Gary Collins, who relies on gluten-free food for medical reasons, says he is “baffled and wholly disappointed” after discovering that free pizzas earned through Domino’s rewards can’t be redeemed on gluten-free bases.
Under the Domino’s loyalty scheme, Gary says customers earn stamps towards a free large pizza – but the reward is only available on small gluten-based pizzas, making it “impossible” for gluten-free customers to redeem.
He told Your Local Guardian: “If you earn five stamps on five orders, then you can claim a free large pizza from them, but you can’t with gluten-free.
“You can only get gluten-free on small pizzas.
“It says in an email that they sent out but can be exchanged for a gluten-free pizza, but you can’t put it through on the app.
“When you call their stores to see if you can place the order, they’re not allowed to take gluten free orders over the phone, in case there’s any mistake.”
According to Gary, the Domino’s reward scheme only offers gluten-free bases in a special small size made by Schär, a brand widely used by those with coeliac disease.
While Gary praises the quality of the base, he says it leaves gluten-free customers without access to rewards.
Gary says that when Domino’s deliveries are late, customers receive a code for a free large pizza, but there’s no option to choose a gluten-free base.
He added: “I’ve spoken to the Sutton North store several times and they say they can’t help with the app, and they can’t take gluten free orders over the phone, so they apologise.
“You look at people like me, who is a regular weekly customer, and there is no solution.
“It’s not like somebody my position, can just go ‘okay, this time, I’ll just order whatever’ – they know how strict and stringent it is.”
A spokesperson for Domino’s Pizza said the loyalty scheme is in a “trial phase”, and is not currently set up to offer gluten-free pizzas as the free reward pizza.
The spokesperson added: “We realise this is a problem for some of our customers and are working on a fix.
“In the meantime, we encourage any affected customers to get in touch with our customer service team and we’ll give them a code which will enable them to order a gluten free pizza as their reward.”
Gary says that when he tried to resolve the issue with his local Sutton North Domino’s, staff were sympathetic but unable to help.
He added: “Contacting the online customer service is absolutely abysmal – you’ll get you get one quick email response.
“But they normally ask you for something else, and then when you reply to that, you don’t hear back.”
Coeliac disease affects 1 in 100 people, causing the immune system to attack the body when gluten is consumed.
It is a serious medical condition, not a dietary preference.
“Customers shouldn’t be left out, excluded, and feeling like this – especially when the company aims to serve this niche audience and does a great job when it does deliver,” Gary said.
