I’d really rather this blog not just turn into a compendium of my complaints, but because I know that Google Reviews tend to get summarily disappeared, I feel compelled to record my experiences somewhere more permanent (if less visible). Last month it was Citi. This month, of all places, it’s a company trying to sell a luxury good and acting like a discount bit player.

The culprit: Krispy Kreme. They have a rewards scheme. It’s not amazing, but I thought I had it working and was playing the game.

Today though I managed to redeem 1800 points or whatever for what I thought was a mixed dozen. Turns out it wasn’t just any mixed dozen though- it’s an “assorted” dozen, meaning I’ll like perhaps 3 of the selections and the rest are just meh. When I realized this, I found out that there’s no way to go back and just get a plain dozen. The points are gone. So now my rewards are gone and useless.

The app doesn’t offer a way to contact support without my rewards number, which isn’t given anywhere. You’d think that being logged in to the app, they would know who I am and be able to create the appropriate message.

I tried calling and either got disconnected or (I suspect) hung up on.

Further compounding my frustration over time:

• I’ve placed online orders with clear pickup windows, only to arrive and find the store closed.
• Stores frequently lack inventory.
• The store lobbies are often closed with no indication that they’re closed

I guess it’s better for my wallet and my waistline to just leave Krispy Kreme behind. It takes me roughly 45 minutes to make a dedicated donut run, so it’s not a great use of my time anyway. It’s certainly not the luxury experience they’re charging for.