Domino’s and Pizza Hut are both turning to curbside pickup as they struggle to hire delivery drivers — but Domino’s does it better

Pizza chains are encouraging customers to pick up orders instead of ordering delivery. I visited Domino’s and Pizza Hut to compare their curbside pickup services.

Domino’s has had difficulty hiring drivers amid the labor shortage, CEO Richard Allison said in October 2021.

Source: Insider

To push customers away from delivery, the chain has advertised a $3 coupon as a “tip” for customers who opt to get their own orders.

Source: Insider

Domino’s calls its version “carside delivery,” which is essentially curbside pickup.

The offer comes with a two-minute guarantee, meaning that after pizza is ordered online and says it’s ready, it will arrive at your car within two minutes of checking in.

For carside delivery, Domino’s requires that you input information about your car, presumably to make delivery easier. Curbside pickup programs at Walmart and Target have adopted similar measures.

When ordering, you can input where you’d like the Domino’s employee to put your pizza, or opt to decide when you arrive.

The tracker told me my pizza would be ready about 20 to 25 minutes after I ordered.

The tracker was quite accurate, and my pizza was ready as soon as I arrived.

Signs posted by the parking lot reiterated instructions for carside delivery, which also had two dedicated parking spots right by the entrance.

I checked in via text like I was instructed to, and waited for a worker to bring out my food.

The tracker even tells you how much time elapsed between arriving at the store and receiving your pizza. In this case, it was one minute and one second — well within the two-minute limit.

The food arrived quickly, but a worker brought it to the driver side door, which wasn’t what I’d asked in the app.

That’s definitely not a deal breaker for me, but it’s a slight annoyance I never would have thought of had they not specifically asked.

As promised, I also immediately received my $3 coupon (tip). It has to be used by the following week and I don’t eat at Domino’s that often, but I still think it’s a clever idea.

Source: Insider

Aside from placing the pizza in the wrong door, I was impressed with Domino’s service.

Everything tasted fresh and hot, and they got my order right.

I even got all the sauces I asked for, which can be hit or miss in fast food in my experience.

The chain also recently downsized its $7.99 wing deal from 10 pieces to eight pieces and made it exclusive to online orders. I didn’t mind the switch too much, as Domino’s wings were larger than boneless wings I tend to see from other chains.

Source: Insider

Domino’s service was quick and easy, and will probably be a go-to for an easy weeknight dinner in the future.

I also visited Pizza Hut to see how the other major chain compares.

Chris Turner, CFO of Pizza Hut’s parent company Yum! Brands, noted the chain’s own difficulties with hiring drivers in fourth quarter 2021 earnings. However, he said he believes the situation is improving.

Once again I ordered online, where I was prompted to describe the make and model of my car so it could be delivered easily.

A dropdown menu gave the same options as Domino’s.

Just about everything was the same as at Domino’s, including a few dedicated parking spots in front for curbside pickup customers.

Instead of a text, Pizza Hut sent an email prompting me to check in when I was ready to pick up my order.

I waited a bit longer at Pizza Hut than I had at Domino’s, maybe a total of about five minutes.

Both pizzas I ordered from the rival chains were good, and seemed about the same level of quality to me.

Pizza Hut’s boneless wings were definitely better than Domino’s, and tasted like they’d actually been prepared like real wings, rather than as chicken nuggets served with sauce.

Pizza Hut has a dedicated wing brand operating in its stores, called Wing Street, so this makes sense.

Both curbside pickup experiences were fast and relatively easy — faster than almost any other fast food curbside experience I’ve had — though you do need to have the forethought to order 20 to 30 minutes ahead of time.

Both chains deviated slightly from my pickup instruction on where to leave the pizza. It feels like a minor detail, but I’d rather they not ask my preference at all instead of asking it and still getting it wrong.

Domino’s had the slight edge with the highly accurate order tracker and slightly easier order form.

Although not quite as convenient as delivery, I think both chains would be smart to keep curbside pickup as an option that’s fast, easy, and saves them delivery drivers.

Do you have a story to share about a retail or restaurant chain? Email this reporter at mmeisenzahl@businessinsider.com.