Wow. That guy is just nuts. And he was the ONLY worker in that Dunkins? No wonder it was taking so long for the guy to get a cup of coffee.

Question...who covers the cost of the tires since this guy has been charged but probably won't be convicted for some time, and obviously the customer needs new tires now. Does his insurance take care of it, or is the guy who did it (there were witnesses, it seems really likely he'll get convicted) responsible for the cost of the tires?

America Runs [Away From] Dunkin'

@pecan 3.14159265: The victim's insurance should take care of it, then should sue Dunkin Donuts and the guy who did it and collect compensation from them.

The victim could also try going directly to DD insurance and see if they get anywhere.

woah... I drove by the dunkin donuts that the article is about... what a surreal feeling.

@pecan 3.14159265: The guy is going to have to pay out of pocket to get towed and tires replaced, and then he's either gonna go to his insurance company if he has full coverage, or the (most likely it's a franchise) owner and deal with him.

They recently opened up a Dunkin' outside of Pittsburgh before Christmas. I visited it soon after it opened and they had no idea what they were doing. They were getting everybody's drinks wrong and the wait at the window was ridiculous. Apparently things haven't changed since, according to locals, and as we drove by about a week ago, the place was dead. Not a great way to open a new business. They probably should have focused a little more on training their employees before opening.

Let me guess...Dunkin Donuts takes this incident "very seriously".

So, the FBI is using Dunkin' Donuts for Witness Protection gigs now? What, run out of Pizzerias?

@pecan 3.14159265: I'm pretty sure the man's Comprehensive insurance would cover this, less any deductible (which can be anywhere from $0-1000 depending on his policy). If the insurance company covers any of it, they can follow up with the DD employee in court to get the money back.

Most likely, the guy will have to take the DD employee to civil court regardless, to either sue him for the total cost of the tires (if insurance doesn't pick it up or if he didn't file with the insurance), or for the cost of his deductible and any resulting increases to the insurance premium.

No matter what, the DD employee is an idiot, and the victim is in for a big hassle!

I cringe when I go into the local D&D because its a filthy rot hole, yet I crave the coffee. I think getting my tires slashed might break my addiction.

Knifin' around. Cut-cut-cut-cut-cut-cut-cut-cut-cut-cut

@TheRedSeven: Unfortunately, some dude who just got fired from his job at Dunkin' Donuts probably isn't going to have the cash to pay for the victim's tires and towing. He'll have to go after the store, and it's not clear that the store is liable -- this guy wasn't slashing tires as part of his job.

@pecan 3.14159265: Unfortunately he'd be better off just buying a new set of tires and filing a small claims suit against the worker *and* the store.

If he files a claim on his insurance his premiums will go up (assuming he doesn't have a $1,000 deductible on comprehensive like I do).

If he wins the lawsuit against the employee and the store in most states he can collect against either (but not more than the judgment from both).

Or, he could do what I would do, which is buy new tires, chalk it up to a bad experience, and get on with life. Yeah, being out some $800 probably sucks, but at least the guy didn't knife him.

@Ratty:

oh, hell yeah! Space Ghost rocks.

hey, I've been to that one!

and I'm not likely going back anytime soon....

This seems like a perfectly logical response. Only, I wonder what the consequences were for those that grew impatient while he took a moment to, you know, score one for humankind.

God help us all.

@rinse: Because Consumerist is awesome, that's why.

If you happen to get his number, pass it on to me! He sounds so dreamy...

So I guess the lesson is "When you leave Dunkin', leave fast.

Can I just say, Meg, that I love the "like hell we're going to try to call him?" I can't tell you how many times journalists have thought that sort of thing, then picked up the phone anyway, knowing it's their job. I'd love to see that in an article. "The AP did not attempt to contact the suspect, as he is probably not in the best mood right about now."

hah. That WOULD happen in Natick.

@AngrySicilian: Hrmmm... the ones around here are always clean and cheery. And so are the people.

I hate them at 6:15 in the morning.

I used to work at a donut shop and we did this all the time. Slashing tires is the response to those that don't wait for their coffee. Taking too long for donut selection would result in a bent car antenna. We'd key the customer's car if they made a purchase under $5 with a credit card. It's kind of an unspoken set of rules that not a whole lot of donut stores adhere to.

@Applekid:

Brilliant! hahaha

I think it's becoming SOP for Dunkin' Donuts to have only one person on duty during non-morning hours. My local store in Skokie IL has gotten terrible lately. One lady who is obviously not very organized and spends most of her time jumping between half-finished orders and telling angry waiting customers she's sorry.

I used to go and pick up donuts in the evening for the next morning as a special treat for the family. I could generally rely on getting relatively fresh donuts. Now, when you go into the store, all the markings on the donut shelves are wrong, so you're trying to figure out what kind of donuts they actually have, and then when you finally get them, they're all stale. Its obvious that they stop making donuts about mid-day, and also give up on any semblance of reasonable service about that time too.

So I've given up on Dunkin Donuts.

@cf27:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Respondeat_superior

The store would likely be held liable if he were to go after the store. The tire-slashing was on the DD parking lot, he was working on the premises, and he slashed the customer's tires because the customer didn't want to wait for his coffee.

@AngrySicilian: Well if you wait for the coffee, you wont have a problem.

a folding pocket knife slashed 4 tires before the owner had a chance to either drive off (on one bad tire and 3 good tires) OR get out of the car and kick some clerk arse?

Yet, right.

Have you ever tried to cut a tire with a pocket knife?

@pecan 3.14159265: Is the question who is responsible or is it who is going to pay for it?

The best course of action is to file the claim on their own insurance company, and let the insurer sort it out. The process is called subrogation.

Dunkin Donuts can make the argument that the action taken by their employee (probably ex-employee by now) was an action "outside the scope of employment" and thus, he is deemed to be acting on his own behalf from that moment on.

There is a legal basis for that argument. The counter-claim or response will undoubtedly be that Dunkin Donuts was negligent in the screening of their employees and supervision of their employees.

What it really comes down to is who has money? Does a guy working at Dunkin going to have enough assets to pay for any judgment? Doubtful at best.

If there was criminal prosecution, the judge could order restitution if he/she so chose. But that could take years. Your best bet for recovery is not on the criminal side.

The victim is better off making a claim on their own insurance. If the insurance company recovers anything from Dunkin's insurance (very likely), from the first dollar on, recovery first goes toward the insured's deductible before the insurance company gets a dime.

Prosecution for a criminal offense or more likely a municipal forfeiture will bolster the case for recovery from Dunkin's insurance. But it's also probably not going to change much of anything.

All that aside, I'm sure the victim now has nightmares about the incident, has a fear of coffee now, and suffers other adverse effects.

If I were to defend this claim, I would urge my client to settle before any suit is even filed, if possible, or even more quickly if an action has already been filed.

Why r Cnsmrst hdlns wrttn n th styl f Th nn? ;)

[www.thnn.cm]

@rns: Nt sr, bt prsnlly, thnk t gts ld fst. Th DD gy ddn't slsh th cstmr's trs bcs h ddn't wt, h slshd trs bcs thr ws n rgmnt. t ws bsc crmnl bhvr tht hppnd t ccr btwn DD mply nd cstmr.

t sd t b fnny, bt nw jst skp th hdlns nd th Cnsmrst cmmntry nd rd th rgnl rtcl.

I don't know, but after he slashed the first tire on my car, he would meet a tire IRON face first. And hilarity would ensue...
"Oh sorry, I was getting this out to change this flat tire."

@tedyc03: Seriously, you would let this go?

So let me get this straight... this guy was just waiting in line and then decided to leave, so the guy behind the counter ran out after him and slashed his tires? Riiiight...

@Corporate-Shill: Have you ever tried to fight somebody with a knife?

@Corporate-Shill:

You can get folding hunting knives that will cut a tire very easily. The post never said it was a pocket knife.

Dunkin sucks.....always has....started on the East coast and now, like a plague, it's on the west coast.
Slave labor!!!

Mac

Let's put it this way...

If some guy is coming at my car with a knife, and begins slashing my tires, I'm going to assume that he is disabling my vehicle in an attempt to prevent my escape when he then attacks me with said knife. Somewhere between tire two and three he would be lying dead or at least seriously wounded in the parking lot.

Having the attacker armed with a deadly weapon and attempting to prevent my excape from his action would put me in fear of my life, and 9mm hollowpoints would go in his direction.

(Yes, I have legally carried since the '70s...)

Tomas - University Place, WA

@sebadoh128: @tenfour:

LOL

@Corporate-Shill: Yes, actually, and it takes about two seconds if you have a reasonably sharp knife and you poke (as opposed to "slash") them.

A crazy guy's waving a knife around and you ask why he didn't kick the guy's ass?

@Tijil: Nothing's scarier than people who have an itchy trigger finger, seemingly taking pride in killing someone for just slashing their tires. I never understood why people are so eager to shoot and kill someone if they had the chance. I'm all for self-defense, but you know shooting someone a couple of times in the arm or leg (without trying to kill 'em) is just as effective , right?

@tenfour: Zing!

@badhatharry:

Yes.

I won. He lost.

@strathmeyer:

Yep, it stinks to me too.

@HiPwr: That's the Chicago donut way.

@Corporate-Shill: "Police said multiple witnesses confirmed the victim's account."

how slow was this guy to pull out of the parking spot...think about it.

guy says forget it walks out and should have time to get into his car and turn it on.

in the meanwhile the dd employee has enough chance to stop what his doing, gets a knife, DARTS outside and has enough time to poke all 4 wheels?!?!

Or is it that the guy went across the street to a starbucks instead?!?

I for one hate DD's. Not because they're unhealthy or whatnot, but the donuts are always stale (I always forget about the yellow or pink paper as to which one is the fresh/old). Their drinks never come out the same (non-coffee drinks, dont do coffee) and there's always one poor lonely disgrunteled soul working behind the counter with long lines. not to mention that some of the not remodeled DD's just look plain dirty and sad.

DD should just go out of business and stop making up breakfast sandwiches to get people in their stores.

phew, all that was weiging heavy on my chest!

@AngrySicilian: You know, they sell ground Dunkin Donuts coffee in many supermarkets now, you don't have to go to an actual Dunkin Donuts just for the coffee.

Sounds like a good idea to get a better/faster car... or try Starbucks VIA coffee!

@Corporate-Shill: That's why I always bring a cheese grater to a knife fight.
[www.redmeat.com]