Dunkin' Donuts

Eeka has started a list of Dunkin' Donuts that are on the same block as another Dunkin' Donuts (and vice-versa).

Sco discusses the links between Dunkin' Donuts and the people funding what could turn into Mitt Romney's 2008 presidential bid. So what? Dunkin' Donuts has more employees than any other Massachusetts company who can't pay for hospital care because the company doesn't offer them health insurance:

... Should we be worried now that the company that has the most to lose by enacting employer mandated heath insurance is now owned by the Johnny Appleseeds of the Romney 2008 Campaign? ...

Alison learns an important lesson:

... While Dunkin Donuts iced coffee is still the best iced coffee, Dunkin iced with skim milk instead of cream is gray and yucky. ...

Ellen marvels she can ever escape with her coffee:

There's no line to speak of; everyone just converges at the counter. And behind this tiny, MBTA-station-sized counter, there are about 78 employees, each of whom are handling one - and only one - part of each transaction. They continually have to bump into one another, reach around one another, and talk over one another. Each of them must spend their entire workday with a raging headache that even the most giant-sized turbo iced coffee cannot cure.

One employee asks me what I'd like. But I can't hear her over the other customers and employees who are all taking and placing orders at once. And is she talking to me, or the two people crammed up against the counter next to me? I tell her what I'd like. But she can't hear me over the other customers, so she has to ask 3 times to confirm my order. ...

Alison, describes the unique dance performed when people with coffee in hand and people just entering meet at the entrance to a Dunkin' Donuts:

... Rather than just let the exiters struggle, however, the enterers (is that a word?) generally hold the doors. Which results in the exchange of a little hip swing, a little twirl around, a touch of jazz hands with the cups of joe, and a heartfelt "Thank you!" ...

Erin flirted with Starbucks, but vows to return to Dunkin' Donuts after watching some guy order a venti mocha frappuccino with whipped cream at 6:45 a.m.:

... The mere sight of all that fat and dairy made my stomach turn. I cannot be witness to this for one more morning. Disgusting. I need me my drive through where I don't have to actually see what anyone else is buying.

Steve tries to drink from the world's largest cup of Dunkin' Donuts coffee - at Logan Airport.

Spatch describes why the Summer Street Dunkin' Donuts is hopeless:

ME: I would like a Turbo Ice Coffee, please.
COUNTERPERSON: Milk and sugar?
ME: Yes.
COUNTERPERSON: Here.
ME: Thank you. Sip, sip, sip.
COFFEE: HELLO I TASTE LIKE BLUEBERRIES
ME: This is disgusting.
COFFEE: TAKE PITY ON MY PATHETIC EXISTENCE, I DID NOT ASK MY CREATOR TO TASTE LIKE BLUEBERRIES
ME: Hello? I'm sorry, I wanted a Turbo Ice, and this tastes like blueberries.
COUNTERPERSON, UNHAPPY THAT HER PEACEFUL REVERIE HAS BEEN BROKEN BY YET ANOTHER CUSTOMER: You wanted blueberry?
ME: No, I don't want blueberry, I wanted a Turbo Ice. The one with the espresso in it.
COUNTERPERSON, WHO HAS EVERY RIGHT TO DOUBT A CUSTOMER'S CONCERN OVER THE BEVERAGE THEY RECEIVED BECAUSE EVERYBODY IN THE HUMAN RACE ARE LIARS WHO EXIST SOLELY TO MAKE YOUR LIFE ANNOYING: Sniff, sniff. There's no blueberry in here. ...

Ryan's formerly out-of-town girlfriend continues to be amazed:

... The proliferation of DDs, and Bostonians' obsession with the products found within, continues to be the best source of bewildered bemusement for The Girl in her first two weeks here. I don't know if she thinks Alan Funt's going to surprise her at some point, but I'm not sure she's entirely convinced that the need for a daily Dunkin' dose really is as high as it is. As far as chains provoking loyalty to the point of saturation, you could do worse that DD. I mean, what if Bostonians were obsessed with Hooters, and every corner featured busty women serving beer and wings? ...

Ellen gets the scoop:

... A week or so ago, I went in and ordered a large iced coffee with skim milk and sugar. As I was getting my change, I took a sip and it tasted like it had arsenic in it. Not that I know what arsenic tastes like... but it was nauseatingly sweet, how I imagine arsenic would taste if Dunkin Donuts unveiled a new specialty drink, the Arsenicaccino.

"What's in this?" I asked the employee. "It's really strong." She rolled her eyes and said, "You asked for sugar. It's liquid sugar." I said, "Liquid sugar? I'd prefer normal sugar. This is really too sweet." She slammed my coffee down on the counter and said, "You have to ask when you want that. We use liquid." Just like that. No signs, no announcement, no $30 million ad campaign. ...

Vee reports a better experience:

Two men went out of their way to hold doors open for me this morning at Dunkin Donuts. I wonder, is it because chivalry is not dead? Or is it because I am wearing a relatively tight blouse this morning?

Long-suffering commuters heading east on Rte. 9 from Westborough will no longer have to drive all the way into Natick without turning around just to get a steaming dose of black gold: Dunkin' Donuts is building a new shop at the intersection of Rte. 9 and California Avenue in Framingham.

The new outlet, which replaces the Athenian restaurant, brings the purveyor of hot pick-me-ups one step closer to its goal of having at least one shop at every intersection in eastern Massachusetts.