IMPORTFEST 2008: Pizza Pizza..."hot and fresh"

Toronto, Canada - Pizza Pizza is proud to be an Official sponsor for IMPORTFEST 2008. Pizza will be on-site cooking and serving hot and fresh slices to everyone at IMPORTFEST!

Pizza Pizza, founded in Toronto in 1967, has grown to become Ontario 's number one pizza restaurant chain, fulfilling over 28 million customer orders annually. As of January 1, 2006, Pizza Pizza had 501 locations across Canada , with 340 traditional format restaurants and 161 non-traditional restaurants located primarily in universities and event venues.

About Pizza Pizza:

Pizza Pizza is a franchise-driven restaurant company. Of the 505 Pizza Pizza restaurants, 486 are franchised or licensed and 19 are owned and operated as corporate restaurants. Pizza Pizza provides a high level of service and operational support to its franchisees, including turn-key restaurants, a central food distribution centre (the "Commissary") which provides all food and non-food items used in restaurant operations, and monitoring systems intended to ensure high product and service quality and operational consistency across the chain.

Pizza Pizza has a modern restaurant system, with approximately 85% of its restaurants either new or substantially renovated in the past five years. Its centrally managed renovation program, funded by franchisees, has added significantly to its same restaurant sales growth capacity and allows for the continuous renewal of the Pizza Pizza concept.

Did you know?

Throughout the years Pizza Pizza, an innovator in the industry, has introduced a remarkable number of "firsts" which have revolutionized the way consumers enjoy pizza:

The first insulated pizza bag
The first significant innovation developed at Pizza Pizza was the insulated pizza delivery bag. During our first winter, we were finding that the pizzas just didn't stay hot enough during the time it took to deliver the pie to the customer's door. We wanted our customers to enjoy a pizza that was as hot when it arrived, as it was when it came out of the oven. We took some padded fabric to a car upholsterer and told him we were looking for a bag that was washable, easy to open, and waterproof, which we could put the pizza boxes in to keep the pizzas at their best. The result was the world's first ever insulated pizza delivery bag which was made right here in Toronto. We continued to make further improvements on the original bag by adding grommets on the side for the steam to escape and a Velcro closure.

The one number system
In the early days Pizza Pizza promoted not only its name but also, and more significantly, its phone number. Even though Pizza Pizza had only a handful of restaurants, we advertised only one phone number so that our customers could conveniently place orders for pick-up or delivery. These phone calls were directed to a central phone room where order takers were standing by to answer the customers' calls, write down the orders on paper, and then relay these orders again by telephone, to the appropriate Pizza Pizza Restaurant closest to the customer'’s address. The convenience to the customer of being able to remember and call only one number and have their pizza delivered no matter where they were in the city helped propel the growth of the young company.

The phone number set to a jingle
In 1975, we changed our phone number to the now-famous, 967 11-11. We considered this new number unforgettable because the "7" rhymed with "11". In 1978 we wanted to make it even easier for our customers to order pizza from us, so we promoted our phone number in a unique way. The number was set to a catchy jingle, which was heavily advertised on local radio stations. Promoting a phone number by setting it to a tune was a worldwide first. Since that time, whenever our customers want to place an order, all they have to do is recall the Pizza Pizza jingle. Our number became so well known in the Toronto area that even customs immigration agents used it as a "True Torontonian" test. If the person could recite the Pizza Pizza phone number to the customs agent, then that individual must truly be from Toronto.

The first computerized order taking system
In 1979, Pizza Pizza designed the first computerized order taking system and established the first computerized central phone centre anywhere. Computer terminals and keyboards replaced the paper and pens in the phone centre. Every order taker sat at their computer terminal and simultaneously typed in pertinent customer information while speaking to the customer. Automatically the computer would determine which Pizza Pizza restaurant was closest to the customer and route the order. The computer would also tally up the order price and taxes for the customer service agent to facilitate the order taking process. Today, we have taken this order taking process to the next level. We have created a virtual call centre comprised of agents working in various locations including Toronto, Hamilton, Ottawa and some directly from their homes (offering a greater degree of flexibility and convenience for the agent). Although dealing with customer service agents in call centres may seem commonplace now, in 1979 it was unprecedented.

Our Charities:

Pizza Pizza believes in giving back to the community. Over several years Pizza Pizza has teamed up with various charitable organizations to help fulfill their goals. Pizza Pizza participates in ongoing events supporting The Hospital for Sick Children. From serving pizza to everyone at the Sick Kids BBQ in July, entertaining and feeding the children at the Grand Opening of the Starlight Room to prizes for contests being held at the hospital.

For more information: www.pizzapizza.ca