Domino’s Pizza

I ordered Dominos for dinner tonight. I haven’t had time to cook all week, so I’ve been eating out all week and trying to eat at a different place for every meal. I’ve never really been a huge fan of Dominos, as I’ve always found independent pizza shops serve better pizza.
I ordered online, which is great because I only have a cell phone and you have a better chance of winning the lottery than getting a cell phone signal in Bristol. The online ordering process went very smoothly. I wish more places that delivered would offer such a system. Plus they have this cool «pizza tracker» application that tells you what’s going on with your order (in the oven, on its way, etc). The only downside for this application — at least it’s a downside for Dominos — is that you can see when your order left the store. My order left the store at 10:55 and wasn’t delivered until 11:40. Add in the time that it took to prep/​cook the pizza, we’re looking at almost an hour from the time I order until the time that it is delivered. Now I’m not saying that an hour is bad, but compared to some of the better pizza places in Bristol (Classic, Pizza Wave) that is almost twice the wait.
The delivery time aside, my biggest complaint is that they charge a delivery fee. I can understand if I live extremely far from the restaurant, but what pizza place actually charges a delivery fee? According to dominos, that fee doesn’t go to the driver; it goes to the company, so you’re still supposed to tip. So not only are you paying the delivery driver for his work (which he/​she well deserves), but you’re also paying Dominos for the privilege. Doesn’t make much sense, particularly when you look around at other places and see that no other restaurant in the area charges a delivery fee.
As for the pizza, it’s basically what you would expect from Domino’s; it isn’t bad, it isn’t good. It’s food. That’s about the nicest way to put it. Though they have improved the crust and sauce over recent years, the improvements really don’t make it competitive.
The poor food quality and delivery fee make this place 2 stars. Take out the delivery fee and this place would probably be 2.5 stars (okay 3, but only because Unilocal doesn’t allow half stars).