‘The manager in the back playing dress up while the store strugglin is on brand’: Viewers criticize Dunkin’ manager for wearing ‘business casual’ clothes
Dunkin' has been on the receiving end of some stark criticism, especially when it comes to working conditions for its employees. There have been instances where employees have vented about being left to operate stores entirely alone. One TikToker has even been chastised online for filming their stressed-out Dunkin' co-worker.
The bad social media public relations for the coffee-and-donut brand may have contributed to some of the ire that one Dunkin' manager, Keila Soto (@kkybabyy96), received upon posting a TikTok video of herself explaining that she's a "boss" at Dunkin'.
The 12-second clip, which begins with her staring into the camera wearing a Dunkin'-branded zip-up fleece, ends with her standing up to reveal she's wearing a floral-patterned blouse underneath. She removes her headset in the clip and stands in front of the lens as she adjusts her shirt, set to Future and Drake's "Life is Good."
@kkaybabyy96 America runs in Dunkin #dunkindonuts #bosslife #fyp #coffee #americarunsondunkin ♬ original sound - Keila Soto
A text overlay in the video reads, "Nobody: You work at Dunkin'? ?? Me: no baby I'm a boss at a Dunkin.'"
A number of users on the platform appeared to find Soto's video odd, like one commenter who wrote, "girlll go do the schedule."
One viewer seemed to struggle to grasp the intention of the message in the woman's clip.
"Soooo you work at Dunkin," they wrote.
Another remarked, "The way this app doesn’t hesitate to humble ppl."
One TikToker equated being a manager of a Dunkin' Donuts to being administered the role of lunch line leader while in elementary school.
"Me in elementary school being the leader of the line to lunch," they said, while someone else quipped, "Me in high school when my boss made a shift lead."
One user claimed Soto's behavior was indicative of the type of treatment that many Dunkin' employees receive while on shift at their jobs.
"The manager in the back playing dress up while the store strugglin is on brand behavior," they said.
Dunkin' serves approximately three million customers each day, and the brand is known to experience some very intense rush periods, especially during the morning hours when employees receive an influx of orders at a rapid pace.
A 2021 Reddit post by user @TheWhaleSauce delineates the type of responsibilities employees are expected to fulfill during these heavy rush periods, calling the experience "absolutely insane" in the r/DunkinDonuts thread.
They asked for tips from other employees with the franchise on how to manage these busy periods as they were a new hire.
One commenter agreed, writing, "Rush hour is indeed f*cking brutal," but added that as a shift lead, they always tell new hires to come to them with questions on how to make drinks properly or about workflow while they're in the thick of serving throngs of customers. They did add that once folks memorize how to make the drinks it helps to make everything go a bit more smoothly.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Dunkin' via email and Soto via TikTok comment.
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