Industrial/design psychology at Dunkin' Donuts

Factual Questions
1

I thought I read an article about 20 years ago in which the author said that a great deal of industrial psychology went into the original design of Dunkin’ Donuts.

He suggested that the pink/lilac colors were chosen to be appealing and attract customers, but the longer one lingered/loitered inside the restaurant, the more they annoyed on an unconscious level and would cause people to leave after awhile. Also, the chairs were supposedly designed to produce a crimp in one’s back after, say, 25 minutes, thus speeding up rotation of customers. Other fascinating design elements were used, though I cannot remember them all.

Urban legend or truth?

2

I am not sure, although somehow I doubt it. I have heard the exact same thing about the design of French cafes. The urban legend goes that the chairs are designed to be uncomfortable so that you will not stick around too long. I don’t believe that any business would ever do this on purpose. Space is not a premium in most locations that Duncan Donuts serves. It would seem to me that a business like that would love to have people sitting around for a long time and enjoying their products. Restaurants do need to “turn tables” sometimes but the last thing that most businesses want is to make customers go away do to lack of comfort.