🍕 Domino’s delivers another innovation

Did your first-ever day of work entail being severely overdressed, underprepared, and sweaty?

Just us on that last one? Cool. Anyway: Recent classes of undergraduates have entered corporate America in a very different fashion than previous generations.

Rather than heating up a Tupperware of leftovers in an office kitchen while making small talk with Kathy from accounting, many Gen Zers are logging in to work from the comfort of their homes.

That can be great — but it also leads to unique challenges, per The Wall Street Journal:

• Post-pandemic grads may struggle with workplace etiquette.
• Young employees have missed out on working alongside mentors and senior leadership.
• Presenting or networking in person can be challenging after years of speaking only on Zoom.

Class is in session

To solve Gen Z’s workplace woes, some companies and universities have rolled out classes to help young professionals navigate the quirks of corporate America.

• Companies like KPMG, Deloitte, Protiviti, and PwC are providing training to new hires on topics such as conducting in-person conversations and maintaining eye contact.
• Michigan State University has started offering courses to its business majors on practical workplace skills, from introducing yourself and networking to reading body language.

Companies are also learning where their digital-native but office-naive employees might need extra hand-holding, like with office dress codes: e.g., providing updated documentation for ambiguous terms like “business casual”.

Now, repeat after us: “Can you all see my screen?”

There’s a “Seinfeld” episode in which Elaine, dismayed that a restaurant won’t deliver to her apartment, pretends to live in a janitor’s closet across the street.

But Domino’s? It doesn’t even need an address.

Pizza anywhere?

Domino’s new “Pinpoint Delivery” lets customers order pretty much anywhere, as long as they’re within a Domino’s delivery zone and have a spot for a car to pull over.

So maybe not the middle of the Appalachian Trail, but definitely your birthday party in a park.

How it works

Hungry customers:

• Drop a pin on Google Maps within the Domino’s app to show their location
• Track orders via text and GPS
• Meet the driver at the pickup spot within four minutes

Customers must also enter a visual description of themselves (e.g., “I’m wearing red jorts”); additionally, they can activate a “signal” that displays a Domino’s logo on their phone.

Domino’s…

… is kind of a delivery innovator.

It launched online and mobile ordering in 2007, adding its “Domino’s Tracker” in 2008. It tested robot delivery, powered by Nuro’s autonomous cars, in 2021, and drone delivery in the UK in 2013, per CNN.

But delivery demand isn’t as high as it was during pandemic lockdowns; it’s also spread across numerous restaurants using myriad apps.

Domino’s CFO Sandeep Reddy said delivery dipped 2.1% in the last quarter, and that what customers crave is convenience, per Insider.

And what could be more convenient than Domino’s rolling up to your campground, huh?

BTW: Some have claimed the Tracker is bogus; Domino’s maintains it’s based on real-time info. Believe whatever makes you happiest.