Dunkin Donuts and the Swirl/Shot Conundrum

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kimny72
kimny72 Posts: 16,013 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I like my DD iced coffee with whole milk and a flavor shot. Their flavor shots are low cal and not really sweet at all, just flavor.

I always ask for the shot. I often reiterate - "A shot, NOT a swirl please." I would say about 60% of the time, I get a swirl anyway. Well, several pumps of swirl.

The shot is 10 cals. The swirl is @ 50 cals per pump, depending on the flavor. The problem is they are REALLY generous with the swirl pumps. So my 50 cal coffee becomes probably more like 200.

I assume the issue is that most people order the swirl, so it's just force of habit to pump that stuff out. If I wasn't a lazy *kitten* I could go back and ask them to redo it. I could decide to save money and stop treating myself with DD every once and awhile. I could order my coffee with no flavoring like a big girl. But it's yummy and I can forgive myself for those extra 150 cals because "It wasn't my fault! DD did it!"

Anyway, this happened to me when I lived in NY, and still now that I'm in VA. Is this a vast, national Dunkin Donuts conspiracy? Seriously though, does this happen to anyone else?



***Please note: This post was typed with a humorous and occasionally sarcastic tone. The author does not believe in conspiracies or have any problems with sugar or other debil foods. This post's implicit support of the quality of Dunkin Donuts coffee is unequivocal, and frankly, she doesn't want to hear about from Starbucks supporters. Plus, right now she's caffeinated and on an unintentional sugar high, so she's feisty.
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Replies

  • tcunbeliever
    tcunbeliever Posts: 8,219 Member
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    I go to the same starbucks every day, so the starbucks girls all know me and make my drinks exactly how I ask...which is super nice...I do have one I hit sometimes while traveling and they usually don't follow directions correctly...it's kind of crazy, the whole point of going to a chain restaurant is consistent product and it's annoying when they fail.
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,013 Member
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    steveko89 wrote: »
    Conspiracy satire aside, this sort of thing is a legit source of anxiety for me as a data nerd. Any time I eat out I try to be diligent about what I order and of course log, but I find myself often severely second-guessing the accuracy of the serving size and/or stated nutritional information. My obsession with food scale use is a point of consternation with the Mrs. to begin with, she might actually leave me if I buy a travel scale and start weighing at restaurants (If I had my druthers I would absolutely do this).

    I'm with you on coffee creamer/flavoring - I could drink it black but it's not as good. I have have taken to weighing my creamer and limiting how much I put in my morning coffees.

    FWIW this also reminded me of the conundrum I used to have with Starbucks; years ago I would budget calories to allow for an occasional caramel frappuccino (very manly, I know). There was a certain barista at our regular starbucks who was always flirty and would hook me up with a massive amount of whip to top my frap. While I'll always appreciate the banter and generous whip cream, I wasn't bananas about the extra calories.

    Yeah, I mean that's why I view DD as a treat, because you are guesstimating and the more you guesstimate the more off you could be.

    And it's true - I wonder if they think they are doing me a favor by hooking me up with that sweet sweet flavor swirl :lol:
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,013 Member
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    seltzermint555 wrote: »
    This is just making me sad that the closest Dunkin is 40 minutes from where I am.

    Sad sad sad.

    I'm so sorry for your lack of DD :cry: . Location, location, location.
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,013 Member
    edited March 2018
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    SuzySunshine99 wrote: »
    I went into a random airport coffee shop and ordered an iced latte with skim milk. I then saw her proceed to fill over half of the cup with half-and-half instead of skim milk. Seriously it was like 2-3 cups of half-and-half. I made her redo it. Not just because of the calories, but I don't want to know what that would have done to my digestive system. And I was getting on an airplane shortly. :#

    OMG. It really makes you wonder, doesn't it? Does she do that to everyone? Is that why plane cabins smell bad?
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    edited March 2018
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    I always order skinny hot chocolates... I watch like a hawk that they use the right milk!
  • TheFatBrokenGirl
    TheFatBrokenGirl Posts: 22 Member
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    We don't have Dunkin Donuts in the UK so I had to suffer Starbucks. I ordered decaf because if I have too much caffeine it makes me feel unwell. I ordered the same thing every time I went. Decaf skinny sugar free caramel latte. Only difference is sometimes it's iced, sometimes it's hot. I'd end up with decaf maybe only about 50% of the time and the full sugar syrup about maybe 60% of the time. Hell sometimes I'd even end up with non skinny, although less common. I'd even confirm at the end to make sure they made it decaf (since the other things I didn't want but could live with). "Is this decaf?". I'd always get a yes and a nod. It was definitely not always decaf. Only once the barista had ever said "Omg no, sorry. I'll remake it!". It began to not be worth the roulette of will this drink make me want to puke after 30 mins or not so I stopped going there. It's not even just one store that is the problem. If I switch to another I'd still encounter the same issues. Costa is less problematic with decaf issue but it still happens if I'm distracted and not paying attention to barista. I watch to make sure they put that little decaf pod in the machine, something you can't do at Starbucks.
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,442 Member
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    Closest DD to me, 4 hours and 3 minutes, 243 miles. Needless to say, I have never had DD. And I do feel deprived about that.
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,013 Member
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    TavistockToad wrote: »
    I always order skinny hot chocolates... I watch like a hawk that they use the right milk!

    Yeah, my lazy *kitten* is at the drive thru so I'm a glutton for punishment :lol:
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,013 Member
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    TheFatBrokenGirl wrote: »
    We don't have Dunkin Donuts in the UK so I had to suffer Starbucks. I ordered decaf because if I have too much caffeine it makes me feel unwell. I ordered the same thing every time I went. Decaf skinny sugar free caramel latte. Only difference is sometimes it's iced, sometimes it's hot. I'd end up with decaf maybe only about 50% of the time and the full sugar syrup about maybe 60% of the time. Hell sometimes I'd even end up with non skinny, although less common. I'd even confirm at the end to make sure they made it decaf (since the other things I didn't want but could live with). "Is this decaf?". I'd always get a yes and a nod. It was definitely not always decaf. Only once the barista had ever said "Omg no, sorry. I'll remake it!". It began to not be worth the roulette of will this drink make me want to puke after 30 mins or not so I stopped going there. It's not even just one store that is the problem. If I switch to another I'd still encounter the same issues. Costa is less problematic with decaf issue but it still happens if I'm distracted and not paying attention to barista. I watch to make sure they put that little decaf pod in the machine, something you can't do at Starbucks.

    See, that to me is way worse because caffeine can be a dangerous thing for some people!
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    TheFatBrokenGirl wrote: »
    We don't have Dunkin Donuts in the UK so I had to suffer Starbucks.

    We do... I'm in Yorkshire and we have some!
  • ladyreva78
    ladyreva78 Posts: 4,080 Member
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    quiksylver296 wrote: »
    Closest DD to me, 4 hours and 3 minutes, 243 miles. Needless to say, I have never had DD. And I do feel deprived about that.

    Is it silly that I nearly snorted my tea out my nose at the thought that you know exactly how far it is to your nearest DD?
  • AngryViking1970
    AngryViking1970 Posts: 2,847 Member
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    quiksylver296 wrote: »
    Closest DD to me, 4 hours and 3 minutes, 243 miles. Needless to say, I have never had DD. And I do feel deprived about that.

    I am having a hard time wrapping my head around that. I pass 3 of them on my way to work and there's a 4th about 1/2 mile up the road from my office. They're everywhere around here.
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,442 Member
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    ladyreva78 wrote: »
    quiksylver296 wrote: »
    Closest DD to me, 4 hours and 3 minutes, 243 miles. Needless to say, I have never had DD. And I do feel deprived about that.

    Is it silly that I nearly snorted my tea out my nose at the thought that you know exactly how far it is to your nearest DD?

    I googled it. ;)
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,442 Member
    edited March 2018
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    AngryViking1970 wrote: »
    quiksylver296 wrote: »
    Closest DD to me, 4 hours and 3 minutes, 243 miles. Needless to say, I have never had DD. And I do feel deprived about that.

    I am having a hard time wrapping my head around that. I pass 3 of them on my way to work and there's a 4th about 1/2 mile up the road from my office. They're everywhere around here.

    We have Dutch Bros like that. And I <3 Dutch Bros. So, there's that.
  • PowerliftingMom
    PowerliftingMom Posts: 430 Member
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    Funny thing is there are 3 DD's within only a few miles where I live and I detest the place lol :neutral:

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