A story of "launch" disaster: fast-food style

Re:A story of "launch" disaster: fast-food style by edw519 on Tuesday October 13, 2009 @08:12AM (#878871)

It could be, but I still doubt it. McDonald's runs a very tight ship; franchisees have little latitude to go "rogue". It's highly unlikely that a franchisee could shut down one day without corporate approval. They have traditionally welcomed others into their neighborhoods (while still maintaining #1 position, of course).

[Little known unpublished McDonald's fact: Not sure if it's still true, but at one time they honored all competitors coupons. Yes, they'd give you a free Big Mac with a free Whopper coupon.]

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Re:A story of "launch" disaster: fast-food style by joezydeco on Tuesday October 13, 2009 @10:23AM (#879107)

They may have kept the restaurant open and just closed the drive-thru lane. That's pretty much killing your lunch business, but the store is still effectively "open".

[And yeah the coupon thing is still there. I once spent half an hour arguing with a woman who knew about this fact and was trying to convince me a free Strawberry Shake was equivalent to a free Slurpee coupon she was holding. Had to say no to that one.]

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Re:A story of "launch" disaster: fast-food style by andyswan on Tuesday October 13, 2009 @11:14AM (#879242)

You may be right there....I don't know if you could park a block away and walk into the McD's that day, but I do know no one would lol :)

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Re:A story of "launch" disaster: fast-food style by Evgeny on Tuesday October 13, 2009 @08:57AM (#878945)

Maybe if they were planning that pavement replacement anyway ... they could adjust so that it would fall on the certain date - the date of Wendy's opening.

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