Japan’s affinity for Kentucky Fried Chicken at Christmastime is well-documented. Another popular food choice for the holidays is pizza. Sadly, some folks who opted for Domino’s instead are now wishing they’d stuck with the chicken after many never got their pizzas. The company blamed a labor shortage – but users say this is becoming an annual event.
As Christmas Eve hit, a number of users on social media began reporting that pizzas they’d ordered hours ago never arrived. Instead, customers saw their orders sit at “Order in progress” on apps such as Uber Eats.
One Uber Eats delivery person recorded a video of a Domino’s store where delivery drivers were waiting en masse on orders. Some stores also had customers lining up waiting. One driver said that, at one store, he saw around 20 customers and 20 drivers standing around.
Domino’s Japan later apologized for the issues, saying multiple stores countrywide were “short-staffed.” The chain paints the issue as the latest example of how population decline and a worsening economy have created a labor shortage that has businesses scrambling to fill empty jobs.
However, many users online aren’t buying that.
“The Domino’s Pizza Catastrophe is almost a yearly Christmas tradition now,” wrote food journalist Yamaji Rikiya on Yahoo! News JP.
“How many years has this business screwed up?” another complained. “I often hear about late deliveries outside of the scheduled time even during normal days. There are problems with the ordering system, it’s not just a store throughput issue.”
Support independent media
UJ depends on the support of our readers to keep our content 100% free for everyone. Help us in our mission to create content about the Japan you don’t learn about in anime with a recurring or one-time donation to the UJ Journalism Fund.
What to read next
We Tried Pizza Hut Japan’s New Shoyu Ramen Pizza, Because Why Not?
What do you get when you dump a bowl of ramen on top of a pizza crust? UJ decided to take one for the team and find out.
Lawson’s “Transparent Flan” Is Japan Combini’s Latest Fun Offering
It’s a dessert you can literally see through. Lawson tries to keep its lucky marketing streak going with its latest oddity.
Kinoko, Takenoko to Get Smaller as Shrinkflation Continues to Terrorize Japan
Are you a Kinoko no Yama fan or a Takenoko no Sato fan? It doesn’t matter – either way, you’re gonna get less than what you paid for.
