Franchisee Highlight - December 2005 and January 2006

Fursteins and Ornstein Palm Beach and Broward

Dunkin Donuts/Baskin-Robbins is a family affair for the Fursteins, who own and operate franchises throughout South Florida's Palm Beach and Broward counties.

Spokesman Adam explains everyone's role: His father, Arnold, is the controller, overseeing the money coming in and going out. His mother, Tillie, handles community relations. His sister, Jill, and family friend David Ornstein are in charge of day-to-day business operations. Adam is responsible for future development, financing and lease negotiations.

Adam's brother Marc had been an owner of American Commercial Capital, which lent money to branded businesses including Dunkin Donuts franchises. After the company was sold to Wells Fargo Bank, opportunity didn't take long to knock. "We were actually recruited by Dunkin Donuts to be owners and operators," Adam says.

The Fursteins and Ornstein have been franchisees for about four years now. They currently have seven thriving stores --combined operations in Boynton Beach, Greenacres City, Coconut Creek, Lauderdale-By-the-Sea, Davie and Hollywood as well as a Dunkin Donuts-only store in Lake Worth. They plan to open two more Dunkin Donuts-only stores next year in Boynton Beach. Unlike many franchisees who prefer to take over existing operations, "every store we have has been built from the ground up," Adam says.

"The problem with acquisitions," Adam explains, "is that most of the time they're tied to 10 percent rents," that is, 10 percent of every month's sales going just to pay the rent. "Financing is the intimidating problem" when starting from scratch, but "I felt I had the knowhow ... to work out better financing," he says. "We wanted full term -- not buying the business twice." With new construction, "you don't have to worry about a remodel for 10 years," he adds. Although acquisition is a quicker way to get into the business, "the brand name works, so if the site's right, I don't see the upside," he concludes.

The Furstein-Ornstein strategy is working well. "We made money basically from Day One. We've never lost money on the business," Adam says, adding their stores take no longer than 90 days to become profitable.

What's the secret of their success? Adam replies: "Get up every morning and thank God, and say a prayer every night before you go to bed." Right after faith comes business savvy. When choosing sites, he says, he follows the real estate rule, "location, location, location ... but it's gotta be a good deal ... something that gives us the confidence that it will get to the six-to-eight-percent rent factor." He also looks for access and visibility to draw customers.

These franchisees echo the findings of many others in the region: Coffee and other beverages are the biggest sellers. Adam observes, "We owe that to Starbucks. They made coffee fashionable. Dunkin Donuts made it affordable." Starting the day with coffee seems to be a habit that spans the generations. "We see more younger people drinking coffee these days," he says.

Of all the puzzle pieces that go into a successful operation, Adam says, "the people piece is the hardest piece. The industry has a very high turnover rate." So the group's philosophy is to "treat staff the way you want them to treat other people ... every day, every shift, every customer," bearing in mind that "we really do start a lot of people's days." Adam says they've learned that "customers would rather pay a little more for excellent service ... and they want to get in and out fast."

The other key to managing employees is "to let them know we do have career opportunities," Adam says, adding, "We call it selling the dream -- we want them to have the same dream we do." He defines that dream: "We want to grow with the brand, own as many successful outlets as possible ... We want our operation to run like a finely tuned machine ... We're committed to running the business as professionally, profitably and friendly as possible."

Adam's mom, Tillie, is a whiz at making customers and staff feel special. "When the holidays roll around, she makes sure the stores are decorated to the hilt," he says, adding there are plenty of employee birthday parties and customer appreciation days along with celebrations for Thanksgiving, Christmas and such. "Free scoop nights" are festive occasions with clowns, balloons, and free samples of coffee and ice cream.

The group's prize for customer loyalty goes to a lady who's been with them from the start. Adam tells the tale: "When we opened our first store in front of an old age home, there was an older woman who came every day waiting for it to open. She didn't have any money, so we gave her free coffee. To this day, four years later, she still doesn't pay for her coffee. She's become part of the team ... We've never charged her because she looks forward to starting her day with us every day."


Although the Fursteins and Ornstein strive to make every day a customer appreciation day, it's impossible to make everyone happy. When dealing with the occasional disgruntled customer, Adam says, staffers rely on Dunkin Donuts' LAST rule: "Listen, apologize, (s)love and thank." That's vital to a well-run operation, he says, because "when you lose a customer, you don't get them back."


Looking to the long term, Adam says, he often reminds himself that "the turtle won the race." He explains, "We want to be able to look in the rear view mirror and see nothing but clear skies. We believe in managed growth and running it right."