An Unwelcome Delivery

BusinessWeek, April 30, 2009 — Domino's Pizza has become the latest company to learn how quickly a brand can be tainted in a Web 2.0 world--and how important it is to monitor social media. On Apr. 13 a prank video made by two Domino's employees in North Carolina hit YouTube. In it, one of the pair sticks cheese up his nose and "sneezes" into a sandwich he's making--using that cheese. After Domino's learned (from a blogger) about the video, it issued a statement and created a Twitter account to answer questions. And in a YouTube message, Domino's USA President Patrick Doyle conveyed his outrage, announcing the impending arrest of the workers (who said they never delivered the befouled food), a scrubdown of the outlet, and extra vigilance in hiring.