The Domino's Story: How the Innovative Pizza Giant Used Technology to Deliver a Customer Experience Revolution by Marcia Layton Turner

Abstract

Reviewed by: The Domino's Story: How the Innovative Pizza Giant Used Technology to Deliver a Customer Experience Revolution by Marcia Layton Turner Kathryn Wolfer Marcia Layton Turner. The Domino's Story: How the Innovative Pizza Giant Used Technology to Deliver a Customer Experience Revolution. New York: HarperCollins Leadership, 2020. Pp. 224. Illustrations. Paperback: $14.99. The Domino's Story delivers on its premise by detailing how the Ann Arbor-based pizza giant used technology to deliver a stellar customer service experience. The book details the steps taken to implement the infrastructure needed to propel Domino's to the forefront of the pizza delivery business. It also provides in-depth information behind the reinvention of pizza from the crust up. As a member of the quick-service industry, I am aware of the foresight needed for ownership to invest resources into delivery and online ordering. Domino's Pizza has been an industry leader in both categories. However, I was unaware of the founders' focus on strategically placing locations close to college campuses. Patrick Doyle, the company's CEO from 2010-2018, was the main driver behind the focus on profitability for franchisees, the reinvention of the pizza recipe, and the assembling of a key leadership team. This led to the achievement of his goal to become the top pizza company in the world. In the book, there is some information about the blue-collar origins of the company. The competition Domino's Pizza faced from Little Caesars is covered, but the two companies never seemed to be in direct competition. With Domino's focusing on delivery and Little Caesars focusing on pick-up and two-for-one pricing, they did not battle head-to-head until Pizza Hut and Little Caesars began to focus on the delivery side of the business. It seems like a footnote to history that Domino's and Little Caesars both started in Michigan. The book is very factual and almost seems like a regurgitation of available facts. The author appears to have gathered materials from third-party sources and not personal interviews. I did not care for the highlighting of key quotes throughout the book as I am not sure what purpose it served. While Domino's Pizza is the industry leader in the delivery and online ordering platforms, I would have enjoyed a more in-depth analysis of the reasoning behind some of the decision making at the corporate level to focus on these two platforms. I do feel that the book was well researched. If the book's intention was to detail the timeline of the rise of Domino's Pizza, it accomplished its goal. [End Page 161] Kathryn Wolfer Ferris State University Copyright © 2022 Historical Society of Michigan