Pizza Hut serves up SMS ordering: "lg ? w xtra chz, plz"

Pizza Hut has joined rivals Domino's and Papa John's in implementing a nationwide order-by-text service, giving customers even easier access to its tasty-but-greasy fare. To take advantage of the "Total Mobile Access" feature, you have to visit the Pizza Hut website for a one-time registration of your mobile number, along with setting up your so-called "pizza playlist" to enable easier ordering. You can also satisfy your pizza jones by hitting up the same site on a mobile browser, which provides an optimized version of the desktop ordering system that has been in place for several years.

[Via InformationWeek]

[ammi @ Jan 20th 2008 5:18PM]

Or you could just, y'know, CALL the local pizza hut from your cell phone.

[Stephen Wilson @ Jan 20th 2008 5:19PM]

What if it's really loud where you are? I just signed up for this after reading it. Thank you Engadget

[ammi @ Jan 20th 2008 5:30PM]

@ stephen wilson

Go outside or to a different area where it isn't loud.

Eh, I dunno, this just seems silly to me.

[John @ Jan 20th 2008 5:53PM]

Also useful for situations where the place you're ordering from's phone is either:

A) Constantly busy
B) Simply a harvesting ground to place you on hold

[Mike @ Jan 20th 2008 6:41PM]

"Or you could just, y'know, CALL the local pizza hut from your cell phone."

And be put on hold for 5 minutes, give the person who answers the phone extra work, and add in the risk of them possibly getting your order wrong due to interference or funny accents. That's an awful lot of trouble to go through to meet your arbitrary "go outside / talk to humans" standards.

[dantc @ Jan 20th 2008 6:53PM]

In practice, not so much. Here in the Bay Area and especially San Francisco, the folks working for minimum wage at places like Pizza Hut don't always have a firm grasp of spoken English as their first language. Less headache and fewer errors happen when the ordering takes place online.

[shmengie @ Jan 20th 2008 8:03PM]

i always order pizza hut via online rather than phone. i live in a part of los angeles where english is not the first language of many the order takers. it's just easier to not deal with them. i don't really text much so i prolly wouldn't use this, but it's nice to have options. right, ammi?

[Daniel @ Jan 20th 2008 9:49PM]

you are SO smart!! you can prevent the phone wait and the likelyhood that your order will be written down wrong or that you have to dictate your credit card over the phone to a guy that might be writing the number down to rob you blind.

[Tiptup300 @ Jan 20th 2008 10:13PM]

Hi, I work at papa johns, can speak English, and hate web orders. They are better for the customer, but can cause further problems. One problem is that the main website always just assumes that your local >insert pizza place< has every single topping on the chart, which isn't true since a lot don't sell. Another problem is if they want to change their orders they MUST do it back through the website since we don't have power over that, which is kind of hard for people to grasp the concept of for some odd reason, (a good one was when a person forgot their password right after ordering the pizza.) Also another bad thing is that we have NO control over the pizza, which means that during really terrible rushes we cant delay the deliveries which means it adds to the already towering late list of pizzas to be made and it keeps adding minutes on even though its delivery which doesn't matter if its a few minutes late since pizzas are sent out in groups.

Just my notes, also papa johns is doing mobile too, but if any of you use it I swear I will murder you all!

[Blu-Sam @ Jan 21st 2008 10:11AM]

it would give good advantage for hearing-impaired to order it without use relay service. It save their time.

[Beef Supreme @ Jan 20th 2008 5:18PM]

Great for stoners...and fat asses alike!

[jared @ Jan 20th 2008 5:19PM]

Wow, another way for the them to screw up my order.

[Ethan @ Jan 20th 2008 5:20PM]

Thus removing the main problem of pizza hut: dealing with pizza hut itself. Now they just need to make 'nice food.'

[rndmnme @ Jan 20th 2008 7:55PM]

Why don't we try getting to them making food first.

[Passarinhuu @ Jan 20th 2008 9:36PM]

hummm, plastic salad!

[kojo87 @ Jan 21st 2008 1:22AM]

i used to work at Pizza Hut. dont call it food cuz its really not. their cheese isnt ever 100% cheese.

[Reginald @ Jan 20th 2008 5:29PM]

Great but where's the PI "π" symbol on my phone? Or should I just use 3.14159265, or the less common "C/d" ?

[JohnTitor @ Jan 20th 2008 5:48PM]

I think it's under the 1 button, like 20 characters to the left I think

[Don Wilson @ Jan 20th 2008 6:24PM]

I think if you type "3.14159265" and space after, it'll turn into the Pi symbol.

[JohnTitor @ Jan 20th 2008 11:40PM]

on Samsung phones, typing 22/7 turns to π too

[bartoron @ Jan 20th 2008 5:39PM]

I would like to place an order for a small calzone with less cheese than usual. Thank you very much.

[Thomas @ Jan 20th 2008 5:40PM]

/pizza

lol

[Baboo @ Jan 20th 2008 5:46PM]

Looks like this was discovered last week on CN:
http://www.centernetworks.com/pizzahut-goes-mobile-order-sms-web

[Neebs @ Jan 20th 2008 6:14PM]

As my AP Euro teacher would write in large, red ink on my tests:

"And?"

[Derwin @ Jan 20th 2008 6:59PM]

Looks like the classic UNIX shell program 'Pizza Party' has gone mobile.

[dotcommer @ Jan 21st 2008 4:27PM]

I love your icon.

[ncmacasl @ Jan 20th 2008 7:29PM]

Just in time to order their CRAPPY new Pizza Mia pies!!

[kojo87 @ Jan 21st 2008 1:24AM]

those things suck nuts. nowhere worth $5.

[holycow @ Jan 20th 2008 7:38PM]

Go away!

[ethana2 @ Jan 20th 2008 8:12PM]

I have a feeling that python script I wrote to order pizza every friday night is going to end up costing me some serious money...

Oh well! I'll take it anyway. It's hard to get more awesome than that. It's sweet 'cause it uses my VISA card number and everything. ^_^

[Cunthor @ Jan 20th 2008 8:58PM]

Getting fat has become even easier. Booooorn in the USAAA!

[tekdroid @ Jan 20th 2008 9:15PM]

for a limmited time only, I hear you also get a 20 dollar voucher on medical fees when you:

1) collect 200 coupons off the driver and present them to Pizza Hut when:

1) heart disease
2) cancer
3) and/or obesity and/or diabetes set in

Only one coupon per visit. Conditions apply.
Keep your coupons, people! Pizza Hut Cares (TM).

[ace_spades @ Jan 20th 2008 9:17PM]

In soviet Russia, pizza orders YOU!

[Shahryar @ Jan 21st 2008 9:01AM]

lol

[Garst @ Jan 20th 2008 9:54PM]

How many phone can handle the "π" symbol?

[jacquerr @ Jan 20th 2008 10:16PM]

Yeah this is fine and dandy, Till you get those few people who can't read trying to take the order. This is laziness to it's finest. Can't wait, in 2010 all you have to do is "think" you want a pizza the chip in your brain will auto order your pizza for you. You'll actually drool as the pizza materializes in front of you before you even realized you wanted it...

[paul34 @ Jan 20th 2008 11:09PM]

Well, I've always ordered online since I discovered it. It's so great.

And no, I'm not fat. Or lazy. Well, not really.

[stafford @ Jan 21st 2008 1:11AM]

What?! You've been order pizza through SMS in New Zealand since like, 2002!

[Bob @ Jan 21st 2008 6:12AM]

Texting is fine if both your feet are on the ground. What smokes my butt are jerks that are texting for extra sauce at 70 mpg instead of watching out for those of us that might possibly be using "their" road.

[Shahryar @ Jan 21st 2008 8:59AM]

lol

[Leo @ Jan 21st 2008 2:03PM]

Those saying just call should consider the potentially several minutes wasted off your allotment vs. a single text message. It seems the most cost effective method as well as having an almost "in writing" proof of what you ordered in case of error on their part.

[Mitchel Moriarty @ Jan 21st 2008 7:44PM]

We are all just waiting for Burger King/Mc Donald's to do this so we can text in "I can haz cheezburger?"

[Ed @ Jan 23rd 2008 8:57AM]

I just love where things are progressing to in this country.

First, you don't have to take the time to figure out the phone number.
Secondly, you don't even have to deal with a human being.
Thirdly, you can actually create PLAYLISTS. LOL
Fourthly, you can order pizza for the FUTURE. Let's have a serious plan for our fat ass agenda.

Now, you don't even need to load up a web browser, log in to a website, and actually spend 90 seconds ordering the pizza. That's clearly too much work.

You just text, "FATASS1 PizzaPlaylist #5". Shaved off at LEAST 70 seconds that can be used on the couch to:

1) Masturbate longer before the pizza guy gets here.
2) A thorough inspection for belly button lint.
3) Inspection of practically any number of other orifices and body parts.
4) Shove more food down your piehole, while waiting for more food.
5) Finish just one extra level of Doom

Eventually we can just get home, sit down on our couches and start screaming at the SmartWall (TM) and it will cater to our fat lazy asses for the rest of the night :)

[Bill @ Feb 4th 2008 10:51PM]

Nice Idea, but this is old tech. Costs the user a lot of money and takes ages to do. There is a company in Australia that let you order and pay from your mobile using a Java ap, letting you point and click on what you want. Much better option and you dont have to mess around on the net. www.saltmobile.com is their sight.