S. allow most citizens to carry concealed weapons in many circumstances.[30]

Labor unions

In recent history, two labor unions have been formed specifically for pizza delivery drivers - the now-defunct Association of Pizza Delivery Drivers[31] (APDD) and the American Union of Pizza Delivery Drivers[32] (AUPDD).

Association of Pizza Delivery Drivers

APDD was formed in 2002. Its initial claim to fame was as an Internet-based union, eschewing traditional methods of organizing, and making contributions and the sale of goods the center of its fundraising activities, instead of dues.[citation needed] People could join APDD using a form at their website, or chat with its officers in an IRC-compatible Java chat every Tuesday evening. At its peak, it claimed approximately 1,000 members in 46 US states.[citation needed] APDD held several certification votes in the US, but was never successful in organizing a local. In March 2006 APDD lost a lawsuit against a Domino's franchise in Mansfield, Ohio. This combined with massive debt left the union with little choice but to shut down.[citation needed]

American Union of Pizza Delivery Drivers

AUPDD was founded in early 2006 by Jim Pohle, a driver for a Domino's Pizza store in Pensacola, Florida.[32] It was certified as the representative union for his store in April 2006.[33] Pohle cites the sub-minimum wage paid by his store as the instigating factor in forming a union.[32]

While formed in the more traditional method of organizing at one's own workplace, AUPDD uses certain Internet-based techniques originated by APDD, such as its mass communications with the press and its fundraising activities (although more traditional dues are collected from the eleven members of the fledgling local).[citation needed] It also uses the Internet as its primary outreach to those wishing to start locals across the US.[citation needed]

Pizza delivery in popular culture

Pizza delivery has been featured as a major element in several mediums in popular culture. There are several works of fiction where the main character delivers pizzas, including Tom Wolfe's novel I Am Charlotte Simmons (2004), and Neal Stephenson's postcyberpunk novel Snow Crash (1992), which posits a future in which pizza delivery is organised by the Mafia as one of the US's two major industries. Several feature films also use pizza delivery prominently, including the 1984 comedy Delivery Boys and the Spike Lee 1989 film Do the Right Thing. In the 2000 science fiction comedy film Dude, Where's My Car?, marijuana-toking protagonists Jesse and Chester are pizza delivery guys, but they are revealed to be stealing pizza from the company for their own munching pleasure. In the case of other films, use of pizza delivery has been regarded by critics as "overly integrated product placement".[34] Heather Boerner criticized The Haunting Hour Volume One: Don't Think About It (2007) for its over the top use of Papa John's Pizza. She wrote, "Not only is the pizza delivery guy included in more than half of the DVD, but the logo is present and the kids are shown munching ecstatically on the pizza at the end of the movie. They even say things like, 'What great pizza!' and something along the lines of 'That delivery guy sure was nice!' It's enough to make a commercial-conscious parent gag."[34]

Since the 1970s, pizza delivery has been a recurring plot vehicle in pornographic films, where it is used to introduce men (or women) for random sexual encounters. Titles in this genre include Pizza Girls, We Deliver (1978); The Pizza Boy: He Delivers (1986); California Pizza Girls (1992); Hawaiian Pizza Punani (1993), Pizza Sluts (1995); Big Sausage Pizza (2003); Big Sausage Pizza 2 (2004); Fresh Hot Pizza Boy (2004); DD Pizza Girls (2004), and Pepperoni Tits (2006). In an episode of American Dad!, Roger tries to write porn, but all involve pizza delivery boys (which the producer proclaims is dated).

Pizza delivery has also been the subject of non-pornographic films,[35] even to the point of being the subject of such feature length films as Drivers Wanted and Fat Pizza: The Movie,[36] as well as Pizza: The Movie.[37] Pizza delivery has served as major plot element of such films as Loverboy.[38]

In television, the Australian comedy series Pizza centres on Pauly and his co-workers who deliver pizzas for a Sydney-based pizzeria called Fat Pizza. On the show Futurama, the character Philip J. Fry was a pizza delivery boy in the 20th century before he was cryogenically frozen and woke up in the 30th century.

At Minuteman Missile Site in South Dakota, the entrance to the underground Launch Control Center is sealed by a blast-proof door emblazoned with a painted spoof of Domino's Pizza's red, white, and blue pizza delivery box.[39] The box is labeled "Minuteman II," and hand-lettered text on the door reads "World-wide delivery in 30 minutes or less, or your next one is free,"[39] spoofing a former Domino's Pizza slogan.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b http://www.wlwt.com/news/21241546/detail.html Pizza Chains Create 'Do Not Deliver' List Some Areas Deemed Too Unsafe For Pizza Deliveries POSTED: 4:04 pm EDT October 8, 2009 UPDATED: 5:45 pm EDT October 8, 2009 Cincinnati News
  2. ^ Seabrook, Andrea (January 27, 2008). "Hackers Target Scientology Web Sites: Their problem isn't with the religion, they say, but their insistence on controlling information". All Things Considered. NPR. Retrieved 2008-01-28.
  3. ^ http://www.columbusdispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2007/07/23/swick.html Two teens charged with murder of pizza delivery driver Monday, July 23, 2007 2:19 PM The Columbus Dispatch
  4. ^ "Pizza Pizza's Guarantee" (Commercial website). pizzapizza.ca. Retrieved 2007-12-07.
  5. ^ "Jury award spurs Domino's to drop deadily policy". (Website). Georgia Trial Lawyers Association. Retrieved 2007-09-18.
  6. ^ a b c d "Hotbags: Turning Up the Heat on Deliveries". PMQ (Pizza Magazine Quarterly) via pmq.com. Winter 2002. Retrieved 2007-09-18. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  7. ^ "Pizza Delivery Hot Bags". Pizzatools.com. Archived from the original (Commercial website) on 2007-08-14. Retrieved 2007-09-18.
  8. ^ "Pizza Boxes Banned From Barrington Recycle Bins" (Organization website). earth911.org. Retrieved 2007-12-07.
  9. ^ "US Patent 3484015". Google Patent Search.
  10. ^ "How Pizzas got Delivered for free?" (website). Deliverpizza.co.uk. 2007-05-13. Retrieved 2007-12-07.
  11. ^ Miller, Hannah (April/May 2006). "American Pie". American Heritage Magazine. Vol. 57, no. 2. americanheritage.com. Retrieved 2007-09-18. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)CS1 maint: postscript (link)
  12. ^ "Pizza Hut tries out 50-cent delivery fee" (commercial website, payment required for full article). Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service, via accessmylibrary.com. 1999-09-18. [dead link]
  13. ^ a b Horovitz, Bruce (2002-09-03). "Pizza chains deliver ... fees". USA Today via usatoday.com. Retrieved 2007-09-18. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  14. ^ "Papa John's Reports Third Quarter Earnings; October Comparable Sales Results Announced". Papa John's International Inc. 2005-11-01. Archived from the original (Press release) on October 10, 2007. Retrieved 2007-09-18.
  15. ^ "Naughty or nice? TIPs complete guide to passing the bucks". MSNBC. 2004-11-15. Archived from the original (News website) on 2007-11-10. Retrieved 2007-09-25. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  16. ^ "Tipping etiquette" (News website). ExtraTV. 2001-03-30. Retrieved 2007-09-25. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  17. ^ Myers, Stephanie (2002-02-02). "Pizza drivers say tips make or break". The Tower Light, via thetowerlight.com. Archived from the original on 2007-10-21. Retrieved 2007-09-24. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  18. ^ Karp, Gregory (November 19, 2006). "Spending Smart: Taking the tangle out of tipping". Chicago Tribune Web Edition. Retrieved 2007-09-17.
  19. ^ http://tipping.org
  20. ^ "A handy tip". The GW Hatchet, via gwhatchet.com. 2001-04-05. Retrieved 2007-09-25. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  21. ^ Cote, Kaleena (2003-11-16). "Tips on tipping". Keene Equinox, via keeneequinox.com. Retrieved 2007-09-25. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  22. ^ "U.S. deliveries". The Original Tipping Page (Website). Retrieved 2007-09-25. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  23. ^ Coomes, Steve (2003-12-10). "Can your pizza business survive an audit?". Pizza Marketplace, via pizzamarketplace.com. Retrieved 2007-09-25. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  24. ^ Coomes, Steve (2007-03-17). "Truth or Consequences". Pizza Marketplace, via pizzamarketplace.com. Retrieved 2007-09-25. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  25. ^ a b Chan, Sewell (1996-07-10). "Pizza Redlining: Green Says 'Go,' Red Says Tough Neighborhood". The Wall Street Journal Online. Retrieved 2007-09-18. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  26. ^ Associated Press (2004-01-05). "Police: Teens Rape, Rob Tallahassee Pizza Delivery Woman". News4Jax.com. Retrieved 2007-09-18. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  27. ^ Moon, Melissa (2005-04-06). "Dangerous Work for Pizza Delivery Drivers" (News website). WREG-TV Memphis at wreg.com. Retrieved 2007-09-18. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  28. ^ "Deliveryman: I Shot Man In Self-Defense". The Indy Chanel (television news website). 2004-05-18. Retrieved 2007-09-18. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  29. ^ "Arming delivery drivers a tossup for pizzerias". Indianapolis Star via newsbank.com (commercial website, paywalled article). July 16, 2004. Retrieved 2007-09-18. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  30. ^ Armour, Stephanie (2004-12-09). "Companies that ban guns put on defensive". USA Today via usatoday.com. Retrieved 2007-09-18. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  31. ^ Associated Press (2004-11-18). "Pizza drivers seek national union". MSNBC.com. Retrieved 2007-09-18.
  32. ^ a b c Associated Press (2006-09-22). "Pizza delivery drivers form first union". USA Today via usatoday.com. Retrieved 2007-09-18. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  33. ^ "Photo Album" (Organization website). American Union of Pizza Delivery Drivers. Retrieved 2007-09-18.
  34. ^ a b Heather Boerner. "Review of R.L. Stine's Haunting House: Don't Think About: Tween-friendly, ad-happy Halloween fright fest". Common Sense Media. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  35. ^ See, for example, The Pizza Guy Movie.
  36. ^ "Drivers Wanted Movie: Pizza Delivery Movie!".
  37. ^ Joshua Tyler (2004-07-25). "Pizza: The Movie - Review".
  38. ^ CARYN JAMES (April 29, 1989). "Reviews/Film; A Youth's Salty Specialty On a Pizza-Delivery Route". The New York Times. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  39. ^ a b "History of Minuteman Missile Sites". (Website). United States National Park Service. Retrieved 2007-09-18.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pizza_delivery&oldid=408272005"