Shut Up And Make The Biscuits, Jeb
By Mitch Berg
Joe Doakes, no longer from Como Park, emails:
Seems that Cracker Barrel is in financial trouble after inviting restaurant patrons to celebrate Gay Pride. Go to https://ace.mu.nu/ and scroll down to “The Morning Rant: Cracker Barrel Went Woke and Now It’s Going Broke” for a nice recap.
Sometimes I wonder if every big company is working from the same “How to Destroy Your Business” cheat sheet, but that cynically paints with too broad a brush. It’s not “every big company” but “every company that ought to know its customers better.” This isn’t a woke failing, it’s a management failing. Figure out what the customers want, figure out how much they’ll pay for it, figure out how to sell them what they want at the price they’re willing to pay, then get rich doing it. It’s been the business model of civilization for thousands of years. How hard is it to understand?
I could see Target deciding to go woke. They’ve been on the cutting edge of liberal silliness forever. They were leaders in the trans bathroom issue. They refuse to sell spark plugs because gas lawn mowers kill Mother Nature. For them to put penis shorts in girls’ clothes should have made perfect sense, given the liberal woke crowd they’re marking to. It only blew up because they failed to understand that Woodbury Soccer Moms are all in for gay rights and saving the planet when the issue is theoretical but some of them become Mama Bear protecting her little girl cubs when the issue is personal. “Woke” is fine until their own daughter is at risk of being raped by the trannie in the girls’ bathroom at school, or shot by the vibrant kid who be jus bout to turn his life t’roun, or beat up by the diversity princess because the daughter didn’t respeck her. Then, old fashioned law-and-order values are in hot demand. Not enough to sustain a serious boycott to cause serious damage to the brand, but enough to be noticed. Okay, that’s Target.
Cracker Barrel, on the other hand, should know better. Their customers are Southern church-goers and senior citizens. It’s the Denny’s crowd, one economic step up from the Waffle House rabble. They’re willing to tolerate queers and trannies but they’re not the least bit interested in celebrating them. If you’re going queer, we’re going elsewhere, same as the Bud Light drinkers.
Personally, I’m waiting for Remington to announce its new Rainbow Pride Rifle to completely finish off the brand forever. Can’t be long now, can it?
Joe Doakes, no longer in Como Park
Personally, the problem is that so many of these brands we’re avoiding are ones I haven’t patronized in forever.
Cracker Barrel? In the ’90s – when my budget made a trip to CB a treat for special occasions – it was an event. A destination. The biscuits alone were something I looked forward to.
The last time I ate at a CB – maybe 2017? – it was like eating at a Perkins that’d given up. Them going “woke” was a market anticlimax for me.
May 21st, 2024 at 8:39 am
First post on the thread, so I’m good. Joe, sounds (hopefully) like you will be waiting for a loooong time:
“As is known, Roundhill Group LLC and a group of experienced firearms manufacturing and hunting industry professionals is in the process of purchasing Remington Firearms. Our intent with this acquisition is to return the company to its traditional place as an iconic American hunting brand. We intend to maintain, care for and nurture the brand and all of the dedicated employees who have crafted these products over the years for outdoors men and women both here in the USA and abroad. More than anything we want to make Remington a household name that is spoken with pride.”
The Roundhill Group is comprised of a group of individuals all of whom have years of experience in engineering, manufacturing and marketing both in and outside of the firearms space. They are all life-long hunting advocates and staunch Remington brand loyalists. They will work tirelessly to ensure that this company takes its rightful place as the iconic American brand that it was and still is.
May 21st, 2024 at 8:45 am
What our gracious host says about a lot of these companies “going woke”. When it was Target, I’d been pleading with my family not to shop there because every $20 shopping trip ended up costing us $100. Cracker Barrel became dead to me after my family was waiting an hour while others were getting in in 15 minutes–yeah, guys, when someone’s got six kids who are hungry, this is not acceptable. Push two tables together, will ya?
On the other hand, it’s nice that companies I hate are making it easier for people I care about to avoid them. :^)
May 21st, 2024 at 9:20 am
“The last time I ate at a CB – maybe 2017? – it was like eating at a Perkins that’d given up. ”
So many chains like that. Their first reaction to an economic downturn is to start cutting corners, then both their quality and service go downhill and the slight downturn in business turns into falling off a cliff.
There are several chain restaurants that I used to really enjoy that I haven’t visited for years because the quality of their food and service has gone to crap.
So, we eat at home more and save our money so that on the rare occasion that we do go out, we can afford to avoid the chain places and go to a better restaurant, preferably locally owned.
May 21st, 2024 at 9:43 am
Sometimes I wonder if every big company is working from the same “How to Destroy Your Business” cheat sheet, but that cynically paints with too broad a brush.
There are two reasons: 1) To a committed leftist, the agenda is far more important than silly profits. Normally, I’d say the only pushback comes from loss of business revenue affecting investors. But when the biggest investors are
leftist progressive hedge funds like Black Rock and State Street, then they don’t care if Leftist causes reduce their revenue either. Leftists have taken over far too many C level suites across America and it shows in the proliferation of DEI staff and marketing. Both the company I am employed by and the company I am contracted at, are practically projectile vomiting rainbows. 2) If leftists haven’t yet taken over the boardroom in a specific company, then they’re afraid of cancel culture coming after them.
May 21st, 2024 at 9:57 am
I also like the CB biscuits and I actually ate at the Lakeville store last week. In this case, the quality of the food and the service, were excellent.
When we moved back to MN from Texas in 1989, we lamented the fact that there were no more lunches or dinners at Chili’s. Imagine our delight when they opened a couple of them here, with the first one in Roseville. Of course, the third week it was open, we made the trek from Bloomington and waited about 40 minutes to get in. When the Bloomington location off of 77th and Highway 100 opened, we were pretty excited. Our kids liked eating there, too, so it was a win. The quality was consistent for about the first 8 – 9 years, but then started dropping. That led to the closure of first the St. Louis Park store, then Bloomington about a year later. I did notice that the Shakopee store seems to be crowded all the time, so might shoot down there for a margarita or two, then see if they have improved.
May 21st, 2024 at 10:27 am
I think the reason for this aligns with the reasons that people strive to reach a C level suite.
1) Power
2) Money
3) Status
4) Achievement
The ringer is status. What good does having power, money and a sense of achievement do if no one invites you to their parties?
On the other hand, so you have less power, money and achievement than other C suiters….but hey, you are on the social scene A-List. which in many cases translates into power, money and achievement.
May 21st, 2024 at 10:29 am
One note on restaurants is that when the original owner retires or dies, it’s generally very hard to keep that je ne sais quoi that makes the restaurant work well–that’s because so much in any business, but especially in restaurants, is “tribal knowledge” that gets diluted when the original owners and managers move on.
Cracker Barrel is “over the barrel” especially because of a bunch of ownership and leadership transitions, and also because of numerous investigations of their company by state and federal authorities, centered around claims of discrimination against blacks and homosexuals. So they basically have a culture that remembers a LOT of pain at the hands of the government that is going to honor the government and disregard their customers.
May 23rd, 2024 at 4:13 pm
Sailorcurt on May 21, 2024 at 9:20 am : So, we eat at home more and save our money so that on the rare occasion that we do go out, we can afford to avoid the chain places and go to a better restaurant, preferably locally owned.
Us too Sailorcurt. My husband and I can make Olive Garden,Chili’s or Taco Bell type dishes so much better and with fewer calories. When we do go out- infrequently- that means we have the money to go to a restaurant that serves outstanding food. I don’t miss it. I bet Sailorcurt doesn’t either.