Dunkin' Donuts sells a colorful array of sturdy, re-usable travel mugs, perfect for toting hot coffee from shop to car to work. But, guess what? If you bring your very own Dunkin' Donuts-branded mug to a Dunkin' Donuts, the staff may insist on serving your coffee in a disposable styrofoam cup.
You heard that right! Dunkin Donuts has no company-wide policy that says customers can get their reusable travel mugs filled! At the corporate level, the company has listened to customer complaints about the styrofoam cups and is developing a less toxic cup that will withstand the ultra heat of a Dunkin' coffee pour. But in many stores, staff have not been trained to understand the environmental impacts of one-use styrofoam. They insist on mindlessly filling styrofoam.
Dunkin' Donuts travel mugs are not free! One stainless steel model retails for almost $19 on ebay. The least the company could do is to reward customers who buy these pricey mugs is to serve coffee in them and spare the styrofoam. A small discount, say, ten percent on purchased coffee, would be a nice gesture also. Tell Dunkin' Donuts to institute a global policy of refilling its own travel mugs!
Dear Mr Luther:
While we, the undersigned, are grateful that your company has finally recognized the terrible environmental impacts of styrofoam cups, we don't feel like waiting until 2016 for you to unroll a better disposable mug. There is something you can do right now. Institute a world-wide policy that says stores must serve coffee in Dunkin' Donuts branded travel mugs. These mugs should be exactly the same size as your disposable cups, so there will be no need to worry that giving away an extra ounce of coffee will chip away at your profits. As it stands, too many customers of yours are being told they have to buy coffee in disposable cups that they abhore. We would prefer being served in our own sturdy, reliable go cups. They make a better vehicle for coffee that's being transported from store to car to work or home. Please launch a company-wide policy to make this happen!
