Closed on Sundays
I never realized this, but car dealerships are typically closed on Sundays. I think this is a really bad idea, when many automobile manufacturers are struggling to move their products. Sure, there are positive aspects for the employees of an establishment that closes one or two days a week -- but in any retail trade, isn't it like tying one hand behind your back in a fistfight? Can you imagine an amusement park that closed on Sundays?
I'd be interested to learn if most dealerships that keep closed on the Christian sabbath are doing so because of actual blue laws or because they're simply continuing a time-honored custom. Some market research might show whether dealerships that aren't legally bound to shut their doors might benefit from keeping them open.
What do you think?
posted by Gregory Kohs @ 12:08 PM
5 comments
5 Comments:
Chick-Fil-A has never seemed to suffer by being closed on Sunday, even when they were mainly in the malls with the other stores open around them.
Thanks for your note, Jack. You make a good point. As the Chick-Fil-A web site says:
<<< Closed Sundays. It's part of the Chick-fil-A® recipe.
Admittedly, closing all of our restaurants every Sunday makes us a rarity in this day and age. But it's a little habit that has always served us well, so we're planning to stick with it.
Our founder, Truett Cathy, wanted to ensure that every Chick-fil-A employee and restaurant operator had an opportunity to worship, spend time with family and friends or just plain rest from the work week. Made sense then, still makes sense now. >>>
However, note that Chick-Fil-A is making this a differentiating marketing factor. The restaurant's (predominantly) Southern clientele are most likely Protestant, so it probably resonates nicely with them, too. The car dealerships are just closed on Sundays, with no explanation.
Also, I don't think it would hurt a car dealer to be closed on a weekday, either. I just thought that Sunday is a popular day to shop and/or close a deal on a car. Maybe it also has something to do with the banks being closed (you have to finance the car, too).
Could very well have something to do with the banks being closed on Sunday. My wife and I once bought a car on a Friday night, and we had to go back the following Monday for some problems with the financing.
RC Willey (http://www.rcwilley.com/) is a fast growing regional company (California, Nevada, Utah, Idaho) that closes on Sunday. They are growing like crazy. In fact, here is a site that will start promoting businesses that close on Sunday starting on October 8, 2007. Personally, I'd like to see a return to the good ole days when shops just shutdown and families spent time together and folks went to church. Just my two bits…
Hi, Gregory!
I don't live in USA, and I never bought a car before, but I think most people here (most people who can afford a car) are so busy (they work twelve hours a day, maybe more) they only have time for themselves in Sunday. So, maybe closing on Sunday is not such a very good idea, at least here in my country.
Post a Comment
<< Home