When will pizza just be free??

$5.55 14" 1-toppings at Little Caesars…

Now, $5.99 14" 1 topping PLUS Extra Cheese at Domino’s…

Scary. I’m pretty sure the Domino’s $5.99 promotion has hit us a little bit. Banners on the streets, advertising trucks driving around, TV spots.

When does it end?

we can thank the big three. they have take something that was once gourmet and turned it into fast food with their five dollar pizzas and cheap tasteless food.

They charge that much for it because that is all they can get for it…
If I made a pizza with the amount of toppings they use, my customers would walk back in and throw it at me.

Tony

I choose to see this as growing the market. I can spend anywhere from 0.99 to 16.00 for a burger…

Yeah. :roll:

Those customers were paying $20 somewhere else for their pizza last week because Domino’s was too expensive for them.

Now that Domino’s has lowered their price, that customer will now buy from Domino’s.

How does that help?

The large majority of people buying pizza are only looking for something good - not something spectacular. Yeah, you will have people that look for the “best”, but please, let’s at least admit most people don’t care if they are getting Grande cheese or not.

Dominos here has a 10 slice pizza for $4.99

Its no different than cars, MP3 players, Beers, Wine or any other widely available goods.

Does EVERYONE go for the least expensive option just because it is cheaper? NO
Are the MOST expensive ones always the best? NO
Are the LEAST expensive ones always the best? NO
Are the LEAST expensive ones always the worst? NO

Get over it, shops can charge what they want. I have yet to find a universally accepted product that everybody buys from just one supplier because it is the best and pizza is no exception.

I’m “over it”.

I completely understand the dynamics of it, and I’m not particularly complaining about it - just something I’ve notice accelerating over the past few months.

As you say, just about everything is falling into this trap. Consumers in general are starting to expect more and more things to be “free” or close to it.

Rg,

I agree. When will it end. I saw the sign a few days ago and then the commercial. Ugh… We thought we were doing something huge with our anniversary special using prices from 1994. (8.99) Heck they are using prices from 1950.

I try to keep away from caring about what they are running as far as prices but dang…not a bad pizza for 5.99. Sure our pizza blows them away but for 5.99…

One of the great things about a special like that is they probably have so many conditions it ticks a customer off.

Kris

As I’ve posted a few times before I’m at the top end of my market in terms of price and quality but I constantly get people coming to me saying your pizza is great BUT I can pick up a pizza for 3.99 from the grocery store.

Now I normally laugh and say something like, thats a great deal, do they pick it from the shelf, drive it home and cook it for you as well?

Unfortunately its lost on most of them.

The other side of the coin is…if you want a great steak do you go to Waffle House or Ruth Chris?

A look at a few recent coupon magazines in my area shows

Cicis: $4.99 Buffet or $4.99 large 1 topping pizza C/O only
Dominos: $6.99 Lg 1 topping, 5+5+5
Godfathers: $3.99 Buffet, Lg Pepperoni $7.99 C/O Only, BOGO any pizza
Gumbys: $6.99 Lg Cheese, $9.99 20" Cheese, BOGO any pizza
Hungry Howies: $3.99 Lg Cheese C/O only $4.99 Lg Cheese delivered w 3 or more, $3.99 Buffet
Little Ceasers: $5.00 LG Cheese or Pepperoni C/O only
Papa Johns: Lg 1 topping $5.99 C/O only. 2 LG 1 toppings 12.99, Med 3 toppings $7 with purchase of three
Pizza Hut: Pizza Mias $5.55 each $6 off any two pizzas, $9 off any Three pizzas, $12 off any four pizzas, $5 big eat menu

Competing with these prices while still maintaining one of the highest volume stores in my town my food cost has been 27% using what I feel are top quality ingredients.

Times are tough for the consumers and they are more then ever looking for a bargain. As pizza shops lose volume, it seems easy to compete on price alone. So far this year, cheese and flour prices have remained relatively low. The problem they will face will be what happens the next time these commodities spike in price? The customers of these stores have come to expect prices that will not be able to be maintained as costs increase. These customers will search for a new supplier when they suddenly feel they are getting gouged when prices are increased so dramatically.

In the meantime, do what you need to remain profitable, knowing that the pizza market will get thinned out with the weakest of stores closing, and not as many opening. People who paid $5.99 for Dominos this week will be shocked when they call next week and get quoted $11.99 for the same pizza. Plus you know many are not putting out a representative product as the short sighted manager skimps on cheese and toppings to try to still meet his food cost goals this week.

I actually purchased three grocery store frozen pizzas as props for a TV commercial we filmed the other day. One of them had listed as a topping “pizza topping with pepperoni seasonings”. A red Baron Supreme pizza only had 7 slices of Pepperoni on an 11 or 12 inch pizza for $5.69. While I didn’t cook or eat these, I was pretty shocked at how low quality they looked. I really wouldn’t have thought they could be as bad as they were.

Fortunately for us in the Chicago area, you can’t mess with someones pizza.

People around here won’t eat Dominos, they want real Chicago pizza. I can see in other areas of the country, pizza is just another thing to eat for dinner like hamburgers or hot dogs.

In these crummy times, our sales haven’t dropped off and the $5 pizza garbage isn’t an option for our customers, they will pay for great food, when it only cost $15, they are still having dinner for a lot less than dining out. $5 pizzas are great for those in a bad way or college kids who need money for beer. People who appreciate great food that doesn’t cost $50 to feed a family of four but only costs $20-25, they are saving money from their usual dining out experience.

I don’t really think a Domino’s franchisee is happy about his bottom line when he has to sell pizza for $5.99 and his rent and payroll wasn’t diminshed but 1/3 as well.

Tony

In town here there is a place that has been around since the late 60s or early 70s. Wins People’s Award in the paper. I think it is absolutely terrible. It is a sheeted dough crust with the edge folded over and wiped with artificial garlic butter. They use low end cheese and the meat toppings that look like rabbit droppings. They are not cheap either. And they are very busy. Who can understand the consumer?

I have yet to find a universally accepted product that everybody buys from just one supplier

In fact there are 2:

1 - Major League Baseball
2 - Health Insurance

if you’re going to quote me - put the full quote in please!

‘I have yet to find a universally accepted product that everybody buys from just one supplier because it is the best…’

I think your two examples are not good examples of ‘the best’ really are they, more ‘the only’! Plenty of choice in other country’s - thats the free market in US for you! :wink:

Health insurance?
I think there are lots of choices for health insurance. Maybe no GOOD choices but lots of them. I currently have humana. I have previously used blue cross blue shield, mutual of omaha, aetna, golden rule, and 4 or 5 other companies i can’t remember at the moment. Give our president a couple of years and we may no longer have choices!

Okay perfect pizzas, you made it political. We have the worst health care delivery system of all developed nations. We spend much more of our GDP and still have an infant mortality rate worse than Cuba. It plain sucks. The “choices” we have now are not choices.

How about working towards a solution rather than just crapping on the President. At least he is pushing the issue.

maybe this is why the US has so many $5 pizza? :roll: