McDonald’s Asks Franchisees To Celebrate Christmas By Staying Open On Dec. 25

In an attempt to continue bouncing back from an almost unheard-of dip in sales during October, the folks at McDonald’s have asked franchisees to not close down during the holidays this year.

According to Ad Age, which obtained some leaked internal memos from Golden Arches HQ, the push to stay open regardless of what the calendar says began almost immediately after the company announced a 2.2% decline in sales for October.

“Starting with Thanksgiving, ensure your restaurants are open throughout the holidays,” reads a memo sent on Nov. 8 by McDonald’s USA Chief Operating Officer to franchisees. “Our largest holiday opportunity as a system is Christmas Day. Last year, [company-operated] restaurants that opened on Christmas averaged $5,500 in sales.”

A follow-up memo from Dec. 12 claimed that company-owned restaurants (around 10% of stores in the U.S.) each took in “more than $6,000″ by staying open on Thanksgiving.

While no one knows how much the franchised restaurants earned during Thanksgiving, Ad Age sources claim that the push convinced an additional 6,000 restaurants to remain open this year. The Thanksgiving openings were partly responsible for the 2.5% sales bump experienced during November.

“Thanks to proper planning and your great execution, we capitalized on the opportunity to be open while our customers were on the road,” reads the Dec. 12 memo, “and those customers rewarded us.”

One former franchisee says the push to stay open during the holidays is something that would not even have been mentioned not that long ago.

“Thanksgiving was never open. Then 15 to 16 years ago, some started staying open,” he tells Ad Age, adding that even when franchises began staying open on Thanksgiving around five years ago, “you would never even talk about being open on Christmas… For the franchisees, this is a big cultural shift.”

As for those who have to make customers’ Christmas McMuffins, McDonald’s says that those who work in company-owned stores do not receive any extra pay for working during the holiday.

via consumerist.com

Comments

[Book Baby]

Boycott non-essential businesses that are open on thanksgiving and Christmas. Grrrrrrrrrrrr...

[Retail Kiwi]

While I can see why people are upset, what about those who are non-christian, if they want to work christmas day, I say let them. As long as people aren't forced to work it who cares?

[Spritzy]

I don't really see any reason for McD's to be open on Christmas...even if you don't celebrate it, I'm sure the day off, that would likely be a slow day anyway, would be a nice break.
I mean, if someone can't go one day without a big mac...then they have some issues that need to be addressed.

[BookAce]

If it was purely voluntary to employees who wanted to work, that's one thing. But come on, since when has a corporation ever been nice enough to care who does or doesn't want to work? They aren't going to be that considerate. Besides, this is the execs basically bullying all stores into being open, even stores where everyone (or at least so many people that the ones who did want to wouldn't be enough to run the restaurant) might want the day off.

Fuck McDicks.

[photoslave]

I know that my friend's family will NOT be keeping their stores open on Christmas. And if they do, her dad would roll over in his grave.

[The Last Archimedean]

I refuse to spend Christmans anywhere but with my family. No one I know will be at a McDonalds or any other business on Dec 25.

[AvidReader]

If they would only schedule employees that don't celebrate Christmas or employees that want to work the holiday, then this would be fine. Lord knows, however, that they're going to schedule whoever they damn well choose. And for a measly $5000? And the employees don't get holiday pay? Give me a break.

[Duke of URL]

Great idea, McDonalds! Shit on your hard-working, criminally-underpaid employees for an extra drip in the bucket. Holiday pay? Nah, minimum wage regular time is fine.

At least my HellMart closes in the early afternoon on the 24th and doesn't reopen until the 26th. OH and management runs the registers after closing for a little bit to let the employees get some last-minute shopping done. And last year they handed out free potted poinsettias.

[CoG]

Just because Christmas no longer means anything to me other than a random day off, doesn't mean that other retail slaves don't enjoy it with family. Frankly, if I'm working the day that nobody else wants to work, you had better be paying me holiday pay. Grrr, McDonald's.

[BookishGirl]

If you're working on xmas day around here you get the standard penalty rates for working on any public holiday. So for the average full-time Maccas worker who normally gets $17.53 per hour they'll get $43.82 per hour; if you are a casual worker you normally get $21.79 per hour so on a public holiday you get paid $48.20 per hour. And that's just for the adult peons - the people who have to manage staff get even more.

So yes, I expect there will be a number of people wanting to work on xmas and boxing days (both public holidays here).

[Queer Geek]

This surprised me! I started in fast food and we were open on holidays. However, I got holiday pay (time and half) for volunteering. So I didn't mind. Still, if there are franchise that respected the major holidays and closed, this is simply corporate greed trying to squeeze as much money out of the consumer.

[Wmdkitty]

Corporate bastards. :(

[Skittles]

Well I already hated their food so I never bought from there anyway but if I did that would be it for me. Seriously folks if we could just get a nation wide retail worker strike for two days this shit would stop.

[Mollywobbles]

My McHell's closes at 11:00 am on Thanksgiving, 8:00 pm on Christmas Eve and is closed on Christmas Day. However, the McHell's across town stayed open 24 hours on Thanksgiving and into Black Friday for the first time. I don't recall how much money my Store Manager said they made, but it was decent - probably decent enough that we'll stay open all day next Thanksgiving as well. All I can do is hope that, here in the Bible Belt, Christmas is still sacred enough that the two franchised McHell's in this town stay closed.

Oh, and we don't get holiday pay, either. Not for any holiday. We also don't do insurance or unemployment.

[Queer Geek]

@Mollywobbles

I also wanted to add that states like Utah where religious cities like Salt Lake enforce Sunday services, all business are expected to be closed in observance including holidays. So McHell is going to have a hell of fight with those particular areas that force their franchises to stay open.

[Larry Berry]

"While I can see why people are upset, what about those who are non-christian, if they want to work christmas day, I say let them."

I'm not christian but I still wanted to spend the holidays with my family.

If they wanted to work that would be one thing. I remember when my job decided to be open all day on Easter and scheduled me to work 12 hours that day. I didn't want to, or volunteer, nor was I even asked. I would have liked to have spent at least part of the day with my aging mother (now dead) who had planned to celebrate the day with me (her only child who still lived nearby/would be able to visit) and a nice meal until we found out I had to work. The manager (who scheduled me 12 hours) gave herself 3 days off for Easter though.

[StarBitchSoldier]

This surprised me. Not that McDicks is opening for Christmas, but that they haven't done it across the board sooner. In my time at Hurls Sr we never closed. NEVER. Luckily, we did get holiday pay and you were guaranteed either Thanksgiving or Christmas off. (Never both though. Too few workers to do so.)
It's corporate greed for sure, fed by the millions of holiday travelers expecting a grease covered bite to eat after stuffing themselves with Grandma's glazed ham. On Thanksgiving, we would make more than an average day's sales. Over night into Black Friday it would be just as busy. (I'm sure I have a past rant about being understaffed because the boss thought it'd be dead. Uh. No. It won't. And it wasn't.) Christmas brings in tons of drive thru orders either very early or after dinner with a few lunch groups in between and sales usually are high.
The only reason sales at Hurls were so high was because no one else was open. The corporations are too greedy though and won't consider that. They want their price of the profit and they'll be damned if competition gets it no matter what values and employees thu have to throw out the window.

[Chicajojobe]

"While I can see why people are upset, what about those who are non-christian, if they want to work christmas day, I say let them."

A perfectly acceptable policy...except it's based on the assumption that employees' religious beliefs, family traditions, and/or desire to work on Christmas is even considered, which I highly doubt.
Also, if you're working at Mickey D's you'll probably take any day off you can get whether it's a holiday you celebrate or not. If Mickey D's decided to close for Yom Kippur, I doubt the non-Jewish employees would riot.