Domino's offers customers $3 to pick up their own pies

Amid a nationwide labor shortage, Domino's Pizza says it's "tipping" customers who pick up their own online orders with a $3 coupon toward their next order. 

Carryout customers who order online now through May 22, 2022, get a code redeemable for three bucks off another online carryout order of $5 or more the following week, the company announced Monday.

The fast-food chain wants to reward customers "who take the time and energy out of their day to act as their own delivery drivers," Domino's Chief Marketing Officer Art D'Elia said in a statement. The offer comes ahead of the Super Bowl, a day in which Domino's typically sells at least 2 million pizzas, he added.

Domino's said in an email that its restaurants are looking to hire more drivers to handle increased delivery orders. 

"Over the past few years during the pandemic, we saw that many customers began ordering delivery more so than carryout. We figured now, more than ever, is a great time to reward carryout customers who are serving as their own delivery drivers. Although Domino's stores across the U.S. are in need of more drivers, the main reason we launched this campaign was to give back to carryout customers," a spokesperson told CBS MoneyWatch in an email. 

Delivery drivers at Domino earn an average of just over $42,000 per year, according to ZipRecruiter.

The company's campaign to reduce demand for deliveries comes amid a nationwide shortage of workers, with Americans snubbing low-paying work that can't be done remotely, including childcare and food service. 

What's been dubbed the "Great Resignation," saw a record number quitting their jobs ahead of the holidays, and the ongoing challenge of hiring and retaining employees is particularly acute in the service industry. About 4.3 million people handed in their resignations in December, the Department of Labor said on Tuesday. That's down slightly from November, when an all-time monthly high of 4.5 million Americans quit their jobs. 

Among the contributing factors, researchers say, is millions of Americans struggling with long-term symptoms from COVID-19, leaving them unable to work due to chronic health conditions.  

Founded in 1960 in Ypsilanti, Michigan, Domino's is now a publicly traded company. It reported global sales of nearly $4.1 billion in the third quarter of 2021, with almost $2 billion in the U.S., where Domino's runs more than 360 company-owned stores. Another nearly 6,000 are run by independent franchises.