dispatches from the new world of work

Event: Dunkin' Brands

The event of the day is Dunkin' Brands in Las Vegas. Take a look at their website. A quick scan of the front page reveals that they're looking for people who'll be passionate, and that stories are what you'll find on their press page. I'm sure they can appreciate Tom's message. The slides are here: Final Version and Long Version.

Cathy Mosca posted this on 03/30/06.

Comments

We'd love to help them find "smiling faces" earlier. Is the resume offically dead?

Posted by Peter Altieri at March 30, 2006 8:53 PM

I love their â€˜thenâ€™ philosophy - "Make and serve the freshest, most delicious coffee and donuts quickly and courteously in modern, well-merchandised stores." more than their â€˜nowâ€™ mission statement â€œTo lead and build great Quick Quality brands.â€

Posted by K.Sriram at March 31, 2006 12:48 AM

Whenever I read Tom's praise of Starbucks, I am reminded of my Dunkin Donuts experiences.

The following two experiences have happened at so many different Dunkins and at so many different times that I have no reason to expect anything else:

...normal business hours, dying for my favorite creme-filled. Not only does Dunkins not have my first or second choice, but in fact they have only 3 or 4 types of donuts. Most of the trays are empty...probably have been for hours. Now, I know they haven't made donuts onsite for years. So am I supposed to believe that quality and freshness will be my consolation for choosing from the remainders?

The Dunkins counter is four feet wide. Instead of handing me my order or sliding it across to me, the counter person places the order and my change directly in front of themselves. The bag and cup are so far away from me at this point that the only evidence that I should reach across and take them now is that they (and I) have been abandoned.

Another typical Dunkins interaction:
Manchester, NH airport: It's not busy. I wait at the rope while the girl behind the Dunkin's counter talks on a phone for a few minutes without acknowledging my presence. After hanging up the phone, she walks away from me to another part of the counter. Still never looking at me, she deadpans to the counter: "Can I help you?". "Are you talking to me?", I ask. Still never looking: "You are the next in line, aren't you?" she says.

So here's my question: Doesn't the success of Dunkin Donuts fly in the face of what we(I) would like to believe about service and quality counting?

Posted by Al Keniston at March 31, 2006 2:13 PM

Dunkin' focused so much on their "brands" that they forgot how to run donut shops. Their stores are closing down at a pretty good clip in my neck of the woods (North Central US). I won't go to the one near my house any more after so many bad experiences.

Posted by Mike at April 1, 2006 12:57 PM