Honestly, I have no idea what dunkin' is like, but I feel fairly comfortable betting that the customer service culture of Starbucks is a lot harsher. This company is almost solely PR driven for any choices it makes that don't directly influence profits, and because of this partners are expected to put up with an inordinate amount of shit. My honest recommendations might sound pessimistic, but I've been a partner for three years, I'm a shift supervisor at a high volume store in a very privileged (read: spoiled) area, and if you prepare for the worst you're just extra prepared, right?

First and most important tip:

\-Pay attention to how busy the location you're applying to is before accepting the offer. If it regularly has a line wrapped around the drive-thru, your wages will never be worth the work no matter how quickly you get promoted. You're better off at McDonalds. At least they start at 15/hr.

As far as I understand it, Dunkin's beverage making process is a lot simpler than Starbucks and involves more button-pushing type steps than physical assembling steps? I'm not sure how accurate this is. If it is accurate, this is a good thing, honestly. However, if Dunkin's beverages are more like Starbucks than I understand, you'll need to know that training at a high volume store is HARD and it will stay hard for months.

\-Pay attention to the way team members/partners interact with each other. You NEED coworkers who take care of each other in a job like this because if your peers don't take care of each other, that means your managers won't help you either.

\-Know what recharges you and have those routines in place. Especially in your training period, you will need them.

\-Get used to apologizing for things that you have no control over. I know it sucks, but it's just another hill to die on, and it only costs you more energy.

\-Calming down an angry customer is a lot harder than paying attention to cues of frustration and getting ahead of them. The nature of customer service culture is grown adults who expect you to take care of them, and because of that, it's a LOT like dealing with toddlers. Some are little sweethearts. Some are true terrors who take pleasure in testing your boundaries. Thank them for their patience and praise their choices and send them on their way.

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I know this sounds pessimistic and harsh, and I'm sorry for that, but it's honestly the bluntest advice I can give you. Plenty of partners have had more positive experiences, and not all stores within the franchise/corporation are equal, so it's important to pay attention to the vibe of the place you interview at.

i’ve worked at dunkin for 2 years (oct 2017-april 2019) and have been working at starbucks for over a year now, (april 2019-now). i can tell you dunkin is the walmart version of sbux, lol

terrible benefits, no breaks, don’t care about costumers as much as sbux like making connections and stuff,

BUT it’s so much easier because there’s half the amount of drinks we have, less cleaning tasks, etc.

overall i wouldn’t worry too much of preparing especially for dunkins standards-just be nice, make connections even if it’s not in their policy, make people want to come back. you’ll catch on easy because all syrup pumps are the same for every drink! (2 for small, 3 for med, 4 for large)

if you ever want to quit and go to starbucks (which i’d recommend) it’ll be an easier transition w barista experience :)

A big thing when working in customer service: take things in stride. If a customer is rude to you, remember that they have their own lives and may be dealing with issues like loss of a family member, etc. Dont take things personally, 99.9% of the time, people arent being nasty just to make your life hell, it's probably just misdirected anger. I've been in customer service for 15 years now, and just taking that bit to heart has helped me keep my cool at work so many times.