Aygo To Domino’s For Pizza

Domino’s Pizza franchisee Globell Ltd is using six Toyota Aygo hatchbacks to ensure that the food it delivers to pizza-lovers in the Northampton area always arrives piping hot and oven-fresh.

Globell took over the Northampton franchise of the world’s leading pizza delivery company last year, and has just opened a second store in the town. As with most Domino’s stores, around 70% of its business consists of home deliveries. The solus fleet agreement means that the 1-litre petrol-engined Aygos are replacing a variety of other makes of small car.

“We had been experiencing problems with servicing, and in the nature of our business we can’t afford to have cars off the road,” said Globell director Dave Litchfield. “Our entire operation is geared up to get customers a high-quality pizza delivered to their door within 30 minutes of taking the order. In-store our pizza-makers make every pizza to order in the shortest possible time, leaving our delivery experts plenty of time to make a safe delivery on time. We know that customers will come back for more if we keep our promise, and that’s why we can’t afford any disruptions.

“We switched to Toyota because of its reputation for reliability,” said Mr Litchfield. “We were also looking for less gear-changing and improved fuel consumption using the Aygos.” The Toyota Aygo has an official combined fuel consumption figure of 61mpg and CO2 emission levels of only 109g/km, the lowest for any petrol engine on the market.

The decision has gone down well with Globell’s delivery drivers. “Some people object to driving logo’d cars, but our team-members are really happy to be driving around in the Aygos,” said Dave Litchfield.

The three-door hatchbacks, in carbon quartz black finish with the familiar Domino’s logos on bonnet and side, “look stylish and attract lots of attention for the brand,” he said. The first two cars were bought under a PCP scheme but a recent delivery of four more was obtained on contract hire through Toyota Financial Services. They were supplied by local centre Sims Toyota, which will carry out servicing and maintenance. Replacement time is three years or 36,000 miles.

“I leased an Avensis from Sims Toyota last September, and was so impressed by its customer service that it influenced my decision to go for Aygos for the business,” says Dave Litchfield, who is still using the diesel Toyota Avensis T Spirit Tourer.

With time of the essence in delivering pizzas, and a delivery area extending three miles outside Northampton, Mr Litchfield is now considering adding satellite navigation to the Aygos’ specification – to ensure that none of his drivers can ever turn up on a doorstep with a cold pizza.

“At Domino’s, we’re always looking out for technology that will help us to get to our customers in the fastest and safest way possible,” he said. “Satnav would certainly help us to navigate our way around new developments.”

ENDS