Domino’s is giving away $ 50 million in free food

Domino’s Pizza is tackling food delivery apps it says charge unexpected fees – by giving away $ 50 million in free food to random customers, the company said on Monday.

The Ann Arbor, Mich.-Based pizza chain is calling it a “no surprises” promotion in an effort to cover the surprise fees rivals like DoorDash and UberEats charge.

“Unlike many third-party food delivery apps, Domino’s gives customers easy delivery charges because we know that’s what customers want and deserve. There are no hidden city or service charges with Domino’s, ”said Domino’s COO and US President Russell Weiner.

Anyone who orders Domino’s delivery online through Nov. 21 is eligible to get a giveaway item, like boneless chicken wings or pizza, the company said.

Domino’s said customers will have a little over 7% chance of winning with every order.

UberEats, DoorDash, and other food delivery services have added fees in some cities in the United States due to government restrictions on how much third-party delivery services can charge restaurants.

DoorDash has added shipping costs of around $ 1 to $ 2 in cities like Chicago, Cleveland and Denver, CNN reported.

UberEats charged similar fees in Portland, Chicago, Minneapolis and Boston, the outlet added.

Domino’s, for its part, has long chosen to rely on its own delivery network rather than third-party applications.

During the company’s second quarter earnings call last week, Domino CEO Richard Allison said that while the company is still a pizza company, he sees third-party delivery platforms as the “Greater competition from the business”.

“We also believe that the fact that we use one-time transparent shipping charges, we believe over time, is a significant competitive advantage,” Allison said.

“When I use third-party delivery, I really have to pull out my calculator to find out what I actually paid to have this food delivered to me because I might have gotten a discount on the delivery cost, but maybe i paid a service charge, maybe i paid a small order fee, maybe i paid a fee because i am in a city where they were charging city fee additional, ”he added.

“We really believe that a single transparent delivery charge, over time, in our opinion, will be important to customers.”