Mazzio's Pizza now taking orders by text message
BY ROBERT EVATT World Staff Writer
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
2/20/13 at 8:25 AM
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When the pizza craving strikes, there's a number of options. You can go to the restaurant, call for delivery or, in many cases, order online.
Tulsa-based Mazzio's Pizza has added a new way to get a pie - send a simple text message.
Mazzio's has quietly launched its text-to-order system this year, although the company will soon promote it in a big way, said Greg Lippert, president and CEO.
"With the popularity of smartphones, we see a day that traditional online ordering will be the old way of ordering," he said. "We think that smartphone popularity has increased so much that people want to order when they're away from their PCs. It's the ultimate in convenience."
When a customer texts the phrase "Mazzios" to 90808, they'll receive back a list of all the orders they've made on their account in the last 60 days. The customer can then select which order they'd like to repeat, and can even choose to automatically pay with a credit card used in past transactions.
The ability to order via text is one of the benefits of the company's recent switch to the LeapFrog point-of-sale system.
Bob Vergidis, president and CEO of Cincinnati-based LeapFrog, said Mazzio's is the first chain it has worked with to embrace text ordering, and that the system has been well-received so far.
"We've found that customers who have discovered it are using it frequently," he said. "Every week or two they'll repeat an order."
Lippert said the new feature isn't too unusual for the company, as Mazzio's has always worked hard to make ordering as easy as possible.
"We were one of the first pioneers to do the one-number ordering system for pizza back in 1987," he said. "Our goal's always been to allow customers to do business with us the easiest way they can."
When it came time to upgrade Mazzio's point-of-sale system, which includes cash registers, ordering systems, inventory and more, the original idea was to let customers simply repeat a past order, Vergidis said.
But LeapFrog officials decided to take things a step further because advances in technology gave them new capabilities.
"Integrating text messaging was quite straightforward," Vergidis said.
The LeapFrog upgrade gives a host of other advantages for Mazzio's, Lippert said. The new touchscreen interface makes it easier to train a generation now used to touchscreen smartphones and tablets, and includes a thumbprint identification system for both security and tracking.
"This allows us to know who logs in, what hours they work, and what transactions they make," he said.
The new system also allows for predicting labor needs by looking at sales at the same time in previous years, showing how current sales are changing, and even estimating to the penny the wholesale cost of any given food order or recipe.
All Oklahoma Mazzio's locations are on the new LeapFrog system and allow for text-messaging.
Original Print Headline: Texting for takeout
Robert Evatt 918-581-8447
robert.evatt@tulsaworld.com
Associated Images:
Quinn Brown (left) prepares an order at a Mazzio's restaurant at 11th Street and Elgin Avenue on Friday. The pizza chain has adopted a computer system that lets customers order pizza by text message. MATT BARNARD / Tulsa World
Jessica Chapman prepares an order at a Mazzio's restaurant at 11th Street and Elgin Avenue on Friday. Texting the phrase "Mazzios" to 90808 can get a food order on the way. MATT BARNARD / Tulsa World
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