We don’t need to tell you about the labor shortage in QSR restaurants. It’s probably one of the things that keeps you up at night. It’s definitely an issue for Alex Fernandez, who owns one Dunkin’ shop in St. John’s County, Florida, and five other locations in neighboring counties. With an unemployment rate of 2.8…
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As any Dunkin’ franchisee can attest, criminal threats – both internal and external – are an unfortunate reality of doing business. And although crime rates have been in steady decline since the late 1990’s, QSR operators still have to deal with robberies, break-ins, employee theft, and increasingly, drug-related issues inside their businesses. The good news,…
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Two years after Don Fox became CEO of Firehouse Subs in 2003, he did something most franchise owners wouldn’t dream of: he encouraged franchisees to gather and form an independent franchisee association, and pledged the brand would recognize it. Ten years later, he made another move that might raise an eyebrow: he added four franchisee…
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A recent article in the restaurant news site Eater referred to data as “the new gold,” pointing out that “consumers should know that in 2018, basically every restaurant and business is trying to collect personal data — some are just more up front about it than others.” Speaking at the Multi-Unit Foodservice Operators Conference in Dallas…
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The staple Styrofoam cup will soon be a thing of the past in the Dunkin’ world. As of last May, Dunkin’ Brands removed foam cups from all New York City and California locations. Stores in Hawaii are in the midst of replacing foam cups too, with the brand planning for all of its 12,500 stores…
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When it comes to customer loyalty, Dunkin’ may just have an edge on its closest rival Cultivating satisfied, loyal customers has always been an important factor to the success of any business, but since social media has enabled rapid-fire opinion sharing, happy customers are more important today than ever. According to a 2016 Forrester Research…
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Dunkin’ completed the national rollout of its simplified menu last April, removing 10 percent of all required menu items and eliminating another 23 optional products that the brand described as “slow moving, complex and off strategy.” Judging by the responses from a sampling of franchise operators on the East coast and Ohio markets, the move…
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There is a sense of continuity that comes with publishing a magazine every two months. For DDIFO, this magazine has provided an opportunity to explore and explain in detail how the business of running a Dunkin’ Donuts restaurant is constantly changing. Our work requires that we are always looking ahead—to understand how the past can…
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Every year, the DDIFO Franchise Owners Hall of Fame honors those franchisees who have made significant and lasting contributions to build the Dunkin’ Donuts brand. This year’s inductees are Adrian Gaspar, Jose Salema, and Rod Valencia. Adrian Gaspar Long before he held the keys to his own shops, Adrian Gaspar had roots in franchising. His…
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You have a lot of people with their eye on your money,” Attorney Christopher Menihan warned franchisees attending the DDIFO National Conference. “If your network happens to get hit, one of these is enough to topple everything you’ve been working for.” Menihan is an associate with Lisa & Sousa, DDIFO’s General Counsel. And, he was…
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