Hurts Doughnuts
Recently our daughter Heather asked me to go buy her a dozen doughnuts for her and her coworkers from Hurts Doughnuts Company, a mobile specialty doughnut business which was going to be in Harrisonville, Missouri, about 20 miles north of where I live.
Their motto means you eat so many of their delicious doughnuts, that it hurts! On a regular day, they will sell between 8,000 to 10,000 donut, with more than 70 doughnut variations such as their S’mores, Snickers, and Cookie Monster doughnuts. The Springfield store is open 24 hours a day.
Hurts Donuts
They deliver the donuts in an “Wham-bulance,” an ambulance and a U-Haul. Based out of Springfield, Missouri, the business is now coming to the Kansas City, MO, area, which Heather is very excited about.
Wham-bulance
Being the nice mom I am, I said okay, unsuspecting of what I’d endure. Heather told me to get there early as the buzz was building already. I planned to arrive at 11:00 a.m. since they would open at 12 noon, located in the parking lot of a tire company.
I thought that an hour was a long time to wait, but when I arrived, I found out that the people who were first in line had been camping out in the parking lot since 8 a.m. that morning…for doughnuts!
I could not believe it! This is how long the line was when I got there. Even more people were in back of me. CRAZY! (God gave me favor and I was able to get a parking spot right in front immediately! Go, God!)
line in parking lot
To top it off, it was really hot that day. Only the great LOVE I have for my daughter Heather could make me do such a thing, as I hate heat and hate waiting! I did come prepared, though, with a hat, sunblock, and shades!
me waiting in the hot sun
Fortunately, the employees were handing out free bottles of cold water from Country Club Bank and Price Chopper to the customers. I accepted two of them, and was so thankful!
One of them was the owner’s sister, who is in the pic below in the pink T-shirt with their company logo. She was videoing everyone in line with Facebook Live. She told me about the people at the start of the line, who’d been waiting there since 8 a.m.
She also said the company was bringing a U-Haul with more doughnuts as there were more customers in line than they anticipated: 250 people at her last count. I texted this to Heather, who laughed and said this was insane. I agree!
A missionary friend of mine, Ron Hedrick of Global Community Outreach, who lives in Guatemala with his wife Rhonda, their son Jeremiah, and who have adopted 10 Guatemalan children, saw my pics on Facebook and said, “This scares me.” It should. Would people wait in line this long in the hot sun to hear a message about Jesus Christ or be baptized? [I encourage you to donate to Ron and Rhonda’s ministry in Guatemala as they do amazing, selfless work for Christ there.]
sister of owner
free bottle of cold water
A few things helped me to wait it out: an occasional cool breeze and a customer who was sitting in her truck nearby with the window open and the radio playing some good music. My motto whenever you go anywhere or do something new is, “Have fun and take lots of pics!”
I entertained myself by talking to others in line, watching the little kids play happily, and taking pics to post on this blog, Facebook, and my new Instagram page. (I messed up my IG account when I updated my iPhone to the 7, and had to create a brand new Instagram account because the name”Beth Jones” was already taken! I lost all my previous followers, so I’m rebuilding it again. I invite you to follow me there.)
The kids’ faces were turning red from the heat, but they didn’t seem to mind it and chased each other, laughing. The little girl in the dress with braids was so adorable. I was reminded of how fast my own children (3 daughters) had grown up and of Matthew 19:14, NASB:
But Jesus said, “Let the children alone, and do not hinder them from coming to Me; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”
little boys playing
happy kids
Turns out it was too hot to wait that long for the young mom with a whiny toddler and a fussy baby in a stroller right in front of me, so she left, deciding to go for an ice cream with them instead. Smart idea!
young mom with kids
One of the varieties that Hurts Donuts is famous for is their bacon maple doughnut. I love bacon, but who on earth would want bacon on a doughnut? Apparently a lot of people, as it is one of their best sellers!
I bought a Snickers and a cheesecake doughnut for Heather, other types of doughnuts to make a dozen and a half for her and her coworkers to share, and a bacon maple one for her coworkers to sample. She told me later that it wasn’t her cup of tea. Mine, either! I tried the chocolate one with chocolate frosting and it tasted DIVINE!
bacon maple doughnut
I was very concerned about the girl standing in front of me in line, whose neck was getting badly sunburned. The pic doesn’t do the fire-redness justice.
girl with sunburned neck
One of the employees passing out water, who told me that he works at the corporate office (in the hat and T-Shirt at the table in the pic below), said they had been up since 1 a.m. to prepare for this event.
He and another gal working at the table under the Country Club Bank tent told me that they “loved” my LOVE hat. They were really friendly people.
Hurts Donuts employees
Observing the long line of customers, I estimated that the average customer would buy a dozen doughnuts at $15 a box. (I bought 2 dozen total, plus the bacon maple.) There were 250 people in line, so that is $3,750 made in just a few hours! Whoa!
When I asked the corporate employee how on earth they manage to get this many people to buy their doughnuts, he said it’s all about the marketing: social media and live streaming. (Facebook Live–have you tried it? I haven’t yet, but maybe I need to! Or maybe I should start selling great doughnuts!)
Heather was appreciative that I did this for her. She told me that her coworkers said I am an “awesome mom.” I’m glad that I made my daughter happy and that someone thinks I’m awesome!
Me & my beautiful, precious daughter Heather with her doughnuts!
I also bought some for our family. I stopped by to drop them off after I took Heather hers. Below are pics of our granddaughters Annabelle and Violet, who enjoyed their doughnuts as well.
Annabelle & Violet with their doughnuts
Our precious & silly granddaughter Annabelle
Our red-headed granddaughter Violet with her cute messy bun
Heather suggested that I take pics of this unusual, funny event and blog about it, so here goes my take on it. I decided to blog about it from a business perspective:
- Sell what people want, not what they need, as your product. (They wanted sugar!)
- It’s all about the marketing and building buzz by word of mouth. (Take advantage of social media & live streaming.)
- People will wait a long time, even in the heat or cold winter, for a good offer. (Several hours in the hot sun!)
- Be creative and offer a variety of products. (Examples: Bacon maple, Cookie Monster, chocolate with sprinkles or Fruit Loops, caramel drizzle, Snickers, or cheesecake doughnuts.)
- Connect and network with other business owners. Don’t be a lone ranger biz owner. (Country Club Bank and Price Chopper helped Hurts Donuts with the tent and the water.)
- Be friendly and good to your customers. (Employees live streaming to built anticipation, passing out free bottles of cold water & making sure their customers were okay in the heat.)
- Have fun at what you’re doing! (The employees joking around with their customers as they waited.)
Cover art: Copyright 2016 Beth Jones
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Have you heard of Hurts Donuts before? Ever waited this long for one or something else? What do you think of this? Leave your comments below.
