by JC Campbell

Created on: March 12, 2008

Hailed as the world's largest pizza-delivery company, Dominos has been trading under the name since 1965 and can be found in more than five thousand locations around the United States. Dominos is an international concern with outlets in almost sixty countries, all following the pattern of speedy home-delivery. The Dominos mission statement is revealing in its reference to safety of employees considering the bad publicity they had to endure on drivers in danger trying to meet delivery deadlines.

Their mission statement reads :

"To be the leader in delivering off-premise pizza convenience to consumers around the world. As a team united throughout the world, we will accomplish our Mission by: 1. Being fanatical about product quality and service consistency; 2. providing product variety to meet all customer needs; 3. placing team member and customer safety and security above all other concerns; 4. creating an environment in which all team members feel valued, because they are; 5. building and maintaining relationships that reward franchisees and other partners for their contributions."

In 1973, Dominos introduced its delivery guarantee with the words, "a half hour or a half dollar off." This proved a great marketing move but had a downside to it as it put their delivery drivers under pressure to meet the thirty minute deadline on delivery. This was to be a move that would become a newsworthy issue Dominos could have done without. Safety became a real issue for Dominos as a result of more than twenty deaths involving Dominos drivers. The basis of the problem was the policy of their thirty-minute delivery guarantee. The company responded by encouraging franchisees to become more safety-conscious and impart this to their hired delivery drivers. In spite of the poor publicity, Dominos continues to be a leader in the filed of pizza delivery even with the increased competition, notably from Pizza Hut.

In spite of a downturn in fortunes at certain times, Dominos has risen to the challenge of competition as Pizza Hut and Caesars have eaten into the home delivery market. Like most traditional companies, Dominos have their own loyal customers who will call them first when the mood for a pizza takes them. Dominos was originally built on a very simple concept by the Monaghan brothers who offered only delivery or take-away pizza with a very limited menu, a tradition that continued for many years until they felt the need to expand due to competition. Dominos is not the most popular pizza purveyor now, but is still rated among the best due to its long-standing tradition and continued mission to bring pizza to customers on time.

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