Maybe It's Just Me: Cracker Barrel

  Maybe it's just me, and it usually is, but I haven't eaten at Cracker Barrel in a few years. I used to eat there once or twice a month. For one stretch, I ate there every week.   

  When my wife and I went back home a few years ago. We met her family at Cracker Barrel, as we customarily do. There may have been as many as twenty of us.  Good food, great atmosphere, reasonable prices, and good service - what else can you ask for?

  I heard that Cracker Barrel's business had fallen off since COVID. That's happened to a lot of places. Due to deaths, my wife's family has gotten smaller. I don't think the fall off in her family would affect Cracker Barrel's bottom line that much.

  What happens when business falls off? The company starts looking for why. Looking is the operative word, not just speculating or asking others to speculate for you. 

  After the Cracker Barrel CEO likely thought it all out, she said, "Hey, it has to be the decor and our logo. It doesn't reflect today. We can't live in the past. I don't." 

News flash, even when the decor and logo were new, they didn't reflect the present. That was the charm and appeal; it took the customer back to a simple time. I liked looking at and reminiscing about all the old stuff hanging on the walls. It gave me something to do and talk about while waiting - a long time for my food!

  Changing the decor when business falls off is like getting a new paint job on your car, thinking it will run better, when all it needs is new sparkplugs. 

  Food, service, and decor are the Cracker Barrel brand. 

  I'm here to say that my last visits to the Cracker Barrel have been less than what I had previously been accustomed. The meals were not nearly as good, and the service was lacking. That's it.

  I would go so far as to say that the CEO of Cracker Barrel has spent scant time working on the floor or in the kitchen. If so, she would know the food's quality has slipped and how to remedy it. She would know the core of the problem is likely good hiring practices and training. That's the hard work. It's not a quick fix. They didn't lose customers overnight, and they won't gain them back overnight. 

  What the CEO proposed was waving a magic wand. 

  The CEO's previous experience was at places like Taco Bell and Starbucks. Enough said. Frankly, I don't blame her; I blame those who hired her.