Domino’s Pizza Taps Reindeer for Holiday Deliveries

Bucking the growing trend of drone deliveries, Domino’s has enlisted Dasher, Dancer and Rudolf, the red-nosed reindeer himself, as the company’s newest delivery drivers.

The innovative program was Domino’s way of introducing its new GPS tracking service, which allows customers to track their piping-hot pies via a mobile app.

Unfortunately, Domino’s Japan pulled back the reins just before Christmas on the pilot program that used real-life reindeer to make pizza deliveries. Apparently Santa’s pals kept losing pizzas and refused to stop at delivery addresses.

Domino’s said the reindeer turned out to be harder to train than anticipated, ending the program just one week after its launch. "It hasn't been possible to solve the [training] problems that have come up, [so] we reluctantly decided to end the reindeer delivery program," Domino's Japan said in a statement. "It has been difficult to control the reindeer."

In the meantime, Domino’s has replaced the reindeer with human-operated, reindeer-inspired, GPS-enabled delivery scooters, complete with antlers and fur.

But the incident didn’t slow down Domino’s dedication to true ingenuity with GPS tracking technology. When it comes to delivering pizza as quickly and efficiently as possible, Domino’s continues to innovate to ensure superior service.

In fact, this isn’t Domino’s first attempt at creative delivery methods. In the past, the pizza chain has used canoes and even train station drop offs to ensure customers get their orders in a timely manner.