I placed a mobile order for iced coffee, donuts, five bottles of water, and five bottles of orange juice.
When I arrived, the dining area was nearly empty, and there was only one car in the drive-thru. Despite that, it took an unusually long time before my order was finally called.
When I went to pick it up, I noticed that the water and orange juice (10 bottles total) were missing. I politely pointed this out to the young female employee. She stared at me and simply said, “You can get them yourself,” and told me to take them from the refrigerator.
If part of a customer’s order is missing, the appropriate response should be to apologize, verify the order, and hand over the missing items. Instead, there was no apology, no assistance, no bag, and no attempt to confirm the quantity. Expecting a customer to carry 10 bottles on their own without even offering a bag was both lazy and unprofessional.
What bothered me even more was the way I was treated after pointing out the missing items. Rather than acknowledging the mistake, the employee acted as if I was the one who was confused or unreasonable. It felt as though my legitimate concern was being dismissed and I was being made to question whether I was somehow at fault. Whether intentional or not, the interaction came across as a form of gaslighting, and it left me feeling extremely uncomfortable and disrespected.
I’ve visited many Dunkin’ locations over the years, and this was by far the worst customer service I’ve experienced. This location itself was also dirty, which only reinforced the impression that the staff were not taking pride in their work.
Whether someone is a full-time employee or a part-time worker, once customers have paid for their order, they deserve basic courtesy and professional service. Simply verifying the order, providing the missing items properly, and treating customers with respect would have made a huge difference. I sincerely hope this location improves its customer service training.