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Why would any person commit so much money into a business that was going to meet such a hostile environment?
Chik-Fil-A is a franchise outfit, so the franchisee may have been naive or stupid, or both, but part of the franchise's responsibility is to provide anyone who buys one a marketing plan. A big part of any franchise's marketing plan is a location scout who studies demographics in the area and creates a list of the best possible site locations.
Inside a college campus would surely be not on that list for several reasons; the company is already notorious for its conservative activism, and they forbid their franchisees to open on Sunday.
While a campus always has all political parties represented a-plenty, a fast food joint should be a neutral political zone so maximum profit can be accomplished. The joint won't do well drawing only half the customers it should draw.
And Sunday closures will cost the franchisees even more money. Sundays on campus are most often the only day a lot of students take off to just relax.
If I was buying that franchise, I would be planning a lawsuit against Chik-Fil-A for failure to provide adequate services in their part of the deal. I've seen franchises in the past go bankrupt from such failures.
Chick-Fil-A decides where to put every store. They then offer it to a current operator or a new prospect.
If you are a CFA operator, you don't own that store, you are, for lack of a better description, a manager who shares in the profits.
I suppose they could always put a warning disclaimer on their menu board: "GAY- NO WAY!"
Except it wouldn't be true. There is no evidence that Chik-Fila discriminates against anyone based on their sexual orientation, either as regards their hiring practices or serving customers. Hard to understand for the PC crowd, I guess, but one IS entitled to one's religious beliefs, even if the PC crowd disapproves of tnose beliefs.
The objection to Chick Fil A is not that they were discriminating in their fast food chains but that the corporate head office donated funds to groups that were fighting to deny same sex folks rights, such as marriage.
The original owner said some negative stuff about homosexuality too.
But there was never a specific incident in a restaurant that I am aware of.
Folks had boycotted Chick Fil A for a year because of the donation issue -- conservatives didn't have a clue it was a thing Then one wee week end the conservatives fought back and spent hours in lines at Chick Fil A to support them. That died down pretty quick.
Reality -- some .00001 cent on the dollar you spend at chick Fil A was used (not sure if they still donate to the same groups) as donation to the groups in question. And of that -- only a portion of that money would have been used for fighting against gay rights.
So go ahead eat your chick Fil A and give money to a charity that fights for rights....then it is a wash.
The objection to Chick Fil A is not that they were discriminating in their fast food chains but that the corporate head office donated funds to groups that were fighting to deny same sex folks rights, such as marriage.
The original owner said some negative stuff about homosexuality too.
But there was never a specific incident in a restaurant that I am aware of.
Folks had boycotted Chick Fil A for a year because of the donation issue -- conservatives didn't have a clue it was a thing Then one wee week end the conservatives fought back and spent hours in lines at Chick Fil A to support them. That died down pretty quick.
Reality -- some .00001 cent on the dollar you spend at chick Fil A was used (not sure if they still donate to the same groups) as donation to the groups in question. And of that -- only a portion of that money would have been used for fighting against gay rights.
So go ahead eat your chick Fil A and give money to a charity that fights for rights....then it is a wash.
It wasn't just one weekend the conservatives decided to stand in line to support them. It was after mayors and city aldermen said they would block already approved CFAs from opening in their cities because of their "values."
Boycott away if you don't like a business's causes, but it becomes a problem when the government decides to block businesses because they decide that they don't like the causes. Do you understand the difference here?
As long as a business isn't breaking the law, it should be allowed to operate. I do believe in boycotts and peaceful protests if the demonstrations are a reasonable distance from the entrance and do not intimidate customers.
How many Chick Fil A's have actually been told that they could not open because of the outrage ?
regardless of my dislike for them, it seems to be one of the most successful per unit franchises out there.
None.
But it doesn't make much sense to choose a potentially hostile location for a new biz. Anyone could open up a Confederate flag shop anywhere they wanted, but opening one in Harlem probably wouldn't be selling many flags.
The object is to make money, not to be a symbol of anything except tasty food. A burger joint on campus doesn't have a wide customer base, and it may not have as much traffic potential, so any associations to political affiliation is going to hurt some of its potential money-making ability.
The franchise has been successful, but it hasn't done equally well everywhere. When the franchise owners waded into the same-sex marriage fight in 2012, it hurt the chain's business, but as the controversy died down, some of the biz returned.
But an issue like this remains hotter on any college campus than out in the general public. College kids are a large group who are always looking for potential mates.
I wish the new franchisees well. I've eaten at the one here a few times, and their sandwiches are OK, but fast food is all fast food, and its all pretty much the same. Their placement strategy is one I wouldn't go for, but then, I'm not planning on buying into Chick-Fil-A anytime soon, so for all I know, it may be a brilliant business move.
The corporate owners have laid off pushing their beliefs a lot after 2012, so it might not become such a hot issue as feared nowadays, after same-sex marriage has become legal and things have settled down substantially.
Yes, it is.
What is disappearing in college campuses is the big middle, just like it is in the rest of the country. The campuses now are increasingly one party or the other, or are fighting for domination where one party's affiliation hasn't taken over.
There are really a lot of solidly conservative student bodies all over, especially in the state colleges. The private colleges have always been mixed.
The notion that going to college makes a kid a liberal is totally false. The only thing that happens is college tends to reinforce the affiliations the students brought with them when they enrolled.
Most freshman bring their family's politics with them when the arrive, and college is the place where those politics can really settle in and strengthen.
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