Starbucks vs. Dunkin' Donuts

Canadian Lou's brother & Lola James
I love the holiday season for many reasons. One of my favorite things is the delicious coffee flavors at all the coffee shops. Now, I am a huge fan
of Starbucks, but sometimes my wallet can’t take the heat on a regular basis. So, I usually settle for Dunkin’ Donuts with their Gingerbread and
Pumpkin coffee flavors. However, and this is a big however, I tend to find that most Dunkin’ Donut stores have major faults. I usually end up going to Dunkin’ Donuts and end up wishing I spent twice as much money and waited in line for ten minutes at Starbucks. A few notes about some of the Dunkin’ Donuts stores around the Capital Region.

Clifton Park (exit 8): 50% of the time you will not get what you ordered. One day I ordered a Pumpkin Coffee with skim milk and 1 equal. After going through the drive-thru and getting on 87 I took a sip and spit it out. I ended up stopping at a Troy store. They told me it wasn’t even coffee.

So, on to Troy (Hoosick Street): I have stopped at the Troy store a few
times in the last couple weeks either before or after work. I get the same
thing every time- Gingerbread Coffee with skim milk and 1 equal. It is
ALWAYS a different price. I have been keeping tabs on this. One day it was $2.02, another it was $2.12, another it was $2.20. This morning I paid $2.02 again. Get it straight. Plus, nobody is ever able to take your order right away at the drive-thru. I mean, come on, there are only three
customers inside, I think you can handle it.

Back to Clifton Park (exit 9): Ok, so I pull up to grab my coffee from the brace-face girl at the window. I see that there is a little sticker on the window portraying the holiday hours for this particular store. It says that the store will be open until midnight on New Year’s Eve. Wow, that really stinks for the workers. They are going to watch the ball drop while mopping the floors. So I decide to make a comment…. I point to the sticker and say, “You should convince your manager to let you out at 11.” Braces chuckles and says that they are actually closing at 6pm that day. The sign is wrong How sloppy can you get? Why do you still have that sticker on the window indicating the hours if they are wrong? I don’t get it.

Latham: The only problem with this store is that it is located in the most inconvenient place if you are going south on Route 9. You pretty much have to make a ten minute detour if you wish to get your coffee here. Also, you are forced to only go north when you exit. What a nightmare.

Delmar: This is probably the best Dunkin’ Donuts I have ever been to. First off, I used to work in Delmar and go there every day. It would be lined with people but the manager and the staff worked like dogs. They even memorized our orders and would make them as soon as they saw us. Kudos to this place.

But all in all, I think that Starbucks is the way to go. Many do not have a
drive-thru, which is actually a good thing in the end. They take way too
long to make your coffee or latte and I have to work for three hours to
afford that cup, but you know it will always be perfect.

Canadian Lou
12/17/10