# Dunkin' Donuts: Reverse Stereotyping? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 7, 2010, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dunkin-donuts-reverse-stereotyping/523995 "2010-01-07T04:02:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dunkin-donuts-reverse-stereotyping/523995/21 "2010-01-07T15:07:21Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > The only stereotype I associate with Dunkin’ Donuts is policemen. The only one I associate is dry donuts and tasteless “creme” filling. And the people who love them. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dunkin-donuts-reverse-stereotyping/523995/22 "2010-01-07T15:12:56Z")
The employees in my local DD are just plain, old fashioned types. ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dunkin-donuts-reverse-stereotyping/523995/23 "2010-01-07T15:18:02Z")
> [@Leiko](#): > > **Contrapuntal** , check out [Sociological Images](http://www.contexts.org/socimages) sometime for examples of discriminatory ads. Can you point to a specific one, and tell me who is being discriminated against? I can see how an ad might be racist, or prejudiced, or bigoted, but discriminatory? I’ll need a bit more explanation. ---
**Author:** ![melodyharmonius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/melodyharmonius/32/21310_2.png) [@melodyharmonius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/melodyharmonius)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dunkin-donuts-reverse-stereotyping/523995/24 "2010-01-07T15:28:10Z")
I love Dunkin’ Donuts. (feel I should say that up front so y’know I’m biased.) And I love the cake donuts (even though I can no longer eat them) That being said, when I worked in radio at an urban station, we were routinely hired by DD to record commercials, do on-site promotions, etc. And all our on air djs were NOT caucasian. So I beg to differ. Perhaps you are just seeing the wrong commercials! 😃 But either way - I fail to see the issue. I actually am more uncomfortable with chains that make pointedly ethnic commercials for specific regions/markets. Like the golden arches and the such. Because even I, the token white child, could clearly see that the people writing the commercials were trying to ‘be down with the peeps’ in a painfully awkward way. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dunkin-donuts-reverse-stereotyping/523995/25 "2010-01-07T15:31:58Z")
I still don’t understand the OP in this thread. I’m confused as to what the problem is.😕 ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dunkin-donuts-reverse-stereotyping/523995/26 "2010-01-07T15:40:47Z")
I think I get it. In the commercial all the Dunkin’ Donuts employees are polite Caucasians with impeccable English. But the OP seems to only frequent Dunkin’ Donuts establishments which are staffed by illegal aliens speaking Swahili or something. He is baffled by the dichotomy. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dunkin-donuts-reverse-stereotyping/523995/27 "2010-01-07T15:41:18Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > I still don’t understand the OP in this thread. > > I’m confused as to what the problem is.😕 My interpretation of the OP (and not my personal opinion of the commercials in question): Dunkin’ Donuts employees always seem to minorities who do not speak clear, unaccented English. Yet the commercials uniformly portray them as non-minorities who speak perfect English. [Cognitive dissonance](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_dissonance)! When trying to look appealing to potential customers, why won’t DD acknowledge that it hires difficult-to-understand undesirables? ---
**Author:** ![Airk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9de053/32.png) [@Airk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airk)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dunkin-donuts-reverse-stereotyping/523995/28 "2010-01-07T15:42:35Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > Dunkin Donuts is a chain from New England, the whitest region of the country. I’m not sure why the OP would expect people in the ads to differ from the ones behind the counter in most of the stores. Depends on how you think of “New England”; If you’re talking about Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine, you’re right. If you add Massachusetts, Connecticut, and, particularly, New York, not so much. From the U.S. Census, Percentage of “White Persons” 2008: Maine: 96.4 Vermont: 96.4 New Hampshire: 95.5 Iowa: 94.2 Nebraska: 91.4 North Dakota: 91.4 Wisconsin: 89.7 Minnesota: 89.0 South Dakota: 88.2 Massachusetts: 86.2 Connecticut: 84.3 New York: 73.4 (That’s not a top X or anything, that’s just me comparing New England to the area _I_ think of when someone says “the whitest region of the country”) Sadly, I can’t find any convenient way of actually getting the Census Bureau web site to tell me what the top 10 whitest states actually are. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dunkin-donuts-reverse-stereotyping/523995/29 "2010-01-07T15:43:52Z")
> [@Sailboat](#): > > [Cognitive dissonance](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_dissonance)! When trying to look appealing to potential customers, why won’t DD acknowledge that it hires difficult-to-understand undesirables? And why don’t McDonald’s commercials featuring snotty teenagers with acne who only work there because their dads threatened to kick them out unless they got a goddamned job. Some questions may never be answered. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dunkin-donuts-reverse-stereotyping/523995/30 "2010-01-07T16:17:34Z")
> [@Jinx](#): > > Is this actually a type of reverse discrimination? No. There is no logical way this could be interpreted as reverse discrimination or as any kind of discrimination. Does it represent reality? Maybe not. Most of the Dunkin’ Donuts locations I’ve been to were staffed by Indians or people from that general region. But I don’t know how it looks elsewhere in the country. So… ads present an unrealistic picture of fast food joint? Holy shit, what a twist! That’s what ads are supposed to do. In commercials, fast food joints are immaculately clean and staffed by peppy young go-getters who are happy to serve. In real life, they are often really dingy, and you’ve got a good chance of being served by either an aging loser or a young person who clearly wishes you would fuck off and die so he or she wouldn’t have to go to the trouble of filling your order. Nothing against people who work in fast food without being jerks. From Dunkin’ Donuts’ perspective this is sort of interesting, because on the one hand, they may be whitewashing their employees, and I can imagine some of them might object to that. Then again if they showed a lot of Indian guys at the counter they would probably get nailed for perpetuating a stereotype. ---
**Author:** ![Monstera\_deliciosa](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monstera_deliciosa/32/109_2.png) [@Monstera\_deliciosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monstera_deliciosa)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dunkin-donuts-reverse-stereotyping/523995/31 "2010-01-07T16:18:12Z")
> [@Airk](#): > > Depends on how you think of “New England”; If you’re talking about Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine, you’re right. If you add Massachusetts, Connecticut, and, particularly, New York, not so much. > > From the U.S. Census, Percentage of “White Persons” 2008: > > Maine: 96.4 > Vermont: 96.4 > New Hampshire: 95.5 > Iowa: 94.2 > Nebraska: 91.4 > North Dakota: 91.4 > Wisconsin: 89.7 > Minnesota: 89.0 > South Dakota: 88.2 > Massachusetts: 86.2 > Connecticut: 84.3 > New York: 73.4 > > (That’s not a top X or anything, that’s just me comparing New England to the area _I_ think of when someone says “the whitest region of the country”) > > Sadly, I can’t find any convenient way of actually getting the Census Bureau web site to tell me what the top 10 whitest states actually are. New York, with its considerable Dutch colonial history, is not traditionally considered a [New England State.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_England) ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dunkin-donuts-reverse-stereotyping/523995/32 "2010-01-07T16:44:28Z")
> [@blondebear](#): > > The employees in my local DD are just plain, old fashioned types. My eyes glazed over at this post. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dunkin-donuts-reverse-stereotyping/523995/33 "2010-01-07T16:47:16Z")
> [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](#): > > My eyes glazed over at this post. There’s nothing wrong with a few sprinkles of humor. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dunkin-donuts-reverse-stereotyping/523995/34 "2010-01-07T16:54:54Z")
Why has nobody commented about the deep irony that the totally incoherent, grammar-challenged, logic-deprived OP was actually written by an English-speaking Caucasian? (English-speaking needs that hyphen, BTW.) ---
**Author:** ![Mehitabel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8797f3/32.png) [@Mehitabel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mehitabel)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dunkin-donuts-reverse-stereotyping/523995/35 "2010-01-07T17:12:00Z")
Shrug. Like most of the fast-food joints in the Bronx, my nearby DD (in a gas station store) is staffed by black or Latino teenagers (the latter speak perfect English and switch effortlessly to Spanish if needed). Of course, whites only account for 15% of the population here, so it’s no surprise. I’ve never seen an Indian-American working at one and very few Asians–but on my main street there’s a slew of Indian or Pakistani-owned stores and the kids work after school or during vacations for their own families. Pizza places are the same, only with Albanian or Italian kids. ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dunkin-donuts-reverse-stereotyping/523995/36 "2010-01-07T17:31:55Z")
As a native New Englander, my veins run DD coffee and creme filling. I’ve been to DDs all around New England and, recently, Tennessee (yay!). Never saw a staff that was mostly, if not completely, as white as a powdered donut. ETA: New York is _not_ in New England. _shudder_ ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dunkin-donuts-reverse-stereotyping/523995/37 "2010-01-07T17:34:52Z")
> [@Green\_Bean](#): > > Around here, virtually everyone who works at Dunkin’ Donuts is Indian. Thank you. Come again! ---
**Author:** ![Erdosain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/erdosain/32/7284_2.png) [@Erdosain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Erdosain)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dunkin-donuts-reverse-stereotyping/523995/38 "2010-01-07T17:37:52Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Why has nobody commented about the deep irony that the totally incoherent, grammar-challenged, logic-deprived OP was actually written by an English-speaking Caucasian? This is why I hope any future SDMB ads feature deranged-looking hoodie wearers using public library terminals. Anyway, I suspect the ethnic make-up of Dunkin’ Donuts shops is directly linked to who owns the individual franchise and the ethnic composition of the neighborhood. I personally have never noticed anyone but bored-looking white people working in my local DDs. And in Massachusetts, there was a big deal a couple years ago about a Portuguese American guy who owned a billion DD franchises who was essentially importing slave labor from Portugal. He’d bring in people who only spoke Portuguese and make them work 12 hour days for below minimum wage. Perhaps the OP escaped from one such Dickensian workhouse–it would explain his anger towards DD as well as his difficulty expressing himself in English. Bom apetite! ---
**Author:** ![Yumblie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/76d3ee/32.png) [@Yumblie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yumblie)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dunkin-donuts-reverse-stereotyping/523995/39 "2010-01-07T17:50:53Z")
Here in California, at every donut shop I’ve been to there’s been a Chinese person behind the counter. In San Francisco, there are tons of “Chinese Food and Donuts” shops all over the place. I’ve never had a problem with getting my order understood, it’s just something I’ve observed. ---
**Author:** ![HubZilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ccd318/32.png) [@HubZilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HubZilla)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dunkin-donuts-reverse-stereotyping/523995/40 "2010-01-07T17:59:29Z")
It’s funny, I had a similar reaction to the latest Taco Bell commercial. You know, the one with the guy trying to get an “inside deal” on an 89-cent burrito or something. I wasn’t aware that hot model chicks worked at Taco Bell! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dunkin-donuts-reverse-stereotyping/523995.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dunkin-donuts-reverse-stereotyping/523995.md?page=3)