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If you live on the East Coast of America – or date Ben Affleck – chances are you are destined for Dunkin’ Donuts. Even if you don’t like their baked goods or hate their coffee, you know that pastel logo as a sign that you’re at home. Same goes for the yellow checkerboard pattern of the Waffle House to the South or the yellow In-n-Out arrow to the West. People feel brand loyalty to the Dunkin’ name. Or, well, they did until this week.
In fact, the problem started two weeks ago, when the breakfast chain change places its loyalty program, DD Perks, for a revamped program called Dunkin’ Rewards, “designed to keep you going all day with the best Dunkin’ has to offer.” grant.” It sounds great, but there’s a problem: Coffee drinkers can do math. Soon, everyone realized that, under the new program, they would have to get double points to get a free drink, and their beloved free birthday drink was gone.
“What idiot do you think I am, Dunkin’?” wrote a Reddit users. “This reward system is CRAP,” wrote another one. Someone called the elimination of birthday drinks “a slap in the face. In one brilliant dig, a debugger with a PeepnSheep handle speak, “Good thing I live 5 mis from a Starbs lol. RIP dunks, it’s great that you’re actually rewarded, even if you only got my drink right ⅓ at the time. “There have been calls for a boycott; People have been encouraged to file complaints.
All told, it feels like a consumer revolt that only the Internet can pull off. In the meat space, familiar restaurant signs bring people together with a shared love of “animal-style” burgers or Mexican pizza. Online, they come together to share their grievances as well as their fandom. In recent months, chains from Subway to PF Chang’s have changed their loyalty programs. In the midst of an economic downturn where soaring food costs are forcing people to find ways to save, the internet is the place to go for them to mobilize as their loyalty becomes less of a reward. It’s also no surprise that a lot of the talk on Dunkin’s subreddit involves people just trying to figure out how pick Most out of the new Rewards system.
It’s not clear exactly what’s going to happen with all of this. Maybe Dunkin’ will revert to its old system; it is possible that the client will abandon the chain and never return. Regardless of the outcome, it’s a great way to call your Post PSL on IG season.
