What's the deal with Dunkin Donuts?

[goofyernmost]

We only got Dunkin here a few years ago, and everyone was excited for it. I'd been to them in New England before and knew they were actually the world's worst donuts, waxy and dry. We have a local donut place, Gibsons, which has been featured on food shows and such, plus a lot of other good mom & pop's that make great donuts. I can't imagine going to Dunkin!

They aren't all like that and there was a time when the donuts were always freshly made. I think there was a four hour time limit on them to just be sitting there and they would be donated to someplace. Those of you that are old enough remember the TV commercial where the old guy gets up in the middle of the night, repeating to himself... "Time to make the Donuts".

 

[bcla]

Just thinking about donuts, I just had to try one of those places that has a reputation for fancy donuts.

I plunked down $3 to get a donut shell with a filling injected in front of me. It was really good, but I don't know about $3 for a single, relatively small donut. It was fluffy and really good, but I don't know if I'd go back except as a special treat. I could have gotten a half dozen at a supermarket for the same price.

 

[BrianL]

Are you in Memphis?

Yep. Good ol' Memphis with it's great places to eat!

 

[manning]

I found Dunkin Donuts to be like Krispy Kreme, just donuts with a too high price. A few Krispy Kremes have come back in my area, but most got run out of town about 7 years ago. They were all built next to those mom and pop donut shops, and mom and pop kicked their donut holes out of town, better donuts, almost half the price. Now, I do like Dunkin donuts coffee.

In our area Dunkin Donuts didn't raise prices. Made the donuts smaller bu didn't raise the prices. How's that for a hidden price increase?

 

[tvguy]

In our area Dunkin Donuts didn't raise prices. Made the donuts smaller bu didn't raise the prices. How's that for a hidden price increase?

LOL.
We went into Burger King for the first time in a long time and my wife ordered her usual Value Menu Cheese Burger. They look more like a slider now than a burger.

 

[L&Lfan]

All of our local Dunkin Donuts franchises are operated by folks for whom English is not their primary language. Is that also true in your area? Just curious...Reminds me of 7-11 and dry cleaning businesses which are like that where I am.

 

[scrapquitler]

All of our local Dunkin Donuts franchises are operated by folks for whom English is not their primary language. Is that also true in your area? Just curious...Reminds me of 7-11 and dry cleaning businesses which are like that where I am.

Not just Dunkin Donuts.

But in my area, the main DD franchise guy is a guy from my hometown that is not part of that stereotype.

 

[Klayfish]

I haven't had time to read through the entire thread, but I love Dunkin' Donuts. I almost never eat donuts actually, but on the extremely rare occasion I do, I enjoy them. However, my wife and I frequently go to Dunkin' to get coffee. Love their coffee, my wife really likes their pumpkin spice coffee.

 

[JimmyBean42]

From a donut perspective, DD is no better than any other chain. For good donuts, I always go to a local bakery. They actually charge just as much as a chain, but are 5x better. Now from a coffee perspective, I like DD's coffee. I'd say in my area the top coffee spots are Starbucks (isn't it in top 5 everywhere), DD and WaWa. But none of those 3 places have great donuts.

 

[bcla]

From a donut perspective, DD is no better than any other chain. For good donuts, I always go to a local bakery. They actually charge just as much as a chain, but are 5x better. Now from a coffee perspective, I like DD's coffee. I'd say in my area the top coffee spots are Starbucks (isn't it in top 5 everywhere), DD and WaWa. But none of those 3 places have great donuts.

I found their coffee to be mild. Nothing wrong with that, but some want a stronger flavor. I'm not a big fan of Starbucks coffee. The last time I had coffee at one, I found it to be bland, although it could have been just this particular brewing. I remember an interview with one founder (Jerry Baldwin) of Starbucks, whose ownership group sold off to Howard Schultz when they were a small Seattle chain and sold more unbrewed coffee than drinks. He said that Starbucks had a completely different product than when he had control.

Around here, we have a large selection of coffee houses. Many independents sell specialty coffee. Then there are the high end places like Philz, Blue Bottle, and Sightglass. They're expensive though.

 

[JustCallMeMommy]

People around here seem to do to DD more for the coffee. People at work occasionally ask me to drive through DD in the morning since I pass one on my way to work, and their drive-through greeting is "Welcome to Dunkin Donuts, what size coffee can I get you?" I prefer Krispy Kreme donuts - DD is a more cake-like donut, while KK is light and airy.

 

[manning]

LOL.
We went into Burger King for the first time in a long time and my wife ordered her usual Value Menu Cheese Burger. They look more like a slider now than a burger.

And they say there is no inflation. Think I read somewhere that real inflation is around 10% and the government uses the lower one to hold down SSN increases and to look good.

 

[JimmyBean42]

Around here, we have a large selection of coffee houses. Many independents sell specialty coffee. Then there are the high end places like Philz, Blue Bottle, and Sightglass. They're expensive though.

I like the independents more as well. You can just taste the difference. But as far as big chains go, DD / Starbucks / WaWa I'd say are top three in my east coast area. West Coast in your area, I'd guess it would probably be Starbucks, Seattle's Best (which is actually owned by Starbucks), Coffee Bean, Peets and maybe Dutch Bros, but that's more north West Coast I'd say.

East Coast has a place called La Colombe that I'd say is similar to Philz or Blue Bottle.