Dunkin' Donuts tries to snag Starbucks customers

This piece, Dunkin' Donuts tries to snag Starbucks customers, was written by Keiko Morris on February 25, 2008.  The promotion set to happen today the 26th between 1pm and 10pm at Dunkin' Donuts headlines their espresso drinks, giving them out for only 99 cents each.  This promotion is supposedly in response to the coffee chain winning first place in Brand Keys' Annual Customer Loyalty Engagement Index, however another event also occurring today leads to some speculation if this is the real reason for such a promotion.  The other occurrence is the coffee chain Starbucks closing their doors early for employee training. 

The chain plans to close nearly all of the 7,100 locations nationwide for employee training, as well as to enhance the true Starbucks experience, which can not happen unless all employees are educated in exactly what that is.  While Starbucks is aware of Dunkin' Donuts' promotion, they are not worried about losing loyal customers, "We are confident that our customers will understand this and that this is an investment in their experience through better quality beverages and services," a Starbucks' spokeswoman commented.  

While Starbucks takes the stand that they are closing for the good of the consumer, Dunkin' Donuts is taking the stand that no one should be denied specialty beverages during these hours.  While a sneaky approach, Dunkin' Donuts will definitely attract some "promotion seekers," people out there who love anything free or on a good sale, however I do not think they will gain any loyal business from it.  If I was loyal to Starbucks for my coffee in the morning, a 99 cent latte from Dunkin' Donuts would not change my loyalty.  However, the promotion does seem like a good way to gain some word of mouth discussion and new business for today.

The article continues on talking about how Starbucks has been wanting to reinvigorate themselves for a little while and these hours off is meant for employees to master techniques as well as closing some unproductive stores.  More than just employee training session, this seems like a quick break for Starbucks to get it's bearings to attack the market head on.  They want to be number one in the market again, and this seems like the start of their serious effort to get there.  This is a very current topic, and I am interested in seeing how the 99 cent espresso drinks aids Dunkin' Donuts, as well as what changes Starbucks made in attempt to reinvigorate itself.