11 Common Complaints About Dunkin'

Dunkin' welcomes a lot of people through its doors every day. The ever-busy coffee and food chain serves billions of cups of joe a year to customers around the world. And along with convenience and speed, it also serves up variety: Whether it's dropping dozens of new items at once or changing up its meal deal, it knows how to keep things interesting. A good number of options and quick service doesn't mean your business is flawless, though. Like any other fast food chain, there are plenty of things that irritate people about Dunkin', and its customer base is always ready to voice these frustrations to fellow diners and those curious about trying it for the first time.

Interestingly, a lot of these complaints arguably stem from Dunkin's service model. The chain clearly prioritizes speed, but when things move a little too fast, mistakes can be made. Missing items, incomplete orders, and poorly constructed drinks are some of the most regular complaints about Dunkin', with people often left not actually getting what they ordered. Plus, many people increasingly find that Dunkin' doesn't feel quite as value-for-money as it once did. If you've ever had a gripe about this place, you may well find it here.

Cold foam can, in our opinion, make or break a drink — and although the Dunkin' drinks that include cold foam can be pretty unhealthy, they taste great. Dunkin' clearly knows this: It first introduced cold foam to its menu in 2021, and it's been offering it ever since, often in limited-time flavors. The problem is that you may not get to try it, even if you've ordered it on your drink — because according to customers, the chain's servers often simply forget to add it.

Dunkin' regulars frequently complain that their cold foam hasn't been dolloped on top of their drinks, with some people claiming that it's more often that they don't get it than they do. "This past month I've ordered cold foam in my coffee 7 times and only twice has it actually been put in my drink," said one person on Reddit. 

This isn't just annoying, either: It's a waste of money. Depending on where you order your coffee from, cold foam can cost more than a dollar per drink — and if it's not being added when you order it, you're basically throwing cash away. In Dunkin's defense, this can sometimes be because its servers are trying to make sure you get the foam on your drink at the very last second, so it's fresh and doesn't deflate. If it's missing, though, you should always tell them so they can fix things.

Dunkin's iced coffees are true to their name. When you order one, your cup usually comes crammed full of ice, with the coffee filling in the gaps — and while this naturally keeps your coffee cold, it can also dilute it considerably. As such, a lot of people ask for their Dunkin' drinks with less ice, but they can often come away pretty disappointed with what they actually get. Some people feel that when they ask for less ice, they actually end up getting less coffee – and while Dunkin' has made efforts to address this by delineating how much drink people will actually get if they want no ice, how they're actually made can vary from server to server. Sometimes, too, employees might just ignore your request and give you a bunch of ice anyway.

That said, it's important to point out that just because you expect your cup to still be full with no ice doesn't mean that'll happen. If you have less ice taking up space, then it will logically look like you're getting less beverage. That doesn't stop customers from questioning the whole process, though — and the fact that some stores won't allow people to order drinks with less ice doesn't help matters.

Mobile orders are meant to make things easier. Instead of having to stand in line to pay and then stand around again while your items are prepared, you can just tap your screen a few times, turn up at your requested time, and walk away with all your food. Well, in theory, at least. That last part often doesn't quite go as planned at Dunkin', and the chain has become somewhat infamous for its mobile orders regularly missing items. Customers often find that they're handed their drinks without the food they've ordered, and then have to chase it up, or when they walk away, they find that certain items aren't in the bag.

This is where Dunkin's speed can be an issue, as one employee seemed to explain on Facebook. "Imagine this... you have 15 On the Go orders placed within 2 minutes of these orders being placed and processed through one machine," they said. The employee went on to explain that one person has to work through all those orders, while everyone else prepares them — along with all the other orders coming from every different angle and ordering method. "A little grace and patience in the matter would be greatly appreciated."

When it comes to Dunkin's Meal Deal, you get one option, which changes periodically. This should simplify things, but customers often feel this deal style is limiting. Instead of having the ability to choose other items, or pick former, preferred Meal Deals, they're stuck with the one that's currently available. If you don't like what comes in it at the time, you're out of luck.

The constant changing is also very annoying for Dunkin' customers. The amount of time a Meal Deal normally sticks around gives them just enough time to get used to it (and grow fond of it), before Dunkin' swaps it out for a different, and arguably worse, option. Conversely, when the Meal Deal's switched up, there will always be people who prefer the new version — but it's hard to escape the feeling that every time there's a new one, it feels a little bit inferior to the last. Dunkin's Meal Deal may be one of the best-value fast food breakfasts out there, but it might need mixing up. 

It's always sad when fast food chains feel like they're slipping — and customers definitely feel that's the case with Dunkin' when it comes to its rewards and offers. Dunkin' first launched its rewards program in 2011, and it's still going strong today, in the form of Dunkin' Rewards. Unfortunately, though, over the years, Dunkin' has gradually tweaked the number of points needed to claim rewards and free items, and added an expiration date for its points so you can't accumulate as much over time. Customers aren't hugely pleased about this apparent downgrade to what used to be considered one of the best fast food loyalty programs around, and while it's still better than a lot out there, they feel it's going downhill.

Its offers, which offer bonus points on certain days or with certain purchases, also seem to have been downgraded. Now, Dunkin' customers complain that they're getting half of what they used to when they buy drinks or save less money overall. Dunkin' Rewards is totally free, so it's hard to expect too much from it — but this devaluation is arguably a sign it's resting on its laurels with its customers.

Until the start of 2019, Dunkin' was known as "Dunkin' Donuts." The chain dropped the latter half of its name in an effort to modernize its branding, and in doing so, it reduced the focus on the donuts it still sells in countless numbers. Maybe that was a smart move, as these baked goods are notorious for being one of the worst things on its menu, and for one specific reason: More often than not, they're stale.

Dunkin's donuts being stale is a particularly common customer complaint, and people have said that no matter which Dunkin' restaurant they go to, they're still hard, chalky, and tasteless. What really doesn't make sense is that this can be the case early in the morning. It would be understandable if they'd become a little stale throughout the day, but customers have said they're already substandard when the store first opens. Dunkin's donuts can be delivered to its restaurants from a central kitchen or even delivered to stores frozen, which may well explain the staleness in some cases — but you'd think there would be slightly more quality control for such a massive franchise.

No one thinks that Dunkin' serves Michelin-star-worthy grub, but at the very least, you can expect its food to taste like, well ... food. However, strangely and somewhat unsettlingly, customers frequently find that's not the case. Instead, many Dunkin' diners have reported that their food has either a burnt or chemical-like taste and smell, with one person on Reddit stating that it's "as if they use some heavy-duty cleaner every night and it just soaks into the food that is cooked." Others have said they have a gas-like flavor.

None of this sounds especially appetizing, right? It's also somewhat unclear why so many Dunkin's seem to suffer from this issue. Some people who claim to be employees have stated that it's because Dunkin' employees don't swap out the parchment paper they bake items on enough, which could be leading to the paper charring or leaching chemicals. Others have said the burnt aroma and taste could be due to food getting trapped in the oven and charring, infusing the other items with an acrid flavor. No matter the cause, though, it's all pretty gross.

Dunkin' used to be known for its relative affordability, especially compared to similarly massive chains like Starbucks. You could get a coffee for a couple of dollars, its food didn't break the bank, and for the most part, people would leave feeling satisfied with the money they spent. That's no longer the case for a lot of customers, though. Now, people feel that Dunkin' has become way too expensive for what it is, with prices seemingly going up every other month. It's gotten to the point that people can no longer afford to make their daily Dunkin' run and have to limit their visits.

Customers have also been frustrated by add-ons and extras making their already expensive drinks even pricier, and by the suspicion that Dunkin's shrinking its items while keeping the cost the same (or raising them). Popular foods getting smaller is nothing new, of course — everyone seems to be doing it — but it doesn't make it any less disappointing. If Dunkin's not careful, it might lose a large chunk of its loyal customer base, who are used to its affordability.

When you order a drink from a fast food chain, you'd hope it was actually full up, right? Frustratingly, Dunkin' customers often find that isn't the case. Instead, people frequently complain that they're leaving their Dunkin' location with a half-filled drink, and no reasonable justification for it. While some might expect this to be the case with drinks that contain less ice, it's not an issue that's isolated to its cold beverages. Its hot coffees have also been called out for having less in them than you might think, with the liquid sitting far lower than the brim.

Dunkin' employees have argued that the reason drinks can look underfilled is that they're working to a specific line in the cup, not necessarily the top of the cup itself. For hot drinks, leaving a gap at the top also helps reduce spillage and potential accidents. Customers, though, have definitely felt that over time, the amount of coffee they get is less than before, which leads to questions that Dunkin is potentially applying shrinkflation to its drinks.

It's hard to expect the best customer service in the world from an affordable fast-food chain, and even those known for their friendliness, like Chick-fil-A, can get customer complaints. It can be especially bad at Dunkin', though, at every level. Its in-store customer service has been criticized by diners for the unfriendly and defensive stance they've experienced from employees. Some people have even stated they've been yelled at by Dunkin' servers as a result of simple miscommunication.

When customers try to escalate any complaints to the corporate level, they can also face significant challenges. Dunkin's customer service email seems to be notorious for not responding with a personal response, but a canned one — or not even responding at all. Its customer service phone number also often doesn't connect you to a real person, while in-app complaints can be left unresolved far beyond their stated deadline. Unfortunately, if you have a significant problem, it might be hard to get an adequate answer.

One of the more recent and more annoying issues when it comes to Dunkin' orders is app-specific. Generally speaking, its app displays every item on the menu, whether it's available at a particular store or not. This means that customers essentially have no idea whether something is out of stock, and therefore assume that everything's available. So, naturally, they pick the items they want, only to be told when they arrive that something in their order's sold out, and they have to choose a substitute.

It's left people questioning why the chain doesn't have a "sold out" function stores can use — and apparently, it does. It's just that it's difficult to activate. "As an employee I have no way of marking things in the system as out of stock for the day," says a person claiming to be a Dunkin' worker on Reddit. "My manager could do it, but it's a bit tedious and then they would have to correct it in the morning." Others have stated that only the district manager can set something as sold out, and getting the message up the chain of command isn't really worth it. Sadly, though, this leaves some customers high and dry, all because of a technical quirk that could be resolved.