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It's interesting that the article suggests that making a phone call would be preferable to ordering online. There's been quite a culture change since then; I'll

It's interesting that the article suggests that making a phone call would be preferable to ordering online. There's been quite a culture change since then; I'll do anything to avoid having to make a phone call.

everyone 7y ago
Preferences aside, a phone call is much more practical. Via web.. * Ordering could easily fuck up somehow. Eg. Send multiple identical pizzas cus you pressed the button multiple times, cus the 1st time u pressed it nothing happened. I read about this actually happening recently. * You dont get confirmation from a human. * You cant ask questions and get answers from a human. * You could only order what the app allows and nothing else. * You'll probably need to register / login, forget your password, reset it, etc. etc. It will take a lot longer. The big problem with customer service nowadays is thats it's impossible to get hold of a human you can tell your problem to, and who will hopefully deal with it (eg. google)
- codeulike 7y ago
  Otoh spelling out my name and address and phone number and card details over the phone and making sure there's no mistakes takes minutes whereas I can type it all in and make sure it's correct in 30 seconds
  - torstenvl 7y ago
    Or save your card information. Or your past orders! Ordering pizza online takes me less than a minute. If I called I'd still be on hold
- wycy 7y ago
  > * Ordering could easily fuck up somehow. Eg. Send multiple identical pizzas cus you pressed the button multiple times, cus the 1st time u pressed it nothing happened. I read about this actually happening recently. I don't think I've ever had an online order experience any of those problems. On the other hand, I've had countless phone/human interactions that have led to order screwups, usually misspellings of my name/email/phone number despite my spelling it out for the person.
- bovermyer 7y ago
  I used to work for Domino's. I also often order pizza. In both roles, online ordering was worlds better than a phone call. As a Domino's employee, it was a lot easier and faster to get an order from the online system. It was often more accurate too. We didn't have to ask the drunk customer to repeat their order multiple times, then have them rage at us when we delivered what they ordered, only to find out it was not what they thought they were ordering. As a customer, it's faster and more efficient to order online. I can save a custom order and have my really weird Frankenstein pizza ordered at the click of a button. Also, payment online is far easier and more reassuring than handing over credit card details on the phone (and don't get me started on cash).
SilasX 7y ago
And yet there was a thread recently where numerous commenters rolled their eyes at the need for accessibility for the blind on the web, because “Can’t you just call?” https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21188594 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21188594 For even more irony, Pizza Hut’s and Domino’s pages from the mid-90s are more blind-accessible than the meth-addled versions of today. We’ve somehow regressed.
- throwaway_law 7y ago
  >Pizza Hut’s and Domino’s pages from the mid-90s are more blind-accessible than the meth-addled versions of today. We’ve somehow regressed. Google wasn't dictating how websites are developed/optimized back then.
  - AnIdiotOnTheNet 7y ago
    Sure, blame Google instead of lazy developers who can't be bothered to give a damn about anyone's time but their own.
    - throwaway_law 7y ago
      Its funny when I type "Pizza" into Google, the first organic result is Pizzahut.com, not bad for a bunch of lazy developers who don't take Google SEO into account.
  - SilasX 7y ago
    Except that Google now likes simplistic 1995-style websites. They're fast to load and don't obscure the relevant information.
thrower123 7y ago
Ordering pizza might be one of the few things that is better to do over the phone than online. It's far quicker to say "Pickup, a large pizza, half pepperoni, well done", than to fight through the combobox salad of seemingly every pizzeria online ordering system.
- jsight 7y ago
  I disagree, but only because that order will get turned into a large pizza with all pepperoni pretty regularly. Modifiers get lost on phone orders very regularly.
  - magashna 7y ago
    "Can you read my order back to me?" Not that hard.
    - CDSlice 7y ago
      Or I could just order online and make sure it is right the first time? Also, there is no way I'd just call in and say "Pickup, a large pizza, half pepperoni, well done" because that just seems incredibly rude so calling would take even more time. Much easier to load the website/app and enter your pizza
      - magashna 7y ago
        Every pizza joint around me has better deals when calling in. I can't imagine you've ever called a pizza place. It's a business transaction, there's no pleasantries on either side. It's not rude. They want to move on with the business as quick as you want to hang up. Maybe it's just a North East thing but my calls for pizza are about 10 seconds long and I've never thought "Gino is being rude, he didn't ask me how I was doing"
        catalogia 7y ago
        Pizza orders can be even faster than that. For me it's often: "Hey dude, same thing?" "Yep." "Cash?" "Yep." Literally two words from me. A perk of being a regular customer perhaps, but honestly I order pizza maybe two times a month, not that much imho.

everyone 7y ago

Preferences aside, a phone call is much more practical. Via web.. * Ordering could easily fuck up somehow. Eg. Send multiple identical pizzas cus you pressed the button multiple times, cus the 1st time u pressed it nothing happened. I read about this actually happening recently. * You dont get confirmation from a human. * You cant ask questions and get answers from a human. * You could only order what the app allows and nothing else. * You'll probably need to register / login, forget your password, reset it, etc. etc. It will take a lot longer. The big problem with customer service nowadays is thats it's impossible to get hold of a human you can tell your problem to, and who will hopefully deal with it (eg. google)

codeulike 7y ago
Otoh spelling out my name and address and phone number and card details over the phone and making sure there's no mistakes takes minutes whereas I can type it all in and make sure it's correct in 30 seconds
- torstenvl 7y ago
  Or save your card information. Or your past orders! Ordering pizza online takes me less than a minute. If I called I'd still be on hold
wycy 7y ago
> * Ordering could easily fuck up somehow. Eg. Send multiple identical pizzas cus you pressed the button multiple times, cus the 1st time u pressed it nothing happened. I read about this actually happening recently. I don't think I've ever had an online order experience any of those problems. On the other hand, I've had countless phone/human interactions that have led to order screwups, usually misspellings of my name/email/phone number despite my spelling it out for the person.
bovermyer 7y ago
I used to work for Domino's. I also often order pizza. In both roles, online ordering was worlds better than a phone call. As a Domino's employee, it was a lot easier and faster to get an order from the online system. It was often more accurate too. We didn't have to ask the drunk customer to repeat their order multiple times, then have them rage at us when we delivered what they ordered, only to find out it was not what they thought they were ordering. As a customer, it's faster and more efficient to order online. I can save a custom order and have my really weird Frankenstein pizza ordered at the click of a button. Also, payment online is far easier and more reassuring than handing over credit card details on the phone (and don't get me started on cash).

SilasX 7y ago

And yet there was a thread recently where numerous commenters rolled their eyes at the need for accessibility for the blind on the web, because “Can’t you just call?” https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21188594 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21188594 For even more irony, Pizza Hut’s and Domino’s pages from the mid-90s are more blind-accessible than the meth-addled versions of today. We’ve somehow regressed.

throwaway_law 7y ago
>Pizza Hut’s and Domino’s pages from the mid-90s are more blind-accessible than the meth-addled versions of today. We’ve somehow regressed. Google wasn't dictating how websites are developed/optimized back then.
- AnIdiotOnTheNet 7y ago
  Sure, blame Google instead of lazy developers who can't be bothered to give a damn about anyone's time but their own.
  - throwaway_law 7y ago
    Its funny when I type "Pizza" into Google, the first organic result is Pizzahut.com, not bad for a bunch of lazy developers who don't take Google SEO into account.
- SilasX 7y ago
  Except that Google now likes simplistic 1995-style websites. They're fast to load and don't obscure the relevant information.

thrower123 7y ago

Ordering pizza might be one of the few things that is better to do over the phone than online. It's far quicker to say "Pickup, a large pizza, half pepperoni, well done", than to fight through the combobox salad of seemingly every pizzeria online ordering system.

jsight 7y ago
I disagree, but only because that order will get turned into a large pizza with all pepperoni pretty regularly. Modifiers get lost on phone orders very regularly.
- magashna 7y ago
  "Can you read my order back to me?" Not that hard.
  - CDSlice 7y ago
    Or I could just order online and make sure it is right the first time? Also, there is no way I'd just call in and say "Pickup, a large pizza, half pepperoni, well done" because that just seems incredibly rude so calling would take even more time. Much easier to load the website/app and enter your pizza
    - magashna 7y ago
      Every pizza joint around me has better deals when calling in. I can't imagine you've ever called a pizza place. It's a business transaction, there's no pleasantries on either side. It's not rude. They want to move on with the business as quick as you want to hang up. Maybe it's just a North East thing but my calls for pizza are about 10 seconds long and I've never thought "Gino is being rude, he didn't ask me how I was doing"
      - catalogia 7y ago
        Pizza orders can be even faster than that. For me it's often: "Hey dude, same thing?" "Yep." "Cash?" "Yep." Literally two words from me. A perk of being a regular customer perhaps, but honestly I order pizza maybe two times a month, not that much imho.