It turns out that people hate rich assholes who threaten to cut back employees’ hours so they can avoid taking responsibility for their health insurance. Who could have guessed that publicly ripping on ObamaCare would cause Olive Garden and Red Lobster to downgrade their quarterly profits outlook or cause Papa John’s to beg for mercy and plead misunderstanding? It sounds like one large loud-mouthed franchisee crippled Applebee’s whole brand.
I avoid corporate food because it’s bland and unimaginative. It looks like other people are avoiding it because they don’t like their politics. Whatever works. Buy local.
Don’t care what they do NOW, that their side lost the election.
I still refuse to ever patronize them ever again.
When it counted, they showed their true colors, and now that they might lose some money, they want us all to ignore it??????
Sorry my principles ain’t for sale, like theirs are it seems.
And, as always, karma is a bitch.
To be honest this is really our last weapon against them. The next step is refusing to take their money; “Your money isn’t good here.”
F ’em. The whole argument Papa John’s had was health care woulda added a whole 14 cents to the cost of a large pizza. (Analysts even said that was exaggerated, and it was more like 4 cents.)
4 fucking cents was too much for their CEO who lives like a king and for their fucking stockholders. 4 cents a pizza for their employees to have health care.
These people are monsters.
I don’t think the fuckers realize how heartless they reveal themselves to be. 14 fucking cents; I think Papa John is making the case for healthcare for anyone who is paying attention and isn’t brainwahsed
How many cents of income per share did they lose as a result of thumbing their noses at a public that just voted overwhelmingly for the policy they’re childishly attacking with their politics-over-dinner campaign?
Not to mention the opportunity for their workforce to actually BE healthier and WORK healthier.
Exactly! With all the fuss these CEOs made, I think ordinary people started questioning the wisdom of eating food handled by people who may have untreated illnesses.
It’s really funny, these guys pizza, food, etc aren’t even at the type of their respective industries. So when faced with paying to eat their crap or just not patronizing their establishments, people just choose to save their money and maybe go get something better and owned by less idiotic people.
I do feel bad though for those franchise owners who aren’t on the same page as these douches.
Not only do we not eat at most food places that are chains (we eat local) but I refuse to buy from Amazon also. I buy from independent, local bookstores.
I’m actually quite suprised at this. I through most people were apathetic consumer sheep in this country. That there would be any sort of backlash perhaps indicates people aren’t that dumb after all?
Then again, they may still continue to eat there…
My theory is that the publicity simply made these places, which are pretty much interchangeable with their competition, a little bit worse for the customer’s self image. A lot of the appeal of places like Appleby’s and PJ’s is a sense of being part of the crowd. Then they get a hint that there’s some kind of political crap going on so they move on to the next mall.
Since fast food is basically interchangeable, any marginal difference between one place and another can make a big difference, especially because it only means driving one more block, or going to another place in the food court. So yeah, being a dick can hurt your business
Donald Trump would beg to differ…….
I know he ain’t fast food,
I don’t think his casinos are doing all that well.
I’m not sure why you think you can punish CEO’s in this way without punishing their employees.
You can’t, you know.
Sad, but true.
I don’t think Booman (or anyone else in this thread) has suggested they think “you can punish CEO’s in this way without punishing their employees”.
What I will suggest is that if people are in fact choosing to eat at restaurants or shop at stores that treat their employees decently and justly, that they are rewarding good behavior on the part of those CEOs.
That in turn rewards their employees. If it happens on a large enough scale, that means those good CEOs will have to open more stores and restaurants and hire more employees—perhaps even hiring employees away from the CEOs who mistreat their workers.
I must get my Italian food at The Olive Garden or their employees will suffer?
That’s your argument?
So, since open sky mining companies, mercenary companies, etc employ employees I should support them?
yes, they are job creators, protected by their moat of worker alligators
Now that I think about it, ordinary people are the job-creator-creators… if working stiffs didn’t eat Papa Johns constipation inducing pizza, Papa John wouldn’t be in business…
So, you’re saying if I move my business away from people who shit on their workers to people who don’t I will be hurting the people who work for businesses that shit on their workers, but you’re ignoring the fact that will help create opportunities for those workers to move to better jobs by creating more demand at places that are good to their workers?
Funny how when you put the whole equation on the table it doesn’t sound so bad. I suppose it is a valiant attempt to slant the equation by ignoring half of it, though. Golf clap?
You know, I completely forgot about the part where denying business to companies that treat their workers like shit creates incentives for them to change their policies and treat workers better. Huh, I guess you’re ignoring two thirds of the equation. That does take away from the slanting effort. Guess I have to say no to the golf clap.
Their employees, like their customers, are mostly transient. The demand for the crap they sell will open the market for other entrants and other (maybe better) jobs. But this is far less punishment than these assholes deserve. If we really wanted to punish them appropriately, we’d tax them til their net compensation reflected their true worth. Except that would mean more folks on food stamps.
If we REALLY wanted to punish them, they would have to work at their on facilities for the slave wages no benefits for several years. Then see if they have a different attitude.