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posted by cmn32480 on Monday May 04 2015, @04:40PM   Printer-friendly
from the is-it-here-yet???? dept.

The Herald Sun reports that Australian-based chain Dominos Pizza have developed a GPS Driver Tracker to let customers track the location of their pizzas in real time.

While the app is intended to mollify salivating customers concerns about the interminable wait for their cheesy comestible, it has had the additional benefit of reducing accident rates among delivery drivers. An eighteen month trial halved the number of potentially dangerous habits such as speeding and taking corners too quickly. Chief Executive Don Meij said in an interview “There’s a lot of behavior you can learn about and change as a result,”

Disclaimer: I like pizza.

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  • (Score: 5, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 04 2015, @04:57PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 04 2015, @04:57PM (#178610)

    Dude, I don't care how he drives or if he stole the car GTA-style. Just get me my pizza. I'm out of Doritos!

    • (Score: 2) by Snow on Monday May 04 2015, @09:13PM

      by Snow (1601) on Monday May 04 2015, @09:13PM (#178777) Journal

      I would tip extra if he sped. Just saying.

    • (Score: 1) by nitehawk214 on Tuesday May 05 2015, @12:04AM

      by nitehawk214 (1304) on Tuesday May 05 2015, @12:04AM (#178865)

      You can get Doritos as a pizza topping? I bet this pizza place is in Colorado.

      --
      "Don't you ever miss the days when you used to be nostalgic?" -Loiosh
  • (Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 04 2015, @05:04PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 04 2015, @05:04PM (#178620)

    gimme pizza [youtube.com]

  • (Score: 0, Disagree) by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 04 2015, @05:14PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 04 2015, @05:14PM (#178632)

    This likely doubles the door-to-door time unless they hired more drivers.

    Why do you think bad driving habits like speeding, rolling stops, and cutting corners exist in delivery drivers? The faster you get there, the bigger the tip.

    I also wonder about what will happen to multiple stop runs. They aren't the norm, but during peak hours it saves time to go out with multiple orders for multiple addresses that are nearby. Some people will get their food later than otherwise, but as a group average customer delivery times go down. I'd imagine angry customers calling when their driver makes a stop three blocks over before hitting up their house.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 04 2015, @05:41PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 04 2015, @05:41PM (#178647)

      > This likely doubles the door-to-door time unless they hired more drivers.

      That might not be a problem. Lots of people will trade some amount of effectiveness for the perception that they are in control. How many people have argued with a taxi driver about what route to take? They feel like the taxi driver might be ripping them off, but they don't really know. They'll trade that possibility for the ability to have control even if the end result is slower.

      That's especially the case when you can't make a direct comparison. If every time the pizza driver takes the same route and takes the same amount of time, who is to say that they would have been faster without GPS tracking?

      • (Score: 2) by The Archon V2.0 on Monday May 04 2015, @06:56PM

        by The Archon V2.0 (3887) on Monday May 04 2015, @06:56PM (#178694)

        Actually I argue with taxi drivers because the last time I let one pick the route he, of the five major avenues he could have turned left on, picked the only one that didn't have a left-turn arrow so we were stuck in the turning lane through three full light sequences, during which he texted someone back and forth while the meter kept ticking up.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 04 2015, @07:32PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 04 2015, @07:32PM (#178711)

        I completely agree. Thus my hedging with multi-stop runs :)

  • (Score: 5, Informative) by Geotti on Monday May 04 2015, @05:34PM

    by Geotti (1146) on Monday May 04 2015, @05:34PM (#178643) Journal

    Pizza.de have offered live tracking [pizza.de] of deliveries for quite a while (couldn't find the exact launch date, but definitely > a year). I'm sure they're not the only ones.

    • (Score: 2) by ikanreed on Monday May 04 2015, @06:31PM

      by ikanreed (3164) Subscriber Badge on Monday May 04 2015, @06:31PM (#178676) Journal

      Yeah, they're too rude to be based in an English speaking country.

      • (Score: 2) by Geotti on Monday May 04 2015, @07:01PM

        by Geotti (1146) on Monday May 04 2015, @07:01PM (#178698) Journal

        Huh? Who's too rude? These portals just forward the order to the delivery service, they don't actually employ drivers (and still they take a 20-30% commission on each online order).

  • (Score: 1) by rigrig on Monday May 04 2015, @05:44PM

    by rigrig (5129) Subscriber Badge <soylentnews@tubul.net> on Monday May 04 2015, @05:44PM (#178650) Homepage

    And most importantly: if they take over 30 minutes, will Don Meij come and apologize in person?

    --
    No one remembers the singer.
    • (Score: 2) by sigma on Monday May 04 2015, @10:27PM

      by sigma (1225) on Monday May 04 2015, @10:27PM (#178823)

      Not only that, he'll give you a lap dance on the house!

  • (Score: 4, Funny) by Anne Nonymous on Monday May 04 2015, @05:52PM

    by Anne Nonymous (712) on Monday May 04 2015, @05:52PM (#178658)

    When it gets down to it — talking trade balances here — once we've brain-drained all our technology into other countries, once things have evened out, they're making cars in Bolivia and microwave ovens in Tadzhikistan and selling them here — once our edge in natural resources has been made irrelevant by giant Hong Kong ships and dirigibles that can ship North Dakota all the way to New Zealand for a nickel — once the Invisible Hand has taken away all those historical inequities and smeared them out into a broad global layer of what a Pakistani brickmaker would consider to be prosperity — y'know what? There's only four things we do better than anyone else:

      music
      movies
      microcode (software)
      high-speed pizza delivery

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 04 2015, @06:46PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 04 2015, @06:46PM (#178684)

      That was the first thing I thought of too! Cheers!

  • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 04 2015, @10:42PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 04 2015, @10:42PM (#178826)

    Me too, but what does that have to do with Dominos?

  • (Score: 1) by optotronic on Tuesday May 05 2015, @02:21AM

    by optotronic (4285) on Tuesday May 05 2015, @02:21AM (#178903)

    "Australian-based chain Dominos Pizza"?? For those who don't know better, Domino's Pizza is headquartered near Ann Arbor, MI.

    • (Score: 3, Informative) by sigma on Tuesday May 05 2015, @03:00AM

      by sigma (1225) on Tuesday May 05 2015, @03:00AM (#178916)

      The Australian version franchises the name, but is a different entity. From Wikipedia:

      History:

      Silvio's Dial-A-Pizza

      The company started in Red Hill, Brisbane, Queensland Australia in 1978, as Silvio's Dial-A-Pizza, established by brothers Silvio and Fel Bevacqua. Silvio's Dial-A-Pizza began Australia's first home delivery service in 1980. By 1993, Silvio's had over 70 locations. In 1993, Silvio's bought the master franchise for the Domino brand in Australia and New Zealand, and between 1995 and 1996, all of the Silvio and Domino activities merged. The company was re-branded as Domino's Pizza in 1996.

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domino's_Pizza_Enterprises [wikipedia.org]

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 05 2015, @07:24AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 05 2015, @07:24AM (#178974)

      For those who don't know better, Domino's Pizza is headquartered near Ann Arbor, MI.

      And just as progressive as the other spawns of the Amway clan, the DeVos'es, and Eric Prince, noted mercenary and war criminal and now permanent resident of some non-democratic country.

  • (Score: 2) by kaszz on Tuesday May 05 2015, @02:37AM

    by kaszz (4211) on Tuesday May 05 2015, @02:37AM (#178909) Journal

    This sounds like a service that will enable people to just rob the delivery transport for food or fiat money. Despite all the supposed goodies of transparency.

  • (Score: 1) by boltronics on Tuesday May 05 2015, @03:11AM

    by boltronics (580) on Tuesday May 05 2015, @03:11AM (#178926) Homepage Journal

    I'm an Australian who regularly orders Domino Pizza online (or rather, my wife does the ordering). I haven't noticed the GPS tracking, but they do have a counter which has a very good ETA (but again, my wife usually takes care of it so I probably just didn't see it). However Dominos *always* have the pizza out of shape when it arrives. There will almost always be a pizza pushed towards the end of the box, as if the box was leaning on its side while quickly turning a sharp corner.

    This is certainly in contrast with other local pizza places (who also deliver on motorcycles) which never have this issue, but don't have accurate ETAs or any kind of tracking.

    --
    It's GNU/Linux dammit!
    • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Tuesday May 05 2015, @05:37AM

      by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday May 05 2015, @05:37AM (#178964) Journal

      always be a pizza pushed towards the end of the box as if the box was leaning on its side while quickly turning a sharp corner.

      This can happen on a car, but is not likely to happen on a motorcycle: if pizza is pushed by the centrifugal force in a turn towards a side of the box, I imagine the rider would fly of the bike for the same causes.
      It's more likely that a sudden acceleration/brake would do it.

      But again, if you want to avoid such unpleasant out-of-shape pizza, I suggest you order noodles.
      Or be immersed deeper in gaming, you won't notice the shape of the pizza (maybe not even its taste).

      --
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
      • (Score: 1) by boltronics on Tuesday May 05 2015, @01:25PM

        by boltronics (580) on Tuesday May 05 2015, @01:25PM (#179083) Homepage Journal

        if pizza is pushed by the centrifugal force in a turn towards a side of the box, I imagine the rider would fly of the bike for the same causes

        As somebody who rides everywhere (a mountain push-bike, but I've got a rear rack for carrying things and I ride fast), I'm not convinced. If you're on a bike turning a corner, you would lean inwards at the precise angle to best counter the force. Pizza boxes unfortunately don't have the ability to lean. :)

        To give you some idea, I often accidentally scrape my pedals when turning a corner (I had to replace the pair that originally came with my bike as they broke) - and most sharp corners I deliberately don't pedal because it would be impossible. A motorcycle is obviously capable of even greater speeds.

        But I do agree with you that breaking could also do it. But it's just amazing that Dominos so frequently have this problem, and everyone else can manage it fine.

        Or be immersed deeper in gaming, you won't notice the shape of the pizza (maybe not even its taste).

        Not so much gaming - I'd rather not get my lovely mechanical keyboard ruined with sticky fingers. Watching a movie or some anime would probably work though. :)

        --
        It's GNU/Linux dammit!
        • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Tuesday May 05 2015, @09:22PM

          by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday May 05 2015, @09:22PM (#179267) Journal

          If you're on a bike turning a corner, you would lean inwards at the precise angle to best counter the force. Pizza boxes unfortunately don't have the ability to lean. :)

          It isn't you that are leaning while the bicycle stays upright, it is the bicycle and anything travelling on the bike that you lean to counter the force (this is how you got to scrape the pedals). And this will include the pizza.

          --
          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
          • (Score: 1) by boltronics on Wednesday May 06 2015, @12:15AM

            by boltronics (580) on Wednesday May 06 2015, @12:15AM (#179303) Homepage Journal

            Sure, but you do lean in more than the bike does. Just look at somebody's knees as they turn - they aren't sticking out because of gravity.

            --
            It's GNU/Linux dammit!
            • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Wednesday May 06 2015, @02:25AM

              by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday May 06 2015, @02:25AM (#179344) Journal
              Maybe, don't know enough to say otherwise, however how likely is that for the case of a delivery boy riding a scooter on a smooth road?
              I'm rather inclined to bet on having the pizza sliding due to sudden acceleration/brake than it is to taking motorcycle Grand Prix-style turns.
              --
              https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
              • (Score: 1) by boltronics on Wednesday May 06 2015, @03:20AM

                by boltronics (580) on Wednesday May 06 2015, @03:20AM (#179362) Homepage Journal

                Hmm... maybe I should set up a camera on the corner next time I place an order. :)

                --
                It's GNU/Linux dammit!
                • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Wednesday May 06 2015, @03:28AM

                  by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday May 06 2015, @03:28AM (#179366) Journal
                  ( :) using Linux to snoop? Not a very ethical proposition :) )
                  --
                  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford