Fifteen minutes of shame: Dunkin’ Donuts loses business to zealously ticketed metered spaces

By Catherine Rogers

In a mad dash against time, Dunkin’ Donuts employees in Magoun Square frequently race a vigilant meter maid to prevent her from ticketing customers’ cars, said longtime store owner Victor Vogis. Each day he spends around $15 to allay patrons’ fears of parking tickets, so he sends cashiers outside to feed quarters to the ticking meters.

To Vogis, who has owned the Dunkin’ Donuts on Broadway since 1977, this out-of-pocket expense is small compared to the noticeable dip in business due to regular ticketing. Six months since the meter prices doubled, many customers have received parking tickets when they who park in the municipal lot adjacent to the building.

And for customers, the coffee just isn’t worth it.

The 12 spaces in front of Dunkin’ Donuts fill up quickly during the morning rush, and customers can expect to wait 10 minutes or more to finish weaving through the line.

“People don’t even want to come into my store. I’ve never seen anything like it,” said Vogis.

Two weeks ago, Vogis said he explained the situation to a person who answered the phone at the Traffic and Parking department, left at least one message there, and has not heard from anyone.

But for two weeks before that ‚Äì in early December ‚Äì Vogis decided to offer customers free quarters for the meters. In conjunction with his manager Sonia Sharma, he posted a sign alerting customers of his priorities. 

“If you have parked in the City parking lot then you can always ask one of our cashiers for a quarter. Between 8 and 10 a.m. we will keep an eye on the parking meters and we will put quarters in the meter for our customers,” reads the message taped to the ‘line begins here’ sign.

Dunkin’ Donuts cashier Anu Verma said she attempted to approach the meter maid herself, but was allegedly told that the meter maid was “just doing her job.”

Since Monday was a holiday, no one at the Traffic and Parking Department was available for comment. However, Lucy Warsh, public information officer for the Mayor’s office, encouraged any business owner to complain to an alderman or directly to City Hall if any meter maid intentionally tickets a car – including those within a minute of an overdue meter.

In the summer of last year, the Mayor’s office touted the increased meter prices as a boost for local businesses. Doubling the price would yield a higher turnaround for parking spaces and thus bring more customers – and more money – to businesses that once suffered from all-day parkers hogging valuable spaces.

“The changes to the parking meters that went into effect in July are a result of balancing the needs of shoppers and [store] owners,” said Warsh. “The city is not targeting a business or residents of a business – that’s not the point of enforcing parking policies,” she said.

She also noted that many businesses rely solely on metered spaces for parking. “I’m not sure why a businesses owner would spend his own money; it seems a question of preference,” said Warsh.