Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Early Bird

There are times I think I should have been a business major, because there are aspects I find fascinating.

For some strange reason, the fast food business holds great interest, even though I visit far less frequently than I once did.

You also know I'm an early riser, even on my days off.

Now that the foundation has been built, let's get to the beef.

Burger King seems to have lost its way in recent years.  The chain has dropped to #3, behind Wendy's.  It's really shifted gears when it comes to advertising campaign and menu offerings.

I was driving through Dunmore on a recent early morning.  A Burger King and a Dunkin Donuts are almost side by side.  Burger King doesn't open until 6 AM.  DD opens at 4 AM.  People were streaming into Dunkin while the King was dark.

Hello!  There are a lot of people who are up and moving, long before sunrise.  It's one of the reasons Newswatch 16 at 4:30 AM was born.

I read where McDonald's fears DD and 24 hour mini marts like Sheetz and Wawa more than Burger King.  It's not difficult to see why.

BK could have chomped off a lot of that customer traffic that was heading next door, and all that money could have helped the chain regain its footing.  All they have to do is open an hour earlier.  It's so simple.

Business rule # 1:  make it easy for customers to enter your store.