Dunkin’ Donuts left a bad taste in my mouth
30 Jan 2009
Dunkin’ Donuts left a bad taste in my mouth. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE Dunkin’ Donuts. I have been going there quite frequently since I’ve been job searching because I’m out and about a lot, and it’s much more reasonably priced than Starbucks! Anyway, today I had a bad experience.
I was leaving a Salty Legs Networking Group meeting in Harvard Square and was heading to Watertown for a networking meeting. I desperately needed coffee, so I stopped at the Dunkin’ Donuts on JFK Street. I took the coffee to go, and got back in my car. I was 10 minutes away from the Dunkin’ Donuts by the time I took my first sip (had to let it cool down!) and realized that not only was it not the Hazelnut coffee that I had ordered, but it was SO burnt, I couldn’t even keep it in my mouth without wincing. Ugh, I really needed my coffee.
Next thing I knew, I saw another Dunkin’ Donuts in Brighton. I thought, “Oh great!” I’ll run in and they’ll give me a new coffee! I asked the first employee I saw, and he said I’d need to speak to the manager. She came over, and asked what I needed. I told her, and she asked, “it was a different Dunkin’ Donuts”? Yes, I told her. “Oh, we can’t take back the coffee from another Dunkin’ Donuts because we’re a franchise, so we run separate businesses.”
Are you serious? OK, I do understand that franchises are each individually run, and each owner has their own profit to manage. But, surely they, or certainly Dunkin’ Donuts corporate office, would understand the benefit to the entire system of franchises of making a customer happy for the sake of keeping a strong brand perception? For probably less than 20 cents, they could have made me a very happy person. But, instead, I am mad at Dunkin’ Donuts. Doesn’t their corporate office hear this a lot? Don’t they have some sort of policy for their franchisees, that they should take returns like this? Or don’t they have a returns budget? Or, just training to the management that treating their customers with care is one of the most important things they can do?
So, needless to say, I left there with a bad taste in my mouth. Literally.
Has this happened to you before with Dunkin’ Donuts or a different franchise? What do you think? Do you agree with me?
Update: I received emails from Dunkin Corporate and the franchise where the bad coffee came from (but not the one who wouldn’t replace the coffee):
- Corporate to me (2/2/09) – Good afternoon! I’m the Supervisor of the Consumer Care department here at Dunkin Donuts Corporate. I read about the experience you had at two of our shops. I want to thank you for taking the time to voice your concerns. We work hard to maintain the highest standards in guest satisfaction; it appears we’ve let you down and for that we apologize. I wanted to reach out to you to further discuss your experience if possible. Please feel free to email me or call me. I look forward to speaking with you.
- Me to Corporate (2/2/09) – Thanks for getting back to me. I don’t want to make a big deal about this personally, but I’m in marketing so am always thinking about how companies represent themselves. The DD product is great, but I was turned off by how the brand was represented. If I have had this experience, I’m guessing others have as well. I understand it’s difficult from the franchise perspective, but the way I look at it, is the consumers are the most important part of a business, so it’s worth figuring out how to not make this an issue.
- Corporate to me (2/2/09) – We appreciate any feedback both good and bad about the service at our shops so thank you for getting back to me! I’d be happy to forward your comments to both store owners as well as the corporate field employee who oversees the stores in the area. Also, if you would reply with your mailing address, I’d like to send you a letter so you know your comments have been shared with the appropriate people as well as a gift card as a ‘Thank You’ for sharing.
- Me to Corporate (2/2/09) – I am most curious about your thoughts on the issue. Does corporate consider the franchisee’s response an acceptable response? I understand the challenge, but I’m sure there’s some way to make it better for consumers…. track where the original store was, and have a tally going of where the bad coffee comes from, ask the person to fill out a form so you can reimburse them at a later date (will prevent ppl from taking advantage), etc. I’m curious to your thoughts on this.
- Corporate to Me (2/3/09) – Thank you for your response. Our franchisees are independent business owners and strive to provide a great customer experience. However, unfortunately there are times like yours when a customer may be dissatisfied with their in-shop experience. Consumer Care is here so customers can give us their feedback, both good and bad, providing us the opportunity to share their comments and requests with our franchisees and operations team, so they will use the feedback to improve future customer visits. Rest assured we have notified the franchisees and the operations managers of both of the stores you visited. As a brand we work very hard to ensure every Dunkin’ Donuts’ visit is a good one. We hope you come back and try us again.
Good work Dunkin’ Donuts. I still think there should be a procedure in place to allow someone to get a replacement at another store, but at least their Cusomer Care department is receptive, customer oriented and courteous. Thanks!
