Hacker News Reader

Comment by al_borland | Hacker News Reader

Is being closed on Sunday what leads to round the clock lines at their drive-thru?

Chick-fil-A is very trendy and popular, and they don’t have enough restaurants to meet demand. The customers seem to be driving this, not being closed on Sunday.

If there were 2 equal restaurants, say 2 different McDonalds in similar markets, and one was open 6 days and another 7 days, would we see the Chick-fil-A effect? I’m betting not.

If this was the case, the Filet-O-Fish wouldn’t exist. It was developed by a McDonald’s owner in Ohio where the town was 85% Catholic, and didn’t eat red meat on Friday. He effectively only had a real business 6 days per week and was struggling. The fish sandwich was his answer and turned things around for him.

View on HN

I received the impression that being closed on Sundays was part of corporate culture, a statement of valuing something other than maximizing value extraction. A poster here commented that the franchise agreements were unique in the poster's experience in having a flavor of partnership. Customer service seems to be emphasized.

B&H Photo seems to have a similar (even greater?) customer service drive. More than one poster here has commented that being closed on Jewish holy days (including Shabbat) is not a major deterrent given the quality of customer service and products.

Keeping one's word even when it hurts is a mark of virtue and integrity means such virtue is expressed in a breadth of life activity. Miracle on 34th Street hints on the advantage of "having a heart", even if Mr. Macy saw it as a corporate gimmick.

A McDonalds being closed one day a week because the managers like outdoor activities that day (or to try to achieve a Chick-fil-A effect) would see the ethos behind that behavior informing other behaviors.

Marketing can support a false reputation, but trust is important to social function. Betrayed (or mistaken if you are Roj Blake) trust wounds society.

Nope. I meant that in spite of being closed on Sundays, they managed to do higher revenue numbers. I really don't know how anyone could infer otherwise.

It's not the result of being closed on Sundays. The entire discussion was about how great working conditions can lead to higher business success. Check the parent comment to mine - Chick-fil-A was a direct counterexample.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com