If you've ever worked a fast-food job, then you know that companies can be pretty particular about how their employees dress, style themselves and otherwise act on the job. In the case of Dunkin', there are some especially odd edicts in the employee handbook. You may not necessarily expect a fast food chain to make rules about fingernails, tattoos, makeup and jewelry. But Dunkin' did.
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00:00America might run on Dunkin', but what about the people who keep Dunkin' running?
00:04What happens when employees fall in love?
00:06Why isn't everyone allowed to make breakfast sandwiches?
00:09Keep watching for the deets.
00:11Ever check the fingernails of the person handing you your 20 cents of change at Dunkin'?
00:16We haven't either, but if you were to look, you might notice they're always pretty bare.
00:20Dunkin' has an anti-fancy nail policy outlined in its handbook — of which, by the way,
00:24you can snag a copy online if you're ever in need of some light reading.
00:27The policy begins by saying that fingernails must be kept maintained and clean, free of
00:32dirt or debris, before getting more strict.
00:34The handbook goes on to outline,
00:36"...nail polish is limited to natural colors and may not be more than half an inch long
00:40from the tip of the finger.
00:41Artificial nails, nail charms, or decals are not permitted."
00:45One Reddit user confirmed that acrylics, while fabulous everywhere else, are not so chic
00:49at Dunkin'.
00:50The Reddit commenter confirmed,
00:51"...no acrylics, no polish.
00:53The manager fired a girl for not removing her acrylics and she gave her like five days
00:57to do it."
00:58While there seem to be some inconsistencies between locations about how stringently this
01:02rule is implemented, the fact that it's in the handbook seems strange enough.
01:06While Dunkin''s anti-acrylic stance might make sense — a chip of polish in an egg
01:10sandwich is a frightening thought — the coffee chain also has inexplicably specific
01:14rules regarding jewelry, makeup, and tattoos.
01:17The handbook outlines that tattoos must be covered.
01:20Seems a bit uptight, since not only did Dunkin' make Skinfo's list of most tattoo-friendly
01:25but they also celebrated National Tattoo Day last summer with a line of their own temporary
01:29ink.
01:30So that line in the manual may need updating.
01:32But as employees on Indeed have verified, the official company policies on jewelry and
01:36makeup are more heavily adhered to.
01:38They are, quote, "...limited to wearing no more than two earrings per ear, and hoops
01:42are prohibited."
01:43The outline continues by saying,
01:45"...necklaces must be worn under shirts.
01:47Watches and a single ring on each hand may be worn.
01:50Bracelets should be removed before starting a shift.
01:52Personal jewelry and tongue rings must be removed before the start of a shift."
01:56If you think that verge is unabsurd, their makeup policies will put you over the edge.
02:00Dunkin' employees are apparently not allowed to wear, quote, "...excessive makeup," which
02:03is then specified as, quote, "...dark eyeliner and bright-colored eyeshadow."
02:07We don't know about you, but we see no problem with a little bit of ColourPop eyelid inspiration
02:12with some Daily Dunkin'.
02:14This rule made us laugh.
02:15Something about seeing, "...socks must be worn at all times," in the employee handbook
02:19feels just hilarious and bizarre.
02:21The coffee and donut chain cites their health and sanitation policies as the reason for
02:25this decree, which we could see a case being made for.
02:28One quick Google search of, "...is wearing socks more sanitary than not?" turns up pages'
02:32worth of articles about how socks absorb moisture, should probably be changed every day, and
02:37how not wearing them could indeed be bad for your health.
02:40Didn't know socks were such a hot topic in the health arena?
02:43You're not alone.
02:44But Dunkin' might not actually be so well-versed on the sanitary sock subject, either.
02:48When we asked ex-employee Caroline Hoffman if she remembered that rule, she said it probably
02:52has more to do with the shoe requirements than anything else.
02:55She said,
02:56"...the shoes were so weird, so that was probably right."
02:58America runs on Dunkin'.
03:00So yes, just about any workplace has a dress code.
03:03And as we've established, Dunkin's is in many ways oddly specific.
03:07But here's where it gets a little weirder.
03:08The Dunkin' look starts with a crisp white polo, which, as Hoffman and many other employees
03:13have attested to, gets very dirty.
03:15Dunkin' remembered the coffee stains were not easily removed, and neither was the smell.
03:19That white polo is layered under the brown apron and topped with the visor and these
03:23days a mandatory mask.
03:24This is all the fairly standard part.
03:26But as for what to wear on the bottom?
03:28Dunkin' demands either khakis or jeans, with an emphasis that seems consistent across chains
03:33— absolutely no black jeans.
03:36After watching many vlogs about new hires' first weeks at Dunkin', we gleaned a bit of
03:40insight into the quirky training regimen that Dunkin' uses.
03:43First of all, they teach a couple of different abbreviations to their workers.
03:46Our personal favorite is EMC, also known as the Egg Meat Cheese Equation, which outlines
03:51how to make a sandwich.
03:52The second is CARE, which is a six-step process that means, quote,
03:57"... greet, take order, collect payment, assemble order, deliver, thank you, and come again."
04:01We're not sure exactly how the letters translate, but we found this one on a Quizlet someone
04:06made summarizing the employee training procedures.
04:08While on-the-floor training seems to vary, we were surprised to learn that the general
04:12consensus seems to be to start newbies on iced and hot coffee first, and encourage them
04:16to focus solely on those basics for their first two shifts.
04:20Hoffman remembers that the iced coffee wasn't too complicated, saying,
04:23"... we made the iced coffee in this giant bucket with ice and water and stuff."
04:27Hoffman shared one of the rules she thought was kind of comical, and it might surprise
04:30you.
04:31She said,
04:32"... only more senior crew members could prep and put together the breakfast sandwiches."
04:35She went on to explain that during her summer spent behind the register at Dunkin' Donuts,
04:39she started to think this was, quote, "... kind of backwards," adding,
04:42"... working the register and drive-thru can require a bit of mental math, a lot of speed,
04:46and quick thinking, especially if a customer is feeling moody that day.
04:49I was usually the one spinning out 10 iced lattes and packing two dozen donuts, while
04:54the more senior members would toast some bagels or put cheese on croissants."
04:57Sounds like maybe this rule was less about capability and more about rewarding the senior
05:01members.
05:03This is a pride point for Dunkin'.
05:04At the top of their press kit, they proclaim the following,
05:07"... Dunkin' Donuts coffee is freshly ground, freshly brewed, and freshly served.
05:11If not used within 18 minutes, Dunkin' Donuts coffee is discarded and a new carafe is freshly
05:16brewed."
05:17We get it.
05:18Overcooked coffee is a less-than-appetizing way to get your caffeine fix, but you have
05:21to wonder about the science behind the 18-minute decision.
05:24As Hoffman remembers, this rule was pretty strictly adhered to at her branch in Parma,
05:28Ohio.
05:29Hoffman recalled that there was an actual timer on the coffee carafe, and whenever it
05:32would ring, an employee was charged with pouring it out and refreshing it.
05:36She shared,
05:37"... coffee can be wasteful, but coffee does get stale, especially when you're making it
05:40in such big batches."
05:41Reddit users didn't have the same experience.
05:43Although Dunkin' practically guarantees the 18-minute standard, there's no way to ensure
05:47every location complies.
05:49One user confessed,
05:50"... it might be a company standard, but whether upper management enforces it or not is entirely
05:54up in the air.
05:55At my Dunkin' we would mark the pots, but our managers were too cheap to waste the coffee,
05:59so we just re-marked them without pouring anything out."
06:01"... I'll see you at 2 o'clock."
06:04"... I'll be there."
06:05Ah, the office romance.
06:07A tale as old as time, and one made even sweeter when the office is packed with powdery donuts.
06:11It's no surprise that Dunkin' addresses workplace relationships in their handbook.
06:15Any quality employer should probably consider the reality that eight-hour shifts alongside
06:19co-workers often blossoms into something more.
06:21But the tactics they outline for how they handle romances are rather odd.
06:25First, if two co-workers become involved with each other, move in together, or get married,
06:30Dunkin', quote, "... will first attempt to offer comparable employment in another department
06:34slash store to one of the individuals."
06:36Basically, one partner needs to move to another franchise location.
06:39If an alternate location isn't available, Dunkin' says they will terminate one of the
06:43two employees.
06:44This raises the question, who stays and who moves onward to donut-less employment?
06:49Dunkin' lets the couple themselves choose, and if they can't agree, management will step
06:52in and decide for them.
06:54The handbook reads,
06:55"... if the two employees together cannot reach a decision on the job move or on the termination,
06:59the company will make the decision based on the best business-related interests of the
07:03company."
07:04The Dunkin' employee handbook is in many ways a very standard document.
07:07The paragraphs run into each other, broken up occasionally by a bullet point or subtitle.
07:11But near the end, an entire sentence sits bolded, standing out starkly from the rest
07:15of the document.
07:16We will not be able to offer employment to any employee that cannot work weekends.
07:21As the company also attests, they do a majority of their business on weekends, so this rule
07:25makes sense.
07:26But it's hard to imagine, considering there are five other days of the week to schedule
07:29workers on, that a person could be excluded from employment altogether just because they
07:33can't make it in on Saturday or Sunday.
07:36Dunkin' uses a help telephone line to respond to reporter inquiries.
07:39The company is very clear about this in the handbook.
07:41If you are ever approached by a reporter or any member of the media for any reason, you
07:45should first have your manager contact the 24-hour Dunkin' helpline, and then immediately
07:50notify Don McDonald, VP of Operations.
07:53Seems like they're stressed, and after examining the press they've gotten in the last decade
07:56— everything from racist advertisement debacles and TikTok scandals to fatally overworked
08:02They may have good reason to be.
08:03Dunkin' Donuts instructs their employees to advise media that all inquiries must be referred
08:08to corporate.