Sunday, 13 January 2002 : "Dunkin' Donuts"

...in communities like Cos Cob ... the idea of the first job is changing. Dennis Tournas, who bought the franchise in 1983, prefers not to hire high school students anymore. Unlike in my day, when we teenagers were all paragons of dependability, kids these days hog the phone and cancel shifts at the last minute. But then, they aren't exactly begging to bag doughnuts, anyway. When the manager of the store, Jose Illescas, shows me a sheaf of applications, none are from local teenagers.

So who's making the coffee? Immigrants. Every single worker at the Cos Cob Dunkin' Donuts, from the owners, who were born in Greece, to the manager (Guatemala), to the most senior baker (Brazil) and the longest-serving counter help (Taiwan), is an immigrant.

In my first Dunkin' Donuts tour ... I learned that in the workplace, not wanting to do something -- say, frosting chocolate doughnuts -- just doesn't matter. You have to do it, so there's no use whining. I learned how much smoother the day goes when people act with civility; a shift filled with pleases and thank-yous is better than one lacking in such grace notes.