Wow. Whatever happened to just tying the note to the rock and throwing it through the window?

Way to waste plastic bags, guys.

What's next, giving out free samples like that? Their pizza already tastes like stale cardboard.

I wonder if the tipster here is in my area (Metro Orlando). Dominos did this in my neighborhood a few months ago, I called the store manager and ripped him pretty good, albeit politely. He said they contracted it out and he wasn't aware of how they were going to distribute them, even offered to come pick them up. It hasn't happened again, and while the neighborhood did look pretty crappy for a couple days, it seems they learned not to use them any more.

@Darascon: Wouldn't loose much quality sitting in your driveway then, would it? Crap, I just defended that idea.

@Darascon: Yes, except it's a smaller bag and the rock isn't one you'd find on your lawn. But only the first one is free. Then they make you pay.

Domino's doesn't want to pay for mail adverts. Can't say I blame them. But they usually put the coupons on my door knob.

That's why I got rid of my door.

I've had a landscaping company do this to me with their business card. Unfortunately, it was kind of small and hard to see, and when I sucked the whole thing up into the lawnmower it made a mess. I'm just glad the rocks didn't damage the blades or hurt anyone nearby.

I've seen this with several local businesses, Mary Kay, landscapers, glass repair (was the implied threat "next time, it goes through your window!"?). I am always surprised (maybe I shouldn't be though) that the responsible persons aren't charged with littering! If I went door to door and dropped crap on everyones property, you can bet I would hear about it. However, it I drop pizza coupons on everyones property, it's ok? I don't get it at all!

Sending a message to the corporate web site probably isn't as effective as Mr. lowercase's approach. Call the manager at the store listed on the coupon and tell him that you'll press charges for littering unless somebody comes out RIGHT NOW and cleans it up.

I think the manager knows that the cops will laugh at bringing up a litter charge like this unless they see it happening.

i would collect all of the baggies full rocks & coupons that i could find and unceremoniously dumpt them in the parking lot of the nearest Domino's.


Schooled.

Sierra Club? Rofl.

I live just north of Boston and my entire neighborhood was plagued by these about 2 weeks ago. On my walk home everyone's porches and front lawns were littered with little baggies.

In an undeserved defense of Domino’s Pizza, at least their crap tastes better than Pizza Hut’s. I’ll take cardboard over a total reversal of the standard pizza to grease ratio.

I'm shocked no one put in a fake pizza order from this Domino's just so that they could rip into the driver then send him packing. After about 8 false deliveries in a night I'm sure the managers would get it accross that their advertising wasn't working.

i would so be tempted to chuck this through a Dominoes window at night. or at least with a rock that would.

ths has been going on for several years, what's the big deal?

Strange...a local chinese place did this is a few times and I seriously thought the rock had some kind of relevance, although I admit I'm not sure what. Just being able to throw it out the car window makes sense though. But yeah between the various 'free' local newspapers and this stuff, pretty much everyday I'm picking something up off my driveway

They do this in my neighborhood all the flipping time. Between this (where they don't have to get out of the car), sticking them behind the flag on the mailbox, taping them to the mailbox door, and using thumb tacks in the mailbox post, we're under constant assault from the couponmongers.

The larger question is that with this method, they're in for around $.05 per bag/rock/gas/printing/time. How much does a business pay to have these placed, what's the response rate, and profit per response?

It will never stop, so I just make a personal commitment to recycle everything they leave and not patronize their business.

Buy our crappy pizza, or the next rock goes thru your window.
sincerely,
The Pizza Mafia

@Bagels: "a local chinese place did this is a few times and I seriously thought the rock had some kind of relevance" hahahahahahaha

Jay, don't be surprised if the rocks end up as a topping on your next dominos pizza order!! :)

What our dear correspondent doesn't know is that Domino's headquarters is going to forward his letter, in its entirety, to the owner of the store which littered his neighborhood with the materials.

That store will now know it was Will who complained and where Will lives.

I once complained about a local Domino's driver screaming up our street at 70+ MPH repeatedly one night. Seriously. I saw their car no less than four times that evening each time behaving as if he was competing in the Grand Prix.

The next thing I know, the local Domino's was calling me demanding that I retract my complaint! "It wasn't a kid driving, it was the store owner". They explained. OH that's supposed to make me feel BETTER?

About a week after the phone calls, they sent me a coupon via USPS, which was evidently made or edited by the local store, and it had specific wording like "must announce coupon code (somethingwierd) when placing order". Rrrrrrrrrright. I'm going to order a pizza from you and let them know it was me, the evil complainer? Uh huh.

I called Domino's hq afterwards and tried to rationally discuss why giving my name and address to the local franchise along with a copy of my complaint letter was not a good idea and I got the feeling they couldn't care less.

One of the garbage collection companies that serves my area does this sometimes, although they use a bolt to weight the advertisement. It actually amuses me because most of the neighborhood is using another garbage collector, so basically on the days that the other company picks up, they put their advertisements next to the competing company's trash cans so that the residents will spot them when they go to put their cans away.

They don't do it often or in enough quantity that I would find it offensive. I actually switched to this company because I was really dissatisfied with the other garbage collector.

This happened all the time when we lived with my brother in the Phoenix suburbs. His house/neighborhood was brand new, and we would get these at least 4 times per week from landscape companies, painters, window treatment companies, etc. It got insane after a while. there were bags ALL OVER the place. With or without rocks, they would blow around and just make the area look like crap.

@TeraGram:
LOL! Smart move.

"Yeah, I'd like to order a large pizza for $5. I have a coupon here, the coupon code is 'lugee'."

Is it really that much harder just to put it in the mailbox?

@whatNameIsLeft: The delivery guys aren't necessarily the same guys dumping crap in people's driveways. Why yell at someone for an idea they didn't come up with or execute themselves?

Is it just me or does this just sound like cranky old man syndrome: "You darn kids and your pizza coupons! Get off my lawn whippersnapper and take your fancy rock technology with you!"

Geesh, if you don't want them recycle it like all your other junk mail. At least they put a rock in so the coupons didn't actually become litter.

All in all probably not the best advertising technique out there. I'm happy to say no-one has ever done this in our neighborhood, but the thought of coming home seeing a some bag/paper in the middle of the drive way, stopping the car, getting out pick it up, only to find that it's an add for a pizza place wouldn't leave me with a positive feeling.

However I had to say that, that the choice of putting a rock in the bag deserves some credit. At least the ads don't fly away and truly litter the yards, and I can just toss the rock under a push vs. a random bolt that someone else mentioned.

I think a great "green" solution would be a plant bulb or something similar. Might be a bit expensive vs. a rock, but at least the customer would be left with something potentially useful.

@Rectilinear Propagation:
It's illegal to put it in the mailbox.

@Rectilinear Propagation: @Mayor McRib:

Plus then you will get people complaining about it and writing consumerist about it.

Coupons in the mailbox complaint

So basically people will complain about the coupons no matter where you put them and think that it will magically stop. I am just waiting for some one to write consumerist about the spam in their email account next. Or the robocalls for the election coming up, or mailed junk mail. All annoying and all will be with us till the end of time no matter who you complain to.

@Mayor McRib: Not that the post office would care to prosecute, much less investigate *too lazy to search for last weeks story*

@Tmoney02: Ahh, you did it for me.
:p

I would think that the cost of the baggies plus the cost of manpower to drive around and throw those out the window would be MUCH more expensive than a bulk mailing. Those large baggies are expensive even when you get the cheap ones.

@Rectilinear Propagation: No they are not but they do work for the same outfit. I'm sure the higher up would hear about it if the drivers were complaining about wasting a trip.

My mom would have made me cleanup the entire neighborhood and then she would have taken the whole trash bag of solicitations back to Domino's. Of course everybody called my mom a Witch, but it was a title that she wore proudly.

Ehh, landscapers and roofers have been doing the same thing in my neighborhood for years.

Want to get my attention? How about a free pizza every now and then?

@3drage: I agree. Put my name in a database (we already know our names go into one anyways, might as well deal with it) and choose a name at random for a free pizza. Or, every 500th order of the week gets a free pizza. Make it goofy like, "free pizza and a half" where they literally give you a free pizza and one half then sell you the half pizza for half price.

The only time I liked this was when one gardening company put walnuts in the bag. Now, that served the same purpose as the rock, and I got a little snack. I do my own landscaping, though I don't make my own pizza's. That makes no sense.

@Tmoney02: Well, sure, if everybody took your attitude, of COURSE this annoying shit would stay around until the end of time. At least we complainers are actually doing something about it.

If this really bothers somebody, I suggest going to your local Domino's and telling the manager that you ran over his ad-rock with your lawnmower, and now his company owes you a new lawnmower blade. Bringing along a damaged lawnmower blade (whether you really ran over a rock with it or just beat it with a hammer) is optional, but strongly recommended.

I realize some of you have limited options, and I'm not unsympathetic to this. However, wouldn't it be great to organize one week in which you make an attempt to avoid all national chain restaurants and patronize only local businesses? Is this an impossible suggestion?

Corporate-Shill- Win x 3. Keep your kids occupied, goodwill by cleaning up the neighborhood and the oh-so sweet joy of dumping their crap right back in their laps.

@Darascon:
What exactly does stale cardboard taste like? It must not be nearly as tasty as fresh cardboard.

The diet pill pyramid scam people were doing this for a while, too.

@RedSonSuperDave:

"Well, sure, if everybody took your attitude, of COURSE this annoying shit would stay around until the end of time. At least we complainers are actually doing something about it."

I think pretty much everybody does take my attitude. So you can complain, make yourself feel better if you must, but don't delude yourself that anything is going to change or that most people will think your a crackpot for taking so much time over something so trivial.
Also, Just because you find them annoying doesn't mean you speak for the entire neighborhood. I usually enjoy getting menus and coupons. And the way flyer drops work there is no way to enact an individual opt out program. So unless your going to take the time to convince the entire neighborhood to get up in arms about some coupons in a baggie you will just have to chalk it up to one of life's little annoyances and move on.

"If this really bothers somebody, I suggest going to your local Domino's and telling the manager that you ran over his ad-rock with your lawnmower, and now his company owes you a new lawnmower blade. Bringing along a damaged lawnmower blade (whether you really ran over a rock with it or just beat it with a hammer)"

Also way to be a good consumer and encourage people to commit fraud. A+++ Hope you try it and go to jail.

In California, it is ILLEGAL and a PUBLIC NUISANCE to advertise on private property without permission CA PENAL CODE 556.1.

If I ever SAW people throwing rock bundles from the car, I would throw them back. If not, what you do is call them and tell them that you ran it over with your lawn mower and you might lose your eye.

As for fliers, (I hate them so much, I know to spell it with an "i" and not a "y") just call the business and let them know that you will NOT buy from them SPECIFICALLY because they trashed your property.

I've also been known to return the favor by collecting their fliers, ripping them in half so they can't be used again and trashing the front of their business.

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the broken lawnmower blade idea. It's not fraud. It's pre-emptive intervention meant to save some soul from a future broken lawnmower blade ;)

I don't know if this would bother me. At least they're using rocks and not some plastic manufactured baggie-weight. I guess I'd have to judge it by the value of the coupons! :)