.... or are they *trying* to go out of business?
Recently I've mystery shopped a couple of Arby's locations and I really like the new cheesesteak sandwich. So tonight for dinner, I went on my own dime to the nearest Arby's. When I reached the drive-through speaker, there was a handwritten sign that said "closed due to power out". I pulled through past the window, which had a similar handwritten sign. The power was clearly on in the kitchen, but the dining room was dark.
So I decided I'd find another Arby's and located one 8 miles away in a close-by town. I almost passed it on the road because the front sign and the building sign were out. But I pulled around to the drive-through. There was no handwritten sign, but the menu board was not lit up. As I pulled up, though, I heard a voice asking if they could help me. I said "Are you open?" and the person said "Oh yes, our light's just broken." I got my meal, but just like at the first location, the lights were all dark in the dining room while the kitchen was all lit up.
Isn't it oddly coincidental that two locations 8 miles apart are having power/light issues that leave the kitchen lights on but everything else out? (although it was still light outside at the first location so I didn't notice if the restaurant sign was on or if the menu board was lit) None of the surrounding businesses at either location seemed to be having issues with their power. I can't help but think there's something strange going on, like a couple of managers being upset with the company or their franchise owner and making sure to drive down sales.
Can anyone else surmise what might be going on?