Posted on: Tuesday, February 8, 2005
Free pizza delivery no longer a slice of Island life
By Andrew Gomes
Advertiser Staff Writer
In the land of record gas prices, shipping surcharges and $250 round-trip interisland airfares, Hawai'i consumers may not be surprised to learn that the days of free pizza delivery are over.
Domino's Pizza, which charges $1.25 to deliver, made the move more than a year ago. But now local customers of the big three pizza chains will be forced to pay for the convenience of delivery.
"I was so surprised I couldn't believe it," said 'Ewa resident Ivy Galariada, who ordered chicken primavera and buffalo wings from Pizza Hut two weeks ago. "I knew Domino's charged. That's why I stopped ordering from Domino's."
Local executives with Papa John's and Domino's franchises said the high cost of business made delivery fees necessary.
"Delivery is a very expensive part of the business," said Al Ryan, director of business operations for the owner of O'ahu's 10 Domino's stores, E.J. Pizza Inc. "It's a cost structure thing."
"We really did try and stay away from this as long as we could," said Papa John's Hawaii owner Jeff Jervik, who cited high costs including workers' compensation, health insurance, gas prices and cheese.
An executive with Pizza Hut's local franchise, which was bought in December by Los Angeles-based private investment firm Brentwood Associates, did not respond to a call yesterday seeking comment.
It was Pizza Hut in 1999 that started down the road to end free delivery when it tested delivery charges of 50 cents to $1 at a few locations, mostly in the Dallas-Fort Worth market. Then in mid-2002 Domino's ran its own limited test.
The experiments took root, and delivery fees gradually became a standard in many markets. But in Hawai'i, the two biggest chains — Pizza Hut and Papa John's — maintained free delivery that is (or was) taken for granted when ordering pizza.
The Association of Pizza Delivery Drivers, a Tennessee-based union represented in 46 states, has complained that delivery fees hurt drivers' tips, in effect transferring money from drivers to pizza companies.
Galariada's first inclination, she said, was to cut back her tip by $1. But she said she changed her mind before her order arrived.
"We cannot say we cannot tip, because it's not fair to the driver," she said.
What Galariada did decide to do was switch from Pizza Hut to Papa John's, but now that plan is out. "We got no choice," she said. "You have to just pay if you want it delivered."
There are at least a few kama'aina pizza purveyors that haven't gotten rid of free delivery, including two Magoo's Pizza restaurants on O'ahu if orders meet a $10 or $15 minimum and are within a certain distance, and the two Domino's restaurants on the Big Island.
Jervik of Papa John's said consumers still have a choice: "It's not a buck if you pick it up."
Galariada couldn't disagree with that.
"In a way it is a convenience," she said. "We're spoiled because they never charged."
Reach Andrew Gomes at agomes@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8065.
Papa John's Pizza, Hawai'i's No. 2 pizza chain, has decided to start charging $1 for delivery after industry leader Pizza Hut quietly imposed a $1 delivery fee in the past month or so.
