Earlier this week, Dubai residents woke up to a fantastic Deliveroo Pizza Fest where 1,000 pizzas would be given away at AED 1 between 11am and 2pm on Thursday.
The campaign was designed to work on a first-come-first-serve basis, with participation from leading pizzerias in the city like 800 Pizza, NKD Pizza, Rosso Vivo, Freedom Pizza and Pinza.
What started out as a great marketing strategy soon turned sour. In Dubai, where foodies are more common than grains of sand, it should come as no surprise that this offer induced a frenzy.
Mid-way Thursday morning, social media was ablaze with tweets, Whastapp forwards and Facebook updates – some all praises for Deliveroo, and many with complaints about restricted locations, faulty payment receipts, access issues with the app, website and more.
The unexpected part came, not from the users, but from the Deliveroo team’s official Twitter account using slang and laidback language to diffuse the tension, amusing and shocking users.
Addressing customers as ‘babe’, ‘bruh’ and elegantly apologizing via ‘soz’, take a look at some of these hilarious exchanges:
@anthonypermal Let this screenshot explain how they are responding. @ThanzeemKR pic.twitter.com/aGsSvmCA4J
— Kevin Sebastian (@NoxVoyager) August 18, 2016
@jeffbullas do you know @Deliveroo ? Their Dubai version is creating havoc! @Deliveroo_ae – pathetic social mktg! https://t.co/nwnZ6P6yev
— Thanzeem Rawther (@ThanzeemKR) August 18, 2016
@anthonypermal @ThanzeemKR @nikhilwad @NoxVoyager @sharusays @Deliveroo_ae omg the best being this … #SMFail pic.twitter.com/DNOVWBB9Oc
— Ashwin اشوين Ferns (@ashshanuferns) August 18, 2016
Deliveroo down! As if we expected anything else.
No one can handle the cheapness of Dubai 😀 https://t.co/31U0jFJ3rf
— Caitlyn Davey (@Cait_12) August 18, 2016
@mbuae @Deliveroo_ae seriously no brains. Having 100+ drivers doesn't mean you can throw away away pizzas like this
— Raikonnen (@ramiraikonnen) August 18, 2016
A user summed this up:
To those who went online to order pizzas from @Deliveroo_ae but it didn't happen! pic.twitter.com/JXnxeD5Kio
— Ashwin اشوين Ferns (@ashshanuferns) August 18, 2016
A pointy slip-up on Deliveroo worked in, its competitor, Zomato’s favor.
When a customer commented that she would rather use Zomato’s app, the Deliveroo social media account responded with a sarcastic
‘Good luck finding a 1 Dh pizza on there.’
@Deliveroo_ae ill stick with @ZomatoUAE
— Shaheeka Sharif (@indismissable) August 18, 2016
The Zomato team then swooped in with a pizza delivery to said user with a handwritten note:
@ZomatoUAE this is why I❤you guys!!! Thank you so much zomato office, @pallavisangtani for the free pizza #freepizza pic.twitter.com/MNXIJKOE8l
— Shaheeka Sharif (@indismissable) August 18, 2016
@kikipigeon @sumosushibento Happy lunching, Kiera!
— Zomato UAE (@ZomatoUAE) August 18, 2016
@Deliveroo_ae Been trying to place an order since 11am with no luck. I'll stick to @ZomatoUAE.
— Shadi شادي (@iShadi) August 18, 2016
@ZomatoUAE delivery to the rescue in the face of @Deliveroo_ae 's pizza fiasco! It won't be free but atleast it's reliable!
— Hetal Babla (@hetalcb) August 18, 2016
?@Deliveroo_ae you know I ❤️ you, but you ? today. Thanks @ZomatoUAE for saving the day #pizzaapocalypse2016 pic.twitter.com/ExZ8H71yCC
— Amina Samy (@samyamina) August 18, 2016
#Pizzafail? We got you, fam!
Order through our @ZomatoUAE page: https://t.co/gaRNqM5JsQ
or call:044298844— The Fit Food Kitchen (@TFFKdubai) August 18, 2016
Guess they’re right: There’s not such thing as a free lunch or an AED 1 pizza [at least for some].
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