Jimmy John's Says Third-Party Delivery Isn't Freaky Fast Enough

"The Jimmy John's delivers Jimmy John's." That's the message of a new marketing campaign the sandwich chain launched this week, in which JJ's takes swipes at third-party delivery services like DoorDash and UberEats. At a time when chains from Taco Bell to Dunkin' are partnering up with delivery services, the campaign highlights the fact that Jimmy John's employees, not a third-party, deliver JJ's sandwiches.

This could be a selling point for customers who are frustrated by third-party services, either because they're perceived as not treating their drivers fairly, or because of issues with timing and accuracy of order delivery. A recent survey conducted by customer feedback management firm SMG found 35 percent of customers who use these services experience a problem with their delivery, but about half of those customers then blame the restaurant for it. Per Restaurant Business, a similar Boston Consulting Group survey, commissioned by Jimmy John's, found that the typical delivery time via third-party services is 49 minutes, though most customers expect their food within a half hour.

Jimmy John's hired Boston Consulting Group to explore whether third-party delivery could potentially be a fit for the sandwich chain; ultimately, Jimmy John's decided their in-house delivery force—made up of 45,000 drivers across almost 3,000 locations—was actually an advantage.

"The way our system is built, where we're owning every step of the process, that's really important for us," Jimmy John's chief marketing officer John Shea told Restaurant Business. "Restaurants announcing they're going to third-party delivery don't have the same infrastructure, systems or science the way we do."

Expect to see JJ's doubling down on this message in coming weeks; The Verge reports the company will pay for billboards and online videos featuring tweets from dissatisfied third-party delivery customers.

(Disclosure: Univision, the parent company of The Takeout, also hired BCG to consult its business.)