'Embarrassing mistake' to blame for Dunkin' Donuts franchise's apparent whites-only invitation
A Dunkin' Donuts franchise in Rhode Island is scrambling to apologize after posting an invitation offering free coffee to white customers.
The Facebook post invited customers to a celebration at the Cranston location, but company officials say the post mistakenly excluded customers from other races, reported WJAR-TV.
"It's an unfortunate mistake, it's an embarrassing mistake,” said Kelsey Chester, a field marketing manager for Dunkin' Donuts. "Dunkin' as a company obviously is very excited for this opening for the people of Cranston, all the people of Cranston."
Chester said the post had been copied from a similar giveaway at a store in White Plains, New York, and the employee who made the post replaced the word "Plains" with "Cranston" but neglected to delete the word "White."
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The celebration went on as planned, with the first 100 customers of any race receiving a free coffee, and regulars said they accepted the explanation for the post.
"It's too racially diverse in there," said customer Shelley Ramsey, "and it's just, that's just not how that's not how things roll."