Dunkin Donuts Gets Another Chance
Called the local owner of the DD and another friend at a local TV station to have breakfast at the DD. We all live in the same neighborhood, know each other from block parties and used to play golf now an again before I quit. When my media friend arrived he saw me picketing outside the DD with a sign that read ‘No Artisanal Bagels Found Here’. He cracked up laughing and we went inside to sit down to some free DD bagels that our friend and DD franchise owner retrieved still very warm. Was surprised they weren’t horrible. Had stopped off at Chompies to get a real bagel and had brought one of my own from the freezer – for comparison. We tried all 3, agreed that mine were considerably better than DD’s and Chompies were better than mine by a wide margin. Chompies web site is below, a nice Jewish bakery and only decent one in Phoenix thaat I know of, but I wouldn’t want to defend truth in advertising on their site either if you care to look. But they don’t use the word artisanal or artisan – from what I can see.
http://www.chompies.com/bakery.php [1]
I then whipped out the below and showed the DD franchise owner a print out of what I was going to email DD customer services at the link below. I didn’t want him blindsided.
http://www.dunkindonuts.com/content/dunkindonuts/en/help/contactus.html [2]
It read:
I really like your coffee but because of medical reasons I don't eat donuts. I do eat bagels that I make myself. I’ve tried your bagels, mine are better, others agree, no question, but I refrain from calling them artisanal because I am not an artisan and they do not rise up to the definition of artisanal as a piece of art by those who really are artisan bagel bakers.
Your current ad describing DD's new bagels as artisanal is misleading and I believe it to be false advertising. I am asking you to pull this ad. DD is a good company and I hope will choose to do the right thing in this matter.
Yesterday, I picketed my local DD with a sign that said 'No Artisanal Bagels Found Here.' I was doing it as a test just in case my request is not accepted. I asked the manager to contact you directly. He was very nice and helpful.
I wish DD no harm and hope that this current ad is quickly put behind you so that you can continue to serve your customers in a fair, decent and honest way that DD is known for.
I asked the DD owner to contact the marketing folks at DD and tell them he was being picketed and I asked my media friend to cover it on his station. My TV friend said that he wasn’t putting it on TV. So I hit him up for a donation and he said he isn’t allowed to have a checkbook with him when he meets with me anymore. I said he still owes me and will have to cover it if DD gets picketed all over the country by people like me who are customers and upset over this ad – when it started in his back yard.
I told the DD owner he will owe me too if he doesn’t make the phone call. He said he would but thinks is was a regional ad back East since he didn’t know about it. That’s good I told him. When DD finds out they were being picketed in AZ and the ad never played here, they will know people are upset and the word is spreading fast on the Internet and social media. I invited them over for drinks and dinner if they bring the drinks, or a check, on Friday.
I got an automated reply from DD today that they got my email, was glad to hear from me and repeated it back to me word for word – in case I forgot what it said. It went to say that someone would read it. That is it so far. Now, I have 2 more friends that think I am crazy. Well, not really, but they are thinking about it :-)
We shall see if this has any effect.
You can contact DD by email if you want to see if it will have any effect. I suggest to be nice but direct and let them know you are a customer if you are.
Bake On