Last week I went into the Mobil convenience store on Route 22 that houses this DD's and decided to treat myself to a cappuccino. When I got to the DD register, I was alarmed to see that the young lady taking orders wasn't wearing gloves, nor was there any sign of hand sanitizer on the counter. When I asked her why she wasn't wearing gloves, she just kinda shrugged and said....well, I don't really remember what she said because my mind was already composing exactly what I was going to say to Dunkin's Customer Service when I got home. I did call their CS line and expressed my dismay that food service workers in their employ aren't required to wear gloves AT ALL TIMES. As you probably know, this particular DD's is just a hop/skip/jump away from MetroNorth that deposits people into our community from NYC as well as many other locations all day long. Just think of all the money pressed into the un-gloved hands of the people who take and fulfill your order at DD's. I mean, really THINK about it. Okay, the Dunkin CS representative was extremely nice, empathetic and capable. When I said "no gloves" I could actually hear the repressed horror underlying her response. The next day I received a phone call from a man I assume is the franchise owner. He apologized and informed me that gloves and hand sanitizer would now be a part of the DD experience. I was grateful for his response, especially since he probably wasn't very grateful to get a call from corporate about my complaint. After his call, I felt an accord had been reached. A couple of days later, COVID-19 was confirmed in Danbury Hospital while the rest of us still struggled with not touching our faces. It's a beautiful day today, so I went blithely into DD's for a sorely missed cappuccino, and guess what? NO GLOVES. Sitting by the cash register were two small bottles of what I presumed to be some kind of ersatz hand sanitizer, and I swear they were pink and blue - candy colors. I seriously doubt that either bottle contains the 60% alcohol recommended by the CDC. In fact, I'm fairly certain the only alcohol associated with these bubblegum flavored products was whatever was swilled by those who decided to manufacture them. I asked the incredibly nice young man at the register about gloves, and he did, in fact, pull on a pair to take and fulfill my order. He also signaled the owner/manager who appeared briefly and acknowledged out previous conversation. I was then confronted by a young woman, clearly of a managerial caste, who seemed affronted in every way possible by someone, like me, who requests that food service employees wear gloves. She was vaguely combative and actually asked me why I was asking. ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME, DUNKIN DONUTS? WHY? She even lobbed corporate-speak at me which included the repeated phrase: "This is our brand response." #BrandResponse. I can just see the hastily composed memos from corporate: "Tell the customer that not requiring our employees to wear protective gear during this uncertain time is our brand response, yeah, that's it: Brand Response." I grabbed my cappuccino and hastened away, cowed by a scowling Millennial armed with nonsensical verbiage. (When I pointed out that Danbury is less than 20 miles away, she just stared at me like I was indeed as crazy as you may possibly think I am.) Actually, I didn't get very far, as I paused to make a purchase at the Mobil store. I noted that both people operating those cash registers were, in fact, wearing gloves. I thanked them for doing so, and the gentleman replied with something that made my day. He said, "You're welcome. You know, anything we can do to help." My faith in human nature restored, I glanced back at the line at DD, not 7 feet away and frowned, because their gloves were off. So are mine. read more
