Maybe it's just because I'm hungry, but here's a question: Why haven't pizza-delivery places given us online ordering yet?
Think of the benefits to them: they get paid up front, they avoid all the data-transmission errors that must plague them with hand-written orders, and they free up lots of telephone time. Obviously there are economies of scale needed here, but surely some of the chains (or even a local chain like Lou Malnati's here in Chicago) would get enough accumulated benefits to make this worth it.
(By the way, you can actually order pizza online, even in the UK, for crying out loud. But why is it not more common?)
Anyway, the real point of this post is to wonder: What other simple things have we not yet really exploited the web for? What other everyday needs (perhaps particularly among friends of IVCF) have not yet become workable online — and what's holding us back?
(By the way, the domain loumalnati.com is wasted — and owned by some joker in the Bahamas. Boy, I must be really hungry.)
Posted by Jon on March 12, 2004 06:49 PMJon:
In reference to your specific question, I think that there is little benefit for a pizza place to online orders. Pizza delivery is inherently local (no increased sales presence), it's really easy to do on the phone, but complex to do on the web (I want a thick crust, double sauce half sausage, half onions and olives), and the pay in advance issue would deter some customers. Now there is always a phone backup, but time is also an issue here. When you call someone starts cooking your pizza. How do you get that guy to constantly check the online order que to make sure your order gets started right away?
In terms of your general question, project management and group communication is still in its infancy. Groove.com is a good start, (as are blogs) but they still feel relatively "version 1.0ish".
We still have to go too many place to get information. Portals are great, but we take what they give us. Ad hoc portals that deliver content that we like when we need it would be super.
On an aside, next time Ann goes out of town, have her leave a list with some dinner options. You shouldn't let yourself get this hungry!
Posted by: Brad Farris at March 13, 2004 06:16 AMI ordered pizza online from Dominoes once four years ago. You could go to Dominos.com and fill out a complicated form...I think they gave you a special deal if you ordered online. So I ordered & paid online and then waited for an hour... nothing happened. So I look up the phone number and call them, they had to go check their email to find my order... which I finally received about 30 minutes later. Hmmm, pizza sounds good.
Posted by: Nathan Lenz at March 15, 2004 09:42 AM