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Domino's Ends Free Pizza Promo With T-Mobile Due To High Demand (techcrunch.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the free-food dept.

An anonymous reader writes: In addition to giving customers stock in the company, T-Mobile announced last week at its "un-carrier" event that it would be offering freebies every Tuesday through its new app, such as Domino's pizza and Fandango movie tickets. One week has passed since then and Domino's is now backing out of the free pizza promotion due to higher-than-expected demand. T-Mobile CEO John Legere posted an internal memo from the company that read, "After reviewing yesterday's results and taking your feedback into account, the decision has been made not to continue the T-Mobile Tuesdays promotion unless we can find a solution that is best for the brand." Customers of T-Mobile were upset to find that Domino's was limiting the number of free pizzas per store due to promotion limits. Some stores simply stopped accepting the coupons. What may have led to the extremely high demand was the fact that under the deal's terms, T-Mobile customers on a single family plan could all use their own codes to place large orders of multiple pizzas. That is to say, each line warranted a free pizza.

56 comments

  1. No nice things by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    One person orders 10,000 free pizzas and ruins it for the rest of us.

    1. Re:No nice things by davester666 · · Score: 3, Informative

      Each Domino's store can only hold so much of the cardboard that they use for their crusts.

      --
      Sleep your way to a whiter smile...date a dentist!
    2. Re:No nice things by alex67500 · · Score: 1

      Who cares as long as you have the garlic dip !!

  2. Not surprising by zelbinion · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Okay, so let's do the math.... T-Mobile has something like 63 million subscribers. Every Tuesday EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM could get a free pizza at Domino's. Even if one half of one percent of the people eligible actually took advantage of the deal, that's still 315,000 free pizzas per week. Domino's only has around 5000 stores in the U.S., so that works out to 63 free pizzas per store, every Tuesday. Since I'm sure the number of free pizzas would not be evenly distributed, There were probably some Domino's locations that did nothing but give out free pizza's all day. How anyone thought that was sustainable I don't know...

    1. Re:Not surprising by Travis+Mansbridge · · Score: 2

      Apparently it doesn't have to be sustainable. They got the word out, the promotion worked, and now nobody has to give away any more pizzas.

    2. Re: Not surprising by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Yes, but now I associate Dominos with broken promises, and will never eat there again. It did not work.

    3. Re:Not surprising by Golddess · · Score: 2

      There were probably some Domino's locations that did nothing but give out free pizza's all day. How anyone thought that was sustainable I don't know...

      Free to the T-Mobile subscriber does not necessarily mean Domino's does not get paid for the pizza. It isn't clear whether or not T-Mobile was paying Domino's for each and every pizza.

      --
      "I'm not sure I like the fugnutish tone you used in your post!" -RogL (608926)-
    4. Re:Not surprising by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I wouldn't say the promotion worked. Of all the spam texts T-Mobile sent last week, I wish it would have sent one that said I could get a free pizza. And while I like Dominos (shocking to some, I know), I'm kind of pissed that they ended this before I could use it. We'll be getting pizza tonight and it certainly won't be theirs.

      Yes, pizzas were given out, but the purpose of the promotion was to make happy customers so that both companies could make more money. I doubt it will have that effect.

    5. Re: Not surprising by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I got mine, although I agree with your thinking.

    6. Re:Not surprising by Opportunist · · Score: 2

      Actually Dominos not only handed out free pizzas but also got in return bad publicity as someone who doesn't fulfill made promises. Great deal, really. Please don't apply for that PR job we've posted, thank you.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    7. Re:Not surprising by wierd_w · · Score: 1

      Even higher than that even.

      As the article points out, the freebie elegability was PER LINE, not Per Subscriber. Most subscribers are not single people with only a single line: This means that 63million figure works out to over 120million, if we consider that most people with multiple lines will have more than two, and tha they will make up the bulk of the population of subscribers. (we give it at nod at averaging out to about 2 lines per subscriber.)

      You can easily multiply that finding by at least 2.

    8. Re: Not surprising by SvnLyrBrto · · Score: 2

      This. I had not eaten Dominos pizza in years... probably since college. But for free, I figured I'd given them a shot. They must have changed their recipes at some point, because it was much better than I'd remembered. It was on par with the local pizza shop I usually goto, and certainly adequate for a quick lunch or on a tipsy night. They came close to winning me as a customer, and not just on Tuesdays.

      It was not, however, so good that they get a pass for reneging on the deal. I won't go so far as to say I'll never eat there again. But they'll have to give me a really good reason to trust them again.

      --
      Imagine all the people...
    9. Re:Not surprising by JustAnotherOldGuy · · Score: 1

      Apparently it doesn't have to be sustainable. They got the word out, the promotion worked, and now nobody has to give away any more pizzas.

      Exactly.

      Earlier: "Hey kids, want some free stuff? Sign here!"

      Now: Hey kids, remember that free stuff we promised you? Well, you're not going to get it, ha ha ha!"

      --
      Just cruising through this digital world at 33 1/3 rpm...
    10. Re:Not surprising by amRadioHed · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Actually a limitation of free pizzas for the first 100 customers per store was specified in the promotion's fine print. Of course fine print can't protect them from the anger of customers who didn't bother to read it.

      --
      We hope your rules and wisdom choke you / Now we are one in everlasting peace
    11. Re: Not surprising by HaZardman27 · · Score: 2

      That's still nothing lost for Domino's. You didn't eat their food _before_ the deal, and now you still won't eat their food. They lose nothing from irritating people who already had no intentions of being their customer.

      --
      Apparently wizard is not a legitimate career path, so I chose programmer instead.
    12. Re:Not surprising by SvnLyrBrto · · Score: 1

      That's really not a good way to handle it though. It shouldn't issue the coupon code, only for it not to work for a customer, at all. Rather, a "spin the wheel to win a free pizza" system or similar would control the numbers of free pizzas being issued, whilst still maintaining customer goodwill and not exposing Dominos to the perception of having broken their promises. T-Mobile does, after all, not only know where you live, but where you ARE. (Even if you disable location services or deny access to the TMO app, they can still place you with a couple hundred meters via cell tower triangulation.) So they could easily have controlled the numbers going to any given Dominos location.

      --
      Imagine all the people...
    13. Re: Not surprising by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      In 2014 and 2015 Domino's partnered with MLB and gave away free 1-topping takeout pizzas anytime there was a no hitter. It was a nice promotion, but their website shit the bed several times it was offered, nobody could get in to claim a free pizza and they emailed out lots of 50% off coupons instead. Broken promises for sure.

    14. Re:Not surprising by amRadioHed · · Score: 1

      Yeah, the implementation was certainly poor. I think something as simple as limiting the offer to one per customer could have helped a lot. It was one per line, so there were some customers getting as many as 7 pizzas for just their family.

      --
      We hope your rules and wisdom choke you / Now we are one in everlasting peace
    15. Re:Not surprising by jackspenn · · Score: 1

      So I can say that when I picked up my "free to me" pizza, the guy printed out the receipt and asked how people were paying with cash using online purchase. I found it interesting that it didn't show up as a coupon or something, but paid in cash. The manager was holding all of these odd receipts off to the side and there were 6-10 at that point. Neither the manager nor anybody on his staff was aware of the T-Mobile promotion when I told them. This suggests there was a lack of planning at level(s) to have caused issues.

      --
      Respect the Constitution
    16. Re: Not surprising by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Insightful

      What a bunch of crap!

      You found that you liked their food better than what you remembered it was, but because they won't give you freebies anymore, you won't be going back?!

      Lol, they don't need customers like you, what a freeloader! And with principles mind you!

      Your mommy must be proud /s

      Grow up!

      Nothing is free, nothing is as advertised in real life, deal with it, instead of pretending freeloading gives you nagging rights and broadcasting how cheap you are ...

    17. Re:Not surprising by tlhIngan · · Score: 2

      That's really not a good way to handle it though. It shouldn't issue the coupon code, only for it not to work for a customer, at all. Rather, a "spin the wheel to win a free pizza" system or similar would control the numbers of free pizzas being issued, whilst still maintaining customer goodwill and not exposing Dominos to the perception of having broken their promises. T-Mobile does, after all, not only know where you live, but where you ARE. (Even if you disable location services or deny access to the TMO app, they can still place you with a couple hundred meters via cell tower triangulation.) So they could easily have controlled the numbers going to any given Dominos location.

      Better yet, just have the customer text T-Mo for the coupon code. LIke text the store number to a T-Mo number, and you'll get a coupon texted back for a free pizza. If there are no more coupons, it would say so "Sorry, all free pizzas at this location have been given out. Try again next week!"

      And it's an incredible marketing opportunity - now you know where people go at what time Market it right and you could get other businesses involved too - after all, if you stopped by for a free pizza and didn't get a coupon, chances are you probably will go to a place nearby for food still. Not to far away, so neighbouring businesses can get in on the traffic. If a particular store runs out and gets 100 people wanting food, a nearby restaurant would pay to get that sort of information so they can target passed up users.

    18. Re:Not surprising by hankwang · · Score: 1

      "T-Mobile does, after all, not only know where you live, but where you ARE. (Even if you disable location services or deny access to the TMO app, they can still place you with a couple hundred meters via cell tower triangulation.)"

      Even though the T-mobile organization as a whole may have this information, I would expect that it is not so easy to transfer this information in real time from where it is normally kept to the marketing department that is in charge of these promotions. The reasons would be technical, legal, and security-related. It is highly sensitive data; imagine the uproar if the customer database is leaked including detailed location logs after a breach.

      --
      Avantslash: low-bandwidth mobile slashdot.
    19. Re: Not surprising by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Good for you. Standing up for principles. There's nothing more egregious than a company failing to keep their promise of free pizza.

      You are a strong and bold American. I salute you and the sacrifices you make in order to stand tall against our most critical issues of the day.

    20. Re: Not surprising by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Broken trust and betrayal. It takes time to heal.

    21. Re: Not surprising by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      Dude, stfu. A company not honoring their promises is a perfectly valid reason to stop doing business with them. In fact, ANY reason is a valid reason. We're not obligated to any company for anything. You're acting like he was stabbing his mom in the back or something. Domino's doesn't care about you, you shouldn't care about Domino's.

    22. Re: Not surprising by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Dude, shut the fsck up. A company not honoring their promises is a perfectly valid reason to stop doing business with them. In fact, ANY reason is a valid reason. We're not obligated to any company for anything. You're acting like he was stabbing his mom in the back or something. Domino's doesn't care about you, you shouldn't care about Domino's.

    23. Re:Not surprising by Zaphon · · Score: 1

      Actually a limitation of free pizzas for the first 100 customers per store was specified in the promotion's fine print. Of course fine print can't protect them from the anger of customers who didn't bother to read it.

      Yeah, I know it's there now, but when I looked the first week I didn't see it. I think it was added after the fall out started to happen. And from what I understand, the biggest problem is T-Mobile issued the codes to everyone (I have 4 lines, I got 4 codes each week) and then it was up to Domino's to actually limit the orders. However, when you went to order online at Dominos and use the code, instead of getting a message saying something like "This stores 100 free pizzas have already been claimed, please try another store", it came back with a generic error. So people obviously called or even better showed up to scream about not getting their free Pizza. I got mine both weeks, and I never had to go to another store, but I also ordered them for Lunch at 10:45am each day. Yes T-Mobile could have handled this better, but so could have Domino's. I was a regular subscriber to Dominos prior to this, and I did end up with 8 free pizza's, so I doubt it's going to change anything (though I'm sure I would be on the other side of the fence had I not got my free pizza's), but both parties need some percentage of the blame. I think Domino's more than anyone (they did sign up for this knowing how big T-Mobile's customer base is). I'd love to hear how many people actually redeemed it on the T-Mobile app (vs the 100 x Number of Domino's Stores) to see how big the actual discrepancy was (aka how many people got screwed).

    24. Re: Not surprising by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That's because you're a piece of shit. People like you are what's wrong with this country. Everyone is so entitled, and think things should just be handed to them. Grow up and work for a living.

    25. Re: Not surprising by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      But here's the thing; they received the free stuff. And now that the free stuff is gone, you want to complain like a little bitch kid. The customer is NOT always right. Grow up and pay for your food like an adult.

  3. Those who don't study history? by MrLogic17 · · Score: 1

    Did no one at Domino's ever hear of the Oprah/KFC fiasco?

  4. A Blessing in Disguise by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    I stopped eating pizza and bread about five years ago.
    Suddenly I could lose weight.
    Best thing for your diet.

    1. Re:A Blessing in Disguise by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Troll

      It wasn't the pizza or the bread that was making you fat, it was the fact that you do not posess the personal discipline to control your own eating. People like you are the reason why we live in a world where there is an FDA approved medical device that puts a drain tube into your stomach to empty it's contents before you digest it and make your ass even fatter than it already is.

      Here's the real truth, kids: You can eat ANYTHING YOU WANT, so long as you make yourself accoutable for it, and exercise some self control. Eat two or three pieces of pizza, not the whole goddamed pie, and eat one or two slices of bread, not the whole goddamned loaf smothered in butter. Eat too much? Eat less of soemthing comparable. Also: get off the couch and move your ass instead of sitting there and just continually consuming more and more food. For fuck's sake it ain't rocket science it's common sense.

    2. Re:A Blessing in Disguise by JustAnotherOldGuy · · Score: 1

      Eat two or three pieces of pizza, not the whole goddamed pie,

      It's these kind of authoritarian restrictions that makes me hate America.

      --
      Just cruising through this digital world at 33 1/3 rpm...
    3. Re:A Blessing in Disguise by dfghjk · · Score: 1

      "Here's the real truth, kids..."

      Kids preaching to kids. It never ceases to amaze how the most ignorant on this subject brag that they know the "real truth".

    4. Re:A Blessing in Disguise by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I am pretty sure that cutting out certain calorie dense foods does count as exercising self-restraint; not everyone's brains work the same way. I am not he AC that you are replying to, but I have found that if I ate say one cookie or a couple potato chips, I would really crave more of said junk food. While I could tough out those later cravings, those cravings ruin the pleasure from eating the junk food in the first place, so it is easier to just not eat that first cookie.

      And I don't see why it wrong to come up with medical devices & treatments to help lose weight; following a proper diet and exercise plan is really fucking hard, and studies have shown that few people can follow through with it. In general, telling large numbers of people they need to make behavior changes doesn't work as well as a technical fix.

    5. Re:A Blessing in Disguise by TeknoHog · · Score: 1

      This isn't the whole story, your gut bacteria also make a difference. People have different distributions of gut flora, and sometimes a fecal transplant makes a huge difference, but different diets also promote different bacteria.

      --
      Escher was the first MC and Giger invented the HR department.
    6. Re:A Blessing in Disguise by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Eat two or three pieces of pizza, not the whole goddamed pie,

      Silly Americans, pizza isn't supposed to be as thick as a pie.

  5. Domino's failed by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Domino's was just not prepared and they are just blaming others for their failures.

  6. $50 account, $60 in freebies by raymorris · · Score: 2

    Another bit of arithmetic. T-Mobile charges about $50 per line, depending on how many lines you have. Every Tuesday, each line gets about $15 of free stuff. That's $60 in free stuff, $50 in revenue. Plus the costs of providing the phone service ...

    1. Re:$50 account, $60 in freebies by misexistentialist · · Score: 1

      They make it up on volume

  7. Now that we've signed you up... by JustAnotherOldGuy · · Score: 1

    Now that we've signed you up for a cellphone plan by promising you stuff, we're discontinuing the thing that made you sign up. Why? Because fuck you! ha ha ha!

    --
    Just cruising through this digital world at 33 1/3 rpm...
  8. Sign of the times by Spudboy2003 · · Score: 1

    People are desperate to the point of eating this shit.

    1. Re:Sign of the times by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I assume you mean T-mobile promos / promises.

    2. Re:Sign of the times by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No, I think he was talking about tbe pizzas.

    3. Re:Sign of the times by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      I assume you mean T-mobile promos / promises.

      While those are also bullshit, I'm pretty sure he was talking about the warmed-over-barely-better-than-little-seizures-cheese-covered-cardboard excuse for pizza that Domino's pushes.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  9. I got mine!! by BeemanIT · · Score: 2

    Well, I got my Free Pizza.. Who would turn that down unless on a diet. Everyone loves free food.

  10. Groupon Redux by mentil · · Score: 2

    This reminds me of Groupon. Seems people stopped offering free stuff through Groupon (due to incidents like this one), and I never heard of them again.

    --
    Corruption is convincing someone that the selfless ideal is the same as their selfish ideal.
    1. Re:Groupon Redux by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      The idea of Groupon was slightly different in that it was an advertisement service to get people into the store for the first time. That is why it was mainly used by small unknown stores rather than large well known brands. The only problem is the idea that a consumer getting something really cheap would be converted to an increase in sales didn't eventuate since it turns out the consumers were only chasing a bargain. Combine that with groupon's advice that completely screwed the stores by not setting sensible limits on the deal and it all turned into a massive loss.

      By comparison this kind of partnership between T-Mobile and Dominos serves a different purpose. It's not about new customers or getting people to realise that Dominos sells pizza, we knew that already. It's more about restricting the amount of traffic opposing stores get while at the same token offering something unique to T-Mobile customers. It was still a bad idea, but with a different purpose than Groupon which intrinsically was actually quite a good idea that simply didn't work quite right.

  11. Oddly enough I did the same with meat by rsilvergun · · Score: 1

    and with much the same results. Whatever keeps you away from large quantities of junk food. For me it was fast food cheeseburgers. No meat means no fast food cheeseburgers (plus the attendant fries and soda pop). The weight came right off after that. That's why Atkins works. You stop eating cake for breakfast :P.

    --
    Hi! I make Firefox Plug-ins. Check 'em out @ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/youtube-mp3-podcaster/
  12. Who says no ... by allo · · Score: 2

    to free pizza?

  13. Obligatory... by bmo · · Score: 1

    SCHNIFTER: Das ist immer alles Aulung und ist rauch mit and potzen Volkswagen und niemann stint und "Swell Pizza!!"

    --
    BMO