America might run on Dunkin', but what about the people who keep Dunkin' running?
What happens when employees fall in love? Why isn't everyone allowed to
make breakfast sandwiches? Keep watching for the deets.
Ever checked the fingernails of the person handing you your twenty cents of change at
Dunkin'? We haven't either. But, if you were to look, you might notice they're always pretty bare.
Dunkin' has an anti-fancy-nail policy outlined in its handbook — of which,
by the way, you can snag a copy online if you're ever in need of some light reading.
The policy begins by saying that fingernails must be "kept maintained and clean,
free of dirt or debris," before getting more strict. The handbook goes on to outline:
"Nail polish is limited to natural colors and may not be more than [half an inch] long from
the tip of the finger. Artificial nails, nail charms or decals are not permitted."
One Reddit user confirmed that acrylics, while fabulous everywhere else,
are not so chic at Dunkin. The Reddit commenter confirmed,
"No acrylics, no polish. [The manager] fired a girl for not
removing her acrylics and she gave her like 5 days to do it."
While there seem to be some inconsistencies between locations about how stringently this
rule is implemented, the fact that it's in the handbook seems strange enough.
While Dunkin's anti-acrylics stance might make sense — a chip of polish in an egg sandwich is a
frightening thought — the coffee chain also has inexplicably specific rules regarding jewelry,
makeup, and tattoos. The handbook outlines that tattoos must be covered. Seems a bit uptight,
since not only did Dunkin' make Skinfo's list of most tattoo-friendly employers,
but they also celebrated National Tattoo Day last summer with a line of their own temporary ink.
So that line in the manual may need updating. But as employees on Indeed have verified,
the official company policies on jewelry and makeup are more heavily adhered to:
they are quote "limited to wearing no more than two earrings per ear,"
and hoops are prohibited. The outline continues by saying,
"Necklaces must be worn under shirts. Watches and a single ring on each hand may be worn.
Bracelets should be removed before starting a shift. Facial jewelry and tongue rings must
be removed before the start of a shift."
If you think that verges on absurd, their makeup policies will put you over the edge.
Dunkin' employees are apparently not allowed to wear quote "excessive makeup," which is
then specified as quote "dark eyeliner and bright colored eyeshadow." We don't know about you, but
we see no problem with a little bit of color-pop eyelid inspiration with some daily Dunkin'.
This rule made us laugh. Something about seeing
"SOCKS: Must be worn at all times."
in the employee handbook just feels hilarious and bizarre. The coffee and
donut chain cites their "health and sanitation policies" as the
reason for this decree, which we could see a case being made for.
One quick Google search of "is wearing socks more sanitary than not?"
turns up pages worth of articles about how socks absorb moisture,
should probably be changed every day, and how not wearing them could indeed be bad for your health.
Didn't know socks were such a hot topic in the health arena? You're not alone.
But Dunkin' might not actually be so well-versed on the sanitary sock
subject either. When we asked ex-employee Caroline Hoffman if she remembered that rule,
she said it probably has more to do with the shoe requirements than anything else. She said,
"The shoes were so weird, so that was probably right."
"America runs on Dunkin'."
So, yes, just about any workplace has a dress code. And as we've established, Dunkin's is in
many ways oddly specific. But here's where it gets a little weirder. The Dunkin' look starts with
a crisp white polo — which, as Hoffman and many other employees have attested to, gets very dirty.
Hoffman remembered the coffee stains were not easily removed, and neither was the smell.
That white polo is layered under the brown apron, and topped with the visor and,
these days, a mandatory mask. This is all the fairly standard part.
But as for what to wear on the bottom? Dunkin' demands either khakis or jeans,
with an emphasis that seems consistent across chains - absolutely no black jeans.
After watching many- vlogs about new hires' first weeks at Dunkin',
we gleaned a bit of insight into the quirky training regimen that Dunkin uses.
First of all, they teach a couple of different abbreviations to their workers.
Our personal favorite is "E.M.C.," also known as the "egg meat cheese
equation," which outlines how to make a sandwich.
The second is C.A.R.E., which is a 6-step process that means
quote "Greet, take order, collect payment, assemble order, deliver,
thank you and come again." We're not sure exactly how the letters translate,
but we found this one on a Quizlet someone made summarizing the employee training procedures.
While on-the-floor training seems to vary, we were surprised to learn
that the general consensus seems to be to start newbies on iced and hot coffee first,
and encourage them to focus solely on those basics for their first two shifts.
Hoffman remembers that the iced coffee wasn't too complicated, saying,
"We made the iced coffee in this giant bucket with ice and water and stuff."
Hoffman shared one of the rules she thought was kind
of comical and it might surprise you. She said,
"Only more 'senior' crew members could prep and put together the breakfast sandwiches."
She went on to explain that during her summer spent behind the register at Dunkin Donuts,
she started to think this was quote "kind of backwards" adding,
"Working the register and drive through can require a bit of mental math, a lot of speed,
and quick thinking — especially if a customer is feeling moody that day.
I was usually the one spinning out ten iced lattes and packing two dozen donuts,
while the more senior members would toast some bagels or put cheese on croissants."
Sounds like maybe this rule was less about capability
and more about rewarding the senior members.
This is a pride point for Dunkin: at the top of their press kit, they proclaim the following,
"Dunkin' Donuts coffee is freshly ground, freshly brewed and freshly served. If not
used within 18 minutes, Dunkin' Donuts coffee is discarded and a new carafe is freshly brewed."
We get it, overcooked coffee is a less-than-appetizing way to get your caffeine fix,
but you have to wonder about the science behind the 18-minute decision. As Hoffman remembers,
this rule was pretty strictly adhered to at her branch in Parma, Ohio.
Hoffman recalled that there was an actual timer on the coffee carafe, and whenever it would ring,
an employee was charged with pouring it out and refreshing it. She shared,
"It's a little wasteful, but coffee does get stale.
Especially when you're making it in such big batches."
Reddit users didn't have the same experience. Although Dunkin' practically guarantees the
18-minute standard, there's no way to ensure every location complies. One user confessed,
"It might be a company standard but whether upper management enforces it
or not is entirely up in the air. At my Dunkin, we would mark the pots, but our managers were
too cheap to waste the coffee, so we just remarked them without pouring anything out."
"I'll see you at 2 o'clock. I'll be there."
Ah, the office romance. A tale as old as time, and one made even sweeter when "the
office" is packed with powdery donuts. It's no surprise that Dunkin' addresses
workplace relationships in their handbook, any quality employer should probably consider
the reality that eight-hour shifts alongside coworkers often blossoms into something more.
But the tactics they outline for how they handle romances are rather odd.
First, if two co-workers become involved with each other, move in together, or get married,
Dunkin' quote "will first attempt to offer comparable employment in another department/store
to one of the individuals." Basically, one partner needs to move to another franchise location.
If an alternate location isn't available, Dunkin' says, they will "terminate" one of the two
employees. This raises the question — who stays and who moves onward to donut-less employment?
Dunkin' lets the couple themselves choose, and if they can't agree,
management will step in and decide for them. The handbook reads,
"If the two employees together cannot reach a decision on the job move or on the termination,
the Company will make the decision based on the best business-related interests of the Company."
The Dunkin' employee handbook is, in many ways, a very standard document. The paragraphs run
into each other, broken up occasionally by a bullet point or subtitle. But near the end,
an entire sentence sits bolded, standing out starkly from the rest of the document:
"We will not be able to offer employment to any employee that cannot work weekends."
As the company also attests, they do a majority of their business on weekends,
so this rule makes sense. But it's hard to imagine, considering there are five
other days of the week to schedule workers on, that a person could be excluded from
employment altogether just because they can't make it in on Saturday or Sunday.
Dunkin' uses of a HELP telephone line to respond to reporter inquiries.
The company is very clear about this in the handbook:
"If you are ever approached by a reporter or any member of the media for any reason,
you should first have your Manager contact the 24 Hour Dunkin' HELP Line;
and, then immediately notify Don MacDonald, VP of Operations."
Seems like they're stressed, and after examining the press they've gotten in the
last decade — everything from racist advertisement debacles and TikTok scandals to fatally overworked
employees — they may have good reason to be. Dunkin' Donuts instructs their employees to
"Advise media that all inquiries must be referred to corporate."
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