All the same...that's the point!

It's a pretty simple concept...

A business is decently successful. The owner wants to have a few more locations but doesn't necessarily want to go too far out on a financial limb, so they offer folks the right to franchise the original business's success.

That way the various outlets, the newly franchised locations, all can have exactly the same high-quality products offered at the original location. That way I can safely wander into any MickyDonalds and get the exact same, identical, wonderful double cheeseburger without worrying that this double cheeseburger would be better or worse than every other double cheeseburger from every other MickyDonalds around this glorious country of ours.

It does seem, however, that a few places have dropped the ball on the whole franchising means everybody's the frickin' same tip.

First there's the various Dunkin' Donuts franchises 'round the country and their clear lack of respect for the glorious and noble apple fritter. In most of the Dunkin' Donuts that I know, the apple fritter is a batter with apple chunks mixed in, fried, and iced. That's the true classic (let me recommend the fritters just after 6am when they're nice and hot).

This past weekend, however, I stopped into the Dunkin' Donuts in Milford and got some sort of Frankenfritter - a fried dough ball into which apple goo has been injected - like a jelly filled fritter. This isn't quite as freakish as the Frankenfritter that I got down at the Dunkin' Donuts in Atlanta (in the CNN center where I stayed for the NSTA convention a few years back) where there wasn't any sort of batter with apples. The Atlanta Frankenfritter was a simple jelly donut (a big donut, admittedly) filled with apple stuff.

What the heck? The franchise concept means that every frickin' fritter is supposed to be the same. That way I'm happy with all my Dunkin' Donuts no matter where I am.

And don't even get me started on the randomness that is the Dairy Queen cookie dough Blizzard - which seems to be made with a standard vanilla ice cream (or whatever their soft serve technically is) and cookie dough pieces. Easy enough. But seemingly at random, some franchise locations add in chocolate syrup.

All I ask for is a little consistency. Is that so wrong?