‘Since your deaf…’: Deaf customer tries to go through drive-thru at Dunkin’. Then a manager intervenes
A deaf customer filmed an interaction they had with a Dunkin' worker. In the video, posted to TikTok, the worker refuses to serve the customer in the drive-thru, telling the customer they need to come inside the store to order.
What happened?
In the video, Suheily Merced (@huleylove) shows a Dunkin' worker, who Merced referred to as a manager in the caption.
"You have to come inside. Since you're deaf, we cannot talk to you through the speaker. Have a great day," says the worker as they close the drive-thru window on Merced. Merced's TikTok bio notes they are deaf and live in Florida.
The video has amassed nearly 1 million views and over 8,000 comments.
In the caption of the video, Merced goes deeper into detail about what allegedly happened.
"This manager refused to [sell] me a coffee simply because I am deaf," they began their caption saying. They also mentioned that they tried ordering by writing down what they wanted on their Notes app and showing it to the worker. Since this is common practice for them when ordering things as a deaf person, they didn't think they would run into any issues.
Unfortunately, things got worse. Merced said the worker proceeded to call the cops on them for some reason.
"She even call the cops for no reason l, even the cops said they didn’t even know why they were called," Merced further explained in the caption.
Is this illegal?
It is unlawful to refuse service to someone because they are deaf. According to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), "The ADA requires that title II entities (State and local governments) and title III entities (businesses and nonprofit organizations that serve the public) communicate effectively with people who have communication disabilities." Therefore, this worker's refusal to accommodate Merced may be considered a breach of the ADA.
The Daily Dot reached out to Dunkin' via email and to Merced via TikTok message and comment.
Watch on TikTok
What are viewers saying?
Support for Merced flowed in in the video's comment section.
"Lawsuit immediately," one commenter urged.
"I’m trying to figure out what’s the difference of her being in the drive-through and coming inside.. because is she gonna get her hearing back when she comes inside?" another asked.
"EVERYONE TO GOOGLE REVIEWS!" demanded another.
"This is unreal. I can’t imagine how that made you feel. I’m so sorry," sympathized another.
"Not true, yes I get confused when people just pull up to the window, but once I figure out they’re deaf, I do everything I can to take they’re order correctly and properly ???? this was very sad," explained a presumed drive thru worker.
Not the first time...
Sadly, this is not the first time this has happened at a Dunkin'. In September 2021, another deaf person also allegedly experienced rejection in a Dunkin' drive-thru. The customer recounted what happened in tears. Dunkin' told BuzzFeed at the time—amid the pandemic when mask-wearing was prevalent—that the owner of that location "reached out to a local area advocate for the Deaf community to request additional guidance on how retailers can properly communicate with deaf and hard of hearing guests wearing face masks."
Dunkin’, along with the franchise owner and the manager, also reportedly reached out to the woman to make things right.
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