SJ
Santosh Jukkalkar
Jan 1, 2026
This was our first visit to Athens, GA, and unfortunately, our experience at this Dunkin completely ruined what was supposed to be a positive and exciting day for our family.
We were in Athens because my son wanted to visit the University of Georgia (UGA), a place he has been excited about and is waiting for an admission decision. After a quick campus tour, we stopped at this Dunkin for coffee. My son urgently needed to use the restroom.
As he walked toward it, a female employee abruptly stopped him and said he could not use the restroom because the floor was wet and that he would need to wait 15 minutes. I calmly explained that I understood her concern, but this was urgent. She still refused and told him to go “next door.”
My son went to the neighboring restaurant, where he was also denied because their restroom was “for customers only.” He returned clearly uncomfortable and embarrassed.
While this was happening, the same employee questioned me about ordering, even though I had already said I would place an order as soon as my son returned. When I pleaded again from a humanitarian standpoint, explaining how urgent the situation was, she still repeatedly said no and told me I didn’t need to order at all.
Only then did we find out the restroom was code-restricted, and she refused to share the code. We went back and forth for nearly 10 minutes with zero empathy.
Thankfully, another employee stepped in, understood the situation, and politely shared the restroom code, allowing my son to finally use it. I am grateful to him.
After that, I still placed an order:
Small coffee
Hash browns
Old-fashioned donut
When my son returned and we tried to sit down, the same employee again said we were not allowed to sit because the floor was wet, even though another customer was already seated. On top of that, she used offensive language while speaking to her coworker about us.
Her behavior was rude, disrespectful, and completely unethical. This was not about policy — this was about lack of basic human decency.
What hurt the most was what happened afterward. On our drive back, my son quietly asked me,
“Dad, do I have to go through things like this if I come to college here?”
That question broke my heart.
I am not judging Athens or UGA based on one person, but for a city that hosts such a prestigious university with over 250 years of history, visitors expect to feel welcomed — especially families with students dreaming about their future.
We didn’t ask for anything unreasonable.
We just needed a restroom and a cup of coffee.
Instead, we left sitting in our car, drinking coffee with sad and disappointed faces.
I sincerely hope Dunkin’s management and corporate leadership take this review seriously. No customer — especially a child — should ever be treated this way. One employee’s behavior can leave a lasting negative impression, and yesterday, it did.