Changes at Dunkin’ Donuts: New Staff, Same Coffee?
Have you noticed different faces at Dunkin’ Donuts while getting your morning coffee? The location at 2650 Lincoln Way closed during the first week of the semester but reopened shortly after with a new staff.
Denzel Decker, a senior studying apparel merchandising and design, worked at this Dunkin’ but was not informed when he lost his job. He mentioned that a new general manager was recently hired, but they have not interacted.
“I was supposed to work from three to nine that night. I woke up to a message at 8 a.m.,” Decker explained. “The store opens at 5 a.m., so they had only been open for three hours when I got the message saying, ‘If you work at all today, don’t come in.’ They were really short-staffed and decided to close the store. It was a little strange.”
Decker reported that the store initially closed on August 28, with staff notified of the closure but no further details provided. Employees communicated through a group chat.
“On Thursday, a co-worker messaged the group chat. She got there at 7 a.m. for her shift and said, ‘Hey, all the lights are off, and the doors are locked. I don’t know how to open the store. Are we open today?’” Decker recalled.
Decker said the general manager informed the group chat that there was no one available to open the store, and the doors would remain closed. Assistant managers were then removed from the chat. Decker later learned that both the assistant manager and district manager had quit, and other employees were removed from the chat without warning.
The store reopened a few days later without notifying former employees, and all staff had been replaced. When Decker contacted the store, an employee said they were a temporary worker from Illinois, hired by the owners.
Decker asked if he needed to cover his previously scheduled shift. The employee replied, “Oh yeah, no, no, no one’s on the schedule. Yeah, no one worked here,” which surprised Decker.
On September 9, Decker visited the store to ask about his final paycheck. Staff members were able to locate it for him.
“I got it, but when I went in to get it, they were like, ‘Who are you?’ I said, ‘I used to work here. My name is Denzel. I should have a check in the back,’” Decker shared.
The Daily attempted to contact two managers at Dunkin’ Donuts and the franchise owner for comment but received no response despite multiple attempts.
Lydia Wigdahl, a sophomore studying culinary food science, noticed the changes right away.
“I’m a regular at Dunkin’, so I noticed when it was closed. I was disappointed because I wanted my coffee,” Wigdahl said. “I called the store to ask when they would reopen, and the guy on the phone told me they’d be closed for about a month, but then a couple of days later, they were open again.”
When Wigdahl visited the store, she noticed a new staff.
“I didn’t see any of the people I usually interacted with. I was wondering where they went. The coffee still tasted the same, but Dunkin’ was definitely a little different,” she noted.
Leah Newton, a junior studying aerospace engineering, also observed the staff changes but said the quality remained consistent.
“Other than the staffing changes, the quality has been the same,” Newton said. “I haven’t noticed any issues with customer service. It’s been fine, but there may be a bit more of a communication barrier between some of the workers.”
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