Dunkin Donuts vs. Starbucks

Okay, so it's 6 am and your alarm clock goes off. You roll over to hit the snooze, then go back to sleep, naturally. Ten minutes later, it goes off again, you rub your eyes, stretch out your legs and try to force yourself awake. Then you remember... ,'ahh I can grab some coffee on my way into work!!' So when you think of that hot cup of caffeine that is going to get you through this Monday morning, what kind of cup do you picture? Is it a "Grande dark roast" in a white and green paper cup? Or is it a "Large French Vanilla" in a styrofoam white, pink, and orange cup? I guess this depends on the type of person you are. Well, if you're a person who enjoys a delicious cup of the worlds best brewed coffee alongside a scrumptious boston kreme donut, well then you have great taste! Here are the Top 5 Reasons Dunkin beats Starbucks every time!

Customer Service- Dunkin Donuts employees are friendly, quick, and efficient! Every time I try a different Dunkin and go there more then twice, the employee always seems to be able to remember my order. Not to mention, as soon as I walk in I am always greeted with a friendly smile and a delightful "How are you?". When I can't find a Dunkin in the area and I need a caffeine fix, I go to Starbucks. Never have I been greeted with a smile, or a friendly suggestion to try a new product. Its always "what can I get for you?". And more times then none, they begin to cash me out before I've finished placing my order. Now, I don't know about you, but I'm usually in a hurry when grabbing my morning cup o' joe, and every minute counts. This is something that is very important to me, and Dunkin seems to really understand that. They always have great quality in a speedy fashion. With Starbucks, you're going to be waiting at least 5-7 minutes just for 1 drink (if you're the only person in line).

Atmosphere - Starbucks, I believe, is targeted at a certain clientele. It seems like they are here to serve the high maintaince, rich, business world. The coffee is extremely strong. And when placing your order, it is not as simple as a "give me a large, medium, or small." Their sizes come in venti, grande, or tall.Tall being the small size. Also, I never feel comfortable sitting for long periods of time or having a coffee date with friends in Starbucks. It's almost like a coffee house/library. Everyone brings their laptops or have "business meetings" there. So when I go with a friend or with my daughter and we share a laugh, I feel all eyes on us, just burning a hole right through my forehead. Dunkin targets a wider audience. They're more family and kid friendly. If I have family coming in from out of town, we always wake up early the next morning and head out to Dunkin Donuts, where we are welcomed to sit, talk, laugh, and enjoy our breakfast.

Product Variety- Starbucks does have a wide selection of coffee and other beverages, I will admit that. However, it kind of stops there. Although, Starbucks has sandwiches, paninis, and sweets, they do not have quite a selection as Dunkin Donuts. First off, when you first walk into Starbucks, all you see is a little case with a few sweets on top of a cooler with prepackaged deli sandwiches. Now, when you walk into Dunkin, the first thing you notice is the tremendous donut, bagel, and muffin cases! When I take my child with me to Starbucks, she has never looked at there selection and asked for any of their sweet treats. Whenever I just mention the word Dunkin she goes nuts! When we walk in, the employee behind the counter always asks her what she would like and gives her a moist chocolate munchkin (which she devours). They have over 50 types of donuts (depending on which Dunkin you go to) to choose from! They have breakfast sandwiches, tuna or chicken salad sandwiches (tuna being my personal favorite!), plus tons of different flavored bagels that can be mixed and matched with several types of cream cheeses. There is something for the business man, working mom on the run, kids, or even teenagers!

Prices- Okay, lets get serious for a minute. Money matters! Depending on what you're ordering, you will almost always spend more at Starbucks. For a "tall" cup of regular coffee from Starbucks, you're looking at somewhere around $1.75 (depending on which location you're buying from). From Dunkin a "small" cup of regular coffee is going to be around $1.39... and it's delicious! Depending on the flavor and size of the Starbucks coffee you can be paying anwhere up to $3.50. The X-LG from Dunkin Donuts is priced at $2.19. And this is for any flavor!! Even when buying a pound of coffee to take home with you, from Dunkin it's about $9.99 (again for any flavor!). Depending on the flavor at Starbucks, you can be paying up to $14!

Taste- Starbucks coffee is simply too strong for me, actually for a lot of people! I perfer Dunkins rich and enchanting blends of 100% arabica coffee beans. Both companies have a wide variety of beverages and flavors, but I find Dunkins flavors are just a little bit sweeter, which is always a plus! The donuts are made fresh, daily. This means that every time I go there for a sweet treat, they're fresh! When I go to Starbucks, their sweets are decent but not a huge selection. So if your taste buds are looking for a specific flavored frosting, head out to Dunkin.

Coffee is coffee right? Wrong! A bad cup of coffee or rude customer service in the morning can really make or break your day. In my book, Dunkin beats Starbucks at every turn.