Dominos Pizza - The Lempert Report

The Lempert Report Food News: Marketing, analysis, issues & trends and the impact on food and retail environments, specifically for the B2B food world with reporting and commentary on consumer and retailing trends by Phil Lempert. Phil can predict the future —and then help businesses and consumers understand it. For more than 25 years, Lempert, an expert analyst on consumer behavior, marketing trends, new products and the changing retail landscape, has identified and explained impending trends to consumers and some of the most prestigious companies worldwide. Known as The Supermarket Guru®, http://www.supermarketguru.com, Lempert is a distinguished author and speaker who alerts customers and business leaders to impending corporate and consumer trends, and empowers them to make educated purchasing and marketing decisions. To see more of The Lempert Report visit: http://www.thelempertreport.com The Lempert Report for Thursday April 23, 2009 It is the worst side of social networking When two Dominos Pizza employees uploaded their prank video, shot to be perceived as a "behind the scenes" expose in the restaurants kitchen, little did they expect felony charges. Nor did Domino's - who did nothing wrong - expect more than a million disgusted viewers, and a public relations nightmare. Welcome to the new world of You Tube and other social video networks where just about anyone can post just about anything; with little thought for the consequences. That might just change after this. In the video posted, a Dominos employee in Conover, N.C., prepared sandwiches for delivery. The mock video showed him putting cheese up his nose and nasal mucus on the sandwiches. By now the video has logged and estimated 2 million-plus views and has led to a number of online discussions about Dominos, some true and some false. We all need to learn from Domino's unfortunate experience and realize that social media is now the norm, available to almost all, and moves at lightening fast speeds. We might all covet those great You Tube success stories, but this event underscores just how fragile a food or retail brand can be at the expense of a video camera in the wrong hands. Domino's is doing the right thing. They are preparing a civil lawsuit, fired the two employees and are prepared to prosecute to the full extent of the law. Expect more surveillance cameras to be installed in kitchens everywhere and You Tube crisis management plans to be initiated. Domino's CEO is now on You Tube and the company is doing its best to tell, and follow, the true story on Twitter. And if you thought this is the work of young teens on their first job just goofing around - think again. Both culprits are over 30. The narrator, Kristy Hammonds apologized in an e-mail writing, It was fake and I wish that everyone knew that!!!!I AM SOO SORRY! As you should be, but that's just not enough. Love coffee but no time to brew a whole pot? Try the "java wand" a portable, single serve, glass straw with what looks like a miniature French Press filter on the bottom. Add 2 tablespoons of any French press style ground coffee to your cup, and then pour hot water over the coffee. Then stir the coffee, place the Java Wand into the cup and sip. we tried it a few times and while the coffee does taste very good brewed this way, I still find the idea of sipping hot coffee thru the glass straw a bit disconcerting, sort of a mini huka pipe - but hey, that's just me. It also comes with its own travel case. It is the battle of the bulge - and this time, at 30,000 feet United Airlines is now the fifth major airline to adopt new policies when it comes to overweight passengers. According to the Centers for Disease Control, an estimated 34% of adults in America over the age 20 are obese.The new policy follows a series of complaints the airline claims they have received from over 700 passengers in the past year - saying they feel cramped when seated next to overweight passengers.The new policy basically states that in the event that a passenger does not fit properly into one seat, they will be asked to pay for two seats. It is a sensitive matter, and the airline has covered its procedures well, with differing options based on the circumstances. We only wonder if this comes as yet another method for the airlines to make extra money, or try to, in fact, make flying more pleasant for all. There is little doubt it is a bit of both. As a third of Americans inch there way into obesity, we can expect to see a lot more problems between seat mates.For information on New Products, visit our weekly videocast: http://www.ratefoods.com