11 Frequent Complaints Customers Make About Dunkin'

There's no denying that Dunkin' is a beloved brand. At one point in time, it was all about the donuts, but over time, it has taken its place as a fast food coffee shop and become a direct competitor to chains like Starbucks. It's often celebrated as being the cheaper of the two (although, in this case, "cheap" is relative), and for offering more budget-focused beverages, breakfast sandwiches, and more.

Even if you love Dunkin', it's clear that the chain isn't perfect. From ordering difficulties to drinks that just don't taste as good as they should, Dunkin' customers have more than a few understandable complaints about the chain. We're highlighting some of the most common complaints here, picking up on common threads patrons have posted on Reddit, Facebook, and beyond. Once you read through these complaints, you might realize that you've had similar problems at Dunkin' and can commiserate with these posters. Alternatively, learning more about these complaints may give you some hints on what to look out for to avoid a negative experience. Either way, we hope that Dunkin' will hear its customers' cries and make adjustments.

It can be disappointing to go out to eat at a fast food restaurant — a place that's supposed to offer good value — and not get enough food from your order. After all, Dunkin' is the kind of place you go when you actually want to fill up on a bagel, a donut in any flavor you choose, or a breakfast sandwich. But, unfortunately, many Dunkin' customers have complained that certain menu items are too small.

A Redditor wrote a whole post about how Dunkin' just isn't very good anymore, and they specifically called out the small size of the sandwiches as just one of the reasons why they no longer liked the coffee chain. On a separate thread, another Reddit user made a similar complaint, sharing a photo of a tiny-looking breakfast sandwich in the palm of their hand, writing that the sandwiches were smaller than they had been the year before. 

The same holds true for Dunkin's bagels. One customer held their hand up to a rather tiny bagel and said they thought the bagels used to be bigger. According to another poster, even the donuts have gotten smaller. If you want to feel like you're getting the most bang for your buck at a fast food coffee joint, Dunkin' might not be the best place to visit.

It's obviously annoying when the food you order is smaller and less substantial than you expected it to be, but it's even worse when your order is missing items. It seems like this is a relatively common occurrence at Dunkin', though, with more than a few customers taking to the internet to share their displeasure about paying for items that they never received.

One Reddit user said that they had gone through the drive-thru several times to pick up their mobile to-go orders, and multiple times over the course of a few weeks, the staff forgot their food completely. A commenter on the same post said that they would never get the donut they ordered when walking in to pick up a mobile order — which another customer echoed.

Yet another Redditor took to the r/DunkinDonuts subreddit to ask what to do about items that were missing from their order, and a Facebook user had to ask others what their experiences were with missing items from the chain, as their most recent order had been missing an item. Moral of the story? Make sure to double-check your Dunkin' order to make sure you got everything you wanted, especially if you're ordering via the app.

Let's be honest: It seems like pretty much every fast food restaurant has gotten significantly pricier in the past few years, and it's causing people to question whether fast food is even worth it. Dunkin' isn't an exception. Customers have called out changing prices for certain items, and one Redditor said that they won't be buying drinks from the chain any longer. They said the high prices just aren't worth the quality of drink you're getting.

It's not just certain items, either. A Reddit user questioned why Dunkin' had become so expensive, asking whether the chain was trying to impersonate Starbucks. A commenter mentioned that its prices increased drastically in such a short period of time. Generally speaking, it seems like Dunkin' customers are fed up with these price increases, with one patron saying they felt "hurt and betrayed" after it increased the price of an item by $0.50. Another Redditor said that they were shocked by how much they'd managed to spend at Dunkin'. It'll be interesting to see how long the true Dunkin' loyalists will hang on if prices keep increasing at this rate.

Basically every fast food restaurant chain has its own app nowadays. While there's something arguably a little dystopian about using it to avoid all in-person interaction, even in a coffee shop, it is a more convenient way to pick up your order when you're in a rush. Plus, it helps you take advantage of rewards and benefits if you're a regular customer. However, the app isn't exactly reliable, according to many customers. For example, one Dunkin' patron said on Reddit that they weren't able to use the app for an entire week. Other commenters responded, saying that they were having similar issues.

There was another Redditor who posted about how every time they tried to use the "issue with this order" button, the app would mysteriously stop working. Another couldn't even get an order through after they received messages about the app not being able to process the transaction, and a Reddit user said their app had problems connecting to their local store and that they couldn't figure out where the problem was coming from. The Dunkin' app is supposed to be convenient, but at this point, ordering in-person might just be a better option. 

Now, we don't think there are too many people out there who truly believe that Dunkin' has the best coffee around. But just because you're not choosing the most expensive coffee out there doesn't mean you don't want it to taste fresh. That should just be the baseline for a coffee-focused establishment. But many Dunkin' customers have reported that their coffee tastes straight-up burnt. And unfortunately, it doesn't seem like this issue is just a fluke; it's a complaint that pops up regularly on Reddit.

One Redditor said that every Dunkin' they'd been to in the last few months had served them burnt-tasting iced coffee. They were curious about why this was happening across multiple stores. Another Reddit user posted a picture of a dark-looking iced coffee from Dunkin' and wrote, "never had a coffee that tasted like it was wishing the worst for me." A commenter who claimed to be a former Dunkin' employee said that the coffee in the photo looked burnt. 

Another Redditor reported that not only did their coffee taste burnt but it also had a chemical flavor — not exactly the way you want to start your day. One Reddit user estimated that, in their experience, Dunkin's espresso shots tasted burnt half of the time. Maybe you'll have more luck at your local Dunkin', but unfortunately, it seems like burnt coffee isn't as rare as we'd want it to be.

Plenty of Dunkin' customers complain about the chain's drinks, but what about the food? In many regards, patrons aren't happy with that either, especially when it comes to Dunkin's eggs. Now, you can argue that you shouldn't expect the freshest eggs from a fast food chain, but there's only so much that customers will tolerate. One Redditor found the flavor of the sad, spongy fast food eggs strange and bland. A commenter on that thread said the eggs tasted like plastic, which doesn't exactly inspire a breakfast craving.

Another Reddit user said that these eggs are actually the worst in the food industry, which really says something considering how bad the eggs are at most restaurants. Another poster took to Reddit to share a picture of the egg in their Dunkin' sandwich, the whites of which looked undeniably grey. These are all totally understandable complaints — when it comes to an ingredient like eggs, you want to make sure you're actually getting good quality, which doesn't always seem to be the case at Dunkin'.

If you don't tend to like sweet coffee very much, your options at Dunkin' are pretty limited. Sure, you can get really basic coffee drinks, but we've found that basically anything the store is promoting is going to be quite sweet. It turns out that plenty of Dunkin' customers agree. One Redditor who said they got Dunkin' every few months claimed that the coffees were always really sweet. Another customer called out the same problem with their iced coffee specifically, saying that they'd asked for one pump of vanilla syrup and it tasted like they actually got five. On a separate thread, a different Redditor made a similar complaint about the chain's iced coffee being too sweet, saying that just one or two flavor swirls was too much.

Other customers have chimed in with similar complaints, with one saying that not only was the coffee too sweet, but it also lacked a rich flavor and enough cream. Another poster said that their Dunkin' coffee was both too sweet and watery about half the time they went there. If you're looking for a Dunkin' drink that isn't too sugary, you'll probably want to go really light on the sweeteners.

Most of us probably don't think of bacon strips as a snack, per se, but apparently, Dunkin' is trying to change that with its Snackin' Bacon. Not only are you getting the salty, umami flavor that bacon is known for, but it also comes with a touch of sweetness, thanks to the maple sugar seasoning. However, that doesn't mean it's an especially popular option at Dunkin'; in fact, there are many customers who complain about the menu item and say it's a side you should never order on its own.

One Reddit commenter called Dunkin's Snackin' Bacon "a travesty of a snack," and we don't know how much clearer they can get. They're not the only customer with this opinion. Another Redditor said that the bacon is super dry and underseasoned. Someone else wrote that the chain's bacon was the most disappointing bacon they'd ever had. Others specifically call out the item's texture, saying it almost has a jelly-like consistency or is downright mushy, which is basically the last thing you want to experience from bacon. As novel and fun as Snackin' Bacon may seem, Dunkin' clearly doesn't execute it well.

Honestly, when you go to a fast food restaurant, you probably shouldn't be expecting the best possible service. After all, many of these employees are underpaid and overworked, and frankly, many of them are probably annoyed with all the difficult customers who pass through. But when you're just stopping by for a coffee and encounter a rude staff member, it might rub you the wrong way. It sounds like many Dunkin' customers have experienced this while ordering and picking up food at different Dunkin' locations. 

One Redditor had apparently encountered so many rude staff members at Dunkin' that they asked whether the chain consistently had very rude employees or it was just the Dunkin' locations they were going to. A commenter replied that they'd had similar experiences at Dunkin' and found the staff members to be rude, no matter when or where they visited. Another Reddit user sounded sympathetic to the plight of Dunkin' workers, saying that they recognized that they probably deal with difficult customers a lot. However, when a staff member made their drink wrong and they requested the correct drink, they were met with an unpleasant attitude that left them feeling confused about why their attitude was necessary.

When you go to a fast food restaurant like Dunkin' on a regular basis, you probably want to take advantage of any rewards you can. But according to some customers, the rewards system at Dunkin' is disappointing. One customer posted a photo on Reddit of a Dunkin' birthday offer that gave patrons three times the points for the whole day, saying that other coffee chains gave out actual free drinks on birthdays. Another posted an infographic comparing the old and new rewards program, and customers griped in the comments about the redemption requirements.

"I gotta love when companies just get greedy and make rewards like this so much higher than ever. Having a premium sip at 900 was ridiculous enough but now I have to save up to 900 just to get my normal latte?" one Reddit user pointed out. Another wrote that Dunkin' was once able to compete with Starbucks' rewards program, plus it had lower prices. However, they said that now that Dunkin's prices had increased and the rewards dwindled, it could no longer compete. Loyal customers want to know that the business they frequent values their business, and the fact that Dunkin' has pulled back on its rewards may make some feel like it doesn't.

If you like your coffee to be texturally interesting — not just tasty on the flavor front — cold foam can be a nice addition. That light, airy topping can make each sip feel richer and more decadent, which is probably why so many of Dunkin's drinks come with the topping. But per Dunkin' customers on Reddit, ordering a drink with cold foam doesn't necessarily mean you're going to get it.

One customer took to Reddit to urge Dunkin' goers not to even order cold foam, citing five occasions when they'd been charged for it but not actually received it, with another writing that the same thing had happened to them twice. Another said that marshmallow cold foam wasn't available to add to iced drinks on the app. A different customer couldn't get cold foam on hot chocolate, despite being to order it in the past. And when one Dunkin' drinker got a free coffee, they thought they'd add cold foam to it, only to discover that it came with an upcharge. For those who are seriously craving cold foam, placing your order in person and checking your drink before you leave may be your best bet.