Diversity Does Damage at Dunkin Donuts

I can understand that versatility is about as useful a trait as you can get. But applying human concepts to businesses doesn't always work out as well as one might expect. In this case, I want to highlight the last decade or so at Dunkin Donuts.

The very name of the place implies a -singular- product, albeit of varying flavors. The product itself, doughnuts, tends to be accessorized by coffee, tea, cocoa, and miscellaneous hot and cold beverages, which is perfectly sensible.

In recent years they seem to have run into all sorts of confusion with their business model. The 'Doughnut Hole' idea was an excellent way to start things off, rendering similar variety in miniature to the general public, while appearing to both cut costs and retain the purity of their brand and their stock. And it was good.

Next, they attempted to market their coffee, in an effort to boost sales and distinguish it as something other than a generic sidekick to their product of choice. Considering the long and friendly history between coffee and doughnuts, it came as no real surprise. However, it was also in response to the rising popularity of Starbucks, which had been sweeping off the west coast and across the country. (I still remember the first time I saw one of those. I thought "Oh, fuck. We're doomed". And while it seems that the needless, shameless extravagance that gave birth to the chain was a sign of the times, it's here to stay.) Dunkin' Donuts coffee came into its own, and served well on its own in tandem with the doughnuts.

This is where the chain starts to run into problems, as I've seen it. Following the successful marketing of its coffee as an individual product, the next step was to vary the coffee, again in competition with Starbucks. The myriad variants that popped up, some stuck and some didn't. Iced coffee was a logical step in summertime, and flavored syrups were at least reasonable. But stepping away from doughnuts is a serious problem.

The chain was and still is making an attempt to combat the breakfast (plus all-day) menus of McDonalds and Burger King. Its core concept doesn't have the variety to do it, so they try lateral marketing techniques. Attempting to market breakfast sandwiches, flatbreads/pseudo-panini, etc. however, is merely drawing attention away from the singular thing that made them a nationwide success.

And that's not even taking into account the hideously overhyped 'healthy eating' craze that has staggered mainstream foodservice. How does a doughnut shop fit healthy eating into their image? Not only does it sound false, but it also eats away at the establishment's credibility from both ends, causing doubts about their healthy offerings and worries about decreased quality of their product of choice.

"Time to make the doughnuts" was good. Now it's "America Runs on Dunkin", because the core of the company is out of fashion. I just hope they hang on long enough to return to basics, and start giving me the best doughnuts money can buy... again.

The Dollar Menu

It's a phenomenon that existed in other areas of industry for quite a few years. The odds of encountering a "Dollar Store" or some reasonable facsimile in the average strip mall are rather good, and they seem to be designed for when you want something chintzy, cheaply made, possibly expired (in the case of medicines and such), and on very short notice.

Compare that with the giant catch-all stores like Wal-Mart, KMart, Target, and the wholesale behemoths like Costco and BJ's. Greater quality, but a likely greater monetary cost and expense in time. After all, wandering around any of those giant stores looking for XYZ is likely to result in all sorts of time-consuming disctractions.

Now, the purported 'fast food' establishments (i.e. McD, BK, Taco Bell, KFC, etc) are expanding their menus to cope with the distortion of demands from consumers crying out for 'healthy' alternatives, in a manner vaguely reminiscent of the Opium Wars. The burgers and fries that were the status quo for decades no longer pass muster with the Great Unwashed, and the systematic machines designed to bring them out fast and perfect are being nudged over to make room for prepackaged salads, parfaits, and all sorts of things that have no real place in the typical fast food joint. The chains are forced to grow beyond their self-inscribed limits, leading to *shock* price hikes.

By the same token, is it reasonable to imagine 'fast food' chains branching off to 'dollar menu' kiosks, with the same abbreviated, relentlessly cheap menu, in a tiny space with even more severely questionable preparation methods?

Take the stereotypical pretzel kiosk, the one that's at the far end of the mall from the food court, catering to the lazy shoppers; every hour or two the main branch (an actual food stand in the food court) sends a few boxes of relief supplies to stock them. Imagine something like that for your burgers. Perhaps a microwave and some heat lamps?

Is it really worth the underlying cost, just to pay the low price?