The bakers lines kept growing and McDonald’s customers became nonexistent “despite the best efforts of Ronald McDonald, the mascot clown, changes of management, children’s parties, and special offers” (The Baker, 2006). A comment made by Il Giornale stated, “there was no marketing strategy, no advertising promotion, no discounts, it was just the people decided the bakers products were better. David had beaten Goliath” (The Baker, 2006). Another local, Signor Pepe, commented he was sorry that 20 people had lost their jobs, “but tradition has won” (The Baker, 2006).
A similar situation occurred in Tavistock, in the county of Devonshire, UK. McDonald’s had opened a store in 1999, and closed December 9, 2006 (Farmers, 2006). The issue, according to the company, was that “‘trading patterns’ in the site were no longer suitable” (Farmers, 2006). But when one of the locals, John Taylor, Tavistock Forward and Eat wise Chairman , was asked why he thought the business didn’t do well he replied: “It just goes to show that the food is so good here we have beaten them off, because of the quality of our local food, McDonald’s has not been able to compete” (Farmers, 2006). Country Life magazine had voted the Tavistock farmers market the best in the region and it won the title, “Best Food in the South West, this year” (Farmers, 2006). In Response a McDonald’s spokeswoman said: “With 1,250 restaurants across the UK, it’s essential that we continue to have the right restaurants in the right places” (Farmers, 2006).
In both of the situations McDonald’s had moved into communities that were proud of their local foods and culture, because of that the locals looked at the restaurant as an invader on peaceful soil. McDonald’s was not able to profit in either Altamura or Tavistock, because it did not provide local food products, and did not connect with the culture.
My opinion of preventative maintenance would have been for McDonald’s to do a study on the culture of the community before setting up the restaurant, instead of trying to adapt after it was already built. After getting to know the culture and people of the town give them a basic made plan. If the community as a majority does not want the business in town, don’t put a McDonald’s there. Product can not be forced on people that never wanted the business in the first place. McDonald’s situation in these two towns is very much like Wal-Mart in Germany. Wal-Mart executives had not done a cultural study on product sales, or European workplace ethics. “German shoppers, accustomed to no-nonsense impersonal service, found Wal-Mart employees’ smiling, out going style off-putting. Furthermore, German employees, who had grown up in a culture that accepts workplace romances, found the companies prohibition against on-the-job relationships bizarre” (Shaefer, p.68). Wal-Mart learned not to impose its corporate culture on foreign customers and employees. McDonald’s should learn the same lesson. They should work on buying and using as many local products as possible, and even incorporate a few local dishes into their menu. By taking these steps McDonalds might not have been forced out.
As I previously mentioned failure for one can be success for another, even within the same company, when we learn from mistakes. McDonald’s mistakes in Altamura and Tavistock enabled the company as a whole to learn how to better approach foreign cities and town when interested in opening new stores. In India McDonald’s turned their failure to booming success. It started slow with figuring out how to change the menu for a country that sees the cow as sacred. McDonald’s changed their big mac to a mutton burger, introduced chicken kabobs, and veggie-burgers. They also formed a
“50-50 joint venture with two well connected Indian entrepreneurs” (Mucha & Scheffler, 2007). McDonald’s had a victory in India with some of its stores having a 40% sales increase from the previous year (Mucha & Scheffler, 2007).
References
The Baker Who Beat McDonald’s. (2006, January 1). Retrieved April 23rd, 2010, from
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/food_and_drink/article785549.ece
Farmers ‘Force’ McDonald’s out. (2006, December 6). Retrieved April 23rd, 2010, from
Mucha, T. & Scheffler, M. (2007, April 30). The Path to Enlightenment. Retrieved April
25th, 2010, from
Schaefer, R. T. (2009). Sociology: A Brief Introduction. Boston: McGraw Hill.
