Lord knows there are enough catch phrases and snazzy lines that business use to attract customers…I mean, it’s basic marketing 101. Ira: “Call Me!” McDonalds: “I’m Lovin’ It” Boch dealerships: “My costs are less so I can sell for less.” Bernie & Phyl’s: “Quality, Comfort & Price…that’s nice”.
None of these seemingly can match the appropriateness of Dunkin Donuts’ recent slogan, “America Runs on Dunkin”. Sure, seems like a typical phrase, generalizing an observing of some of the nation’s appreciation for their morning Dunkin caffeine/cholesterol fix. With around 6,400 U.S. locations, one would think there are plenty of Dunkin locations for America to run on, right? Apparently not in Massachusetts.
Keeping in mind the eastern part of Mass is a very business-oriented, on-the-go kind of environment, every minute and every second of the morning (no matter how on-time you are) is precious…things to do, must get to work! When there is seemingly a Dunkin Donuts off of every other highway exit and on every major route through any city/town with 50,000+ people, here there & everywhere, why does it seem like any and every Dunkin Donuts I try to go to (during a typical weekday morning) has a minimum of 10 people waiting before me…say 5 inside & 5 in the drive thru?
I know it can’t be contributed to the lack of locations. There’s a damn Dunkin Donuts within 5 – 7 minutes of the last one you saw! Or if you’re in Freetown or Raynham, about one minute away from the next one! Is it a lack of staffing? No, they usually seem to have a decent amount of people behind the counter. Is it the quality of the employees? Not typically, since more often than not I see the staff running around hurriedly trying to fill orders (though not to ignore the fact some Dunkins seem to hire those less-than-capable of being a Wal-Mart door greeter). Maybe it’s the menu items? Well, since the coffee is already sitting there waiting for you and the yummy oven-baked items finish within a few seconds.
Well, I’m not sure what it could be. All I’m left with is what people order. You know? The everyday employee in front of you who wants his large semi-dark 2 sugars with milk & small French vanilla decaf with 3 sugars for his employee buddy, along with 2 Munchkins & a sausage, egg & cheese. Good lord, when one person orders that much, or course it’s going to hold up any possible line from progressing. All I want to order is a large iced tea w/ sugar & hash browns!
Shouldn’t there be an Express line for people like me? It sure is convenient at the grocery, so why not at this national chain? I suppose there’s some red tape bullshit behind why that could never happen, but I’d put money on it that people like me would get in and out a LOT quicker than a typical morning. Since time is of the essence, it becomes a game of balancing the options “Should I be late for work and wait?” or “I’ll pass on getting anything and leave”, and when I have to pick option #2, I get very bitter that the drive thru & inside line isn’t moving. But I blame that on the environment I’ve been exposed to…go go GO, always somewhere to go!
I’m not saying that 6,000+ locations aren’t enough, but when the typical morning crowd always seems to yield a 5 – 7 minute wait, I don’t think that’s acceptable service, especially for a Donut shop. So it truly seems America does run on Dunkin.
