WiNK

When I started working at Dunkin' Donuts this past summer, I never knew how the inside of a place like this worked, especially such a large chain like Dunkin'. I was honestly surprised at how things operated, and especially how much I had to interact with strangers. When I first started working, my store in New Milford was a drive thru and walk in. But, due to covid we are now drive thru only. When I would work the front counter, it was much easier to take an order because I wasn't having to try and listen through an old headset. But, when a customer would get frustrated, (which happened a lot when I was new), it was much more intimidating. Surprisingly, many customers get very angry with me and my coworkers over the littlest things. I have had coffee thrown at me because it was too hot, people getting in fights with my manager over milk, and even people just driving away without their order.

I feel that people don't realize that people who work at places like Dunkin' are people, and a lot of my coworkers are teenagers or college kids like me. Getting yelled at by random strangers is not something we generally enjoy, especially over something stupid like coffee. Personally, I don't understand why customers feel the need to yell at me and my coworkers. I am used to it now, but it still bothers me. We are usually able to fix the problem with an easy solution, like remaking the food item or drink, so there is truly no reason to yell and make a scene. If you refuse our solution there isn't anything else we can do about it except give a refund, so yelling about it is essentially pointless.

Working at Dunkin' has been great, because of the nice customers, discounted drinks and food, and obviously getting paid. But, it has also been harder than I expected because of the rude customers, long shifts, and stressful morning rushes. My shifts have been anywhere between 3 hours and 8 hours, which can be exhausting but overall, I like my job.

If I could make up three golden rules for customers, they would be to be patient with us, say your order slowly in the drive thru (especially if it's a large one), and be kind, because it's just coffee.