Comments on Mindless Acts of Random Intellect: Dunkin Donuts Has Gone Stale

Thanks for the comment. I believe you overstated t...

2009-09-10T06:06:22.402-04:00

Thanks for the comment. I believe you overstated the situation a bit as I've encountered MANY hard-working Asian and Mid-Easterners who have come here. However, this does not seem to have happened at Dunkin Donuts. It's as if Dunkin Donuts has the lowest barrier to getting a franchise. The last time I was in one near my home (in New Jersey) ALL the donuts were stale and the ice cream they served all had heavy freezer burn (served anyway).

I have had one exception in, of all places, center city Philadelphia where I thought things would go poorly at a shoddy-looking Dunkin Donuts being staffed by a single east-Asian. I was shocked to find a wide assortment of varieties and all of them quite fresh and this was at 9pm at night or so.

Maybe it's just the few of us but I prefer it when strong brands from my past find a way to move forward and keep the reputation intact. There are just too many IBM's, RCA's and Dunkin Donuts these days for my tastes.

I won't be politically correct as people have ...

2009-09-09T21:10:47.458-04:00

I won't be politically correct as people have become waaay too sensitive these days and need to hear it the way it is. It's time to turn the tide. If you are easily offended, f**k off.

The reason Dunkin Donuts has gone down the crapper is painfully obvious and if you don't see it, you need to have your eyes checked. It is because of all the new immigrants that are now running them all across America. It is as if when imigrating to the US from Pakistan the final check off on the list is "...and here is you complimentary Dunkin Donuts, welcome the the United States. Have a great stay".

The Pakistani, Indians, whoever running them now have no work ethic (time to make the donuts), customer service skills or let along a grasp of the English language. This is absolutely unacceptable for a company that has franchises around the world. They are simply limping by on their great reputation from yesteryear. Sorry but the way it's going, they aren't going to last too long.

I also have fond Dunkin Donuts memories. In simpler times (the 70's and 80's) when I was kid my parents would surprise us to a dozen assortment of fresh donuts. I even have fond memories as an adult where every morning I would, along with many others, stop off at DD's to get a cup of their addictive coffee and maybe a dozen for the office. Every now and then on Sundays, I would get up before the kids and go out to get a dozen. I'm only talking 2003 here. I saw the writing on the wall as both of the DDs were run by Pakistani's but they seemed to actually care. Maybe it was because we were still reeling from 9/11.

Anyway, I moved to Australia in 2004 and haven't really been back since. In Australia they don't quite appreciate the donut as much as Americans do so Krispy Kreme came out and did a number on the Aussies with their sugary, expensive donuts. I don't think Aussies will ever get it now. Thanks KK!

So a month ago I go on a vacation back to America with a longing for a Dunkin Donuts coffee and some donuts. Me and my wife were shocked at what we found as I had been talking Dunkin Donuts up and it was nothing like I remembered or described. It was as if I had taken a trip on a time machine and found a not so bright future. It was horrible. In NYC (midtown)the DD's was dirty, had absolutely no selection (at 9am in the morning!!) and the coffee she made was absolute crap!! How can you screw up a Dunkin Donuts coffee?! Same thing in LA, PA and NJ! Eventually I gave simply gave up. I would walk by one, see who was running it and walk on by. It's a shame.

I still have the fond memories but I realize that the Dunkin Donuts of today is in name only. A shell. The one from my memories died awhile ago. Hopefully they retire the 'Time to make the donuts' commericials because the ethic and actual act of making fresh donuts no longer apply.

Rest In Peace.

I am a donut lover. I recently went to a Dunkins i...

2009-05-18T15:51:00.000-04:00

I am a donut lover. I recently went to a Dunkins in Bristol, RI. They had few donuts left but from far away, they looked pretty good.

So I got an Apple-N -Spice donut...my girlfriend treated me to it. We got outside, and I grabbed it out of the bag. It was small and hard. ..

I bit into it anyway and it was stale.

I know I shouldn't be buying donuts anymore because I'm pushing 50. I've even gone to see a nutritionist, who I made the complaint about Dunkins and she said they don't make them on the spot anymore, they just truck the donuts in.

I might try it again...but as our ex-president famously said:

"Fool me once...shame on me...Fool me twice...won't get fooled again!