A slam dunk 401(k) for a 5-location Dunkin' franchise

John Rader is one of the East Coast’s original Dunkin’ franchisees. His first of six Dunkin’ locations opened 50 years ago—and Connie, his Financial Controller and right hand, has been at his side for nearly 20 of those years.

“I oversee anything with a dollar sign across all of Rader Management's businesses. The Dunkin’ store managers run day-to-day operations—and I run everything else.”

That’s why when Connie heard about the New Jersey retirement mandate, she started comparing the free state program against a private 401(K) her payroll provider offered. But neither felt like a good option.

Why? After being burned by a series of poor product and customer service experiences, Connie was leery about repeating the past.

“I had an awful time trying to resolve a mistake my payroll software made on a quarterly filing. I’d sit on hold with the state for 45 minutes only to get a wrong answer. And when I tried to reconnect with the payroll company, I got bounced around from department to department with no end in sight. After that I wanted two things: a dedicated contact and the ability to get into the details by myself.”

Self-serve technology and customer support Connie could rely on were critical—so she asked a trusted accountant for a franchise 401(k) referral. His recommendation? Guideline.

Guideline came with glowing reviews from her accountant and other franchisees, but before Connie rolled out a new 401(k) to employees across five New Jersey Dunkin’ locations, she wanted to take a look for herself.

“I decided to choose Guideline over the state and other private retirement options because of the clarity and confidence I felt using the product. The service is phenomenal. Instructions are easy to understand. The same person answers the phone each time I call. The product is built for multiple franchise locations—and I can check their work whenever I want. To sum it up, Guideline never wastes my time. And that’s what’s most important to me—my time.”

Along with time saved, Guideline also met Connie’s critical list of must-haves, including:

It was clear her accountant found the perfect 401(k) option, and Connie was ready to get started.

“Setting up a 401(k) for five separate entities was shockingly easy. I used one website and one simple set of click-through instructions. If I did have a question, I picked the phone and dialed my support person directly—and she’d walk me through the answer step-by-step. It was refreshing. You rarely see great customer service like Guideline’s these days.”

But Connie wasn’t the only one with access to great customer support. Employees across all five Dunkin’ franchises have a dedicated support team to lean on as well.

“Typically, when I roll out a new process to hourly employees, I get a mountain of questions. But I haven’t heard a single peep with Guideline. Dunkin’ employees download the app, take a quiz to pick their investment portfolio, and then contact Guideline with questions from there. Guideline’s self-serve technology takes a ton of work off my shoulders.”

And that’s exactly what Connie loves about Guideline—and why she recommends the service to other franchisees.

“Guideline lightens my workload without increasing my stress. Our employees can find answers easily and so can I. Overall, I just trust Guideline. They always get the work done right the first time, and that type of relationship with a vendor is a breath of fresh air.”