Business & Tech

Chick-fil-A Flap Not the First Time a Company Runs Afoul of Customers

Have you ever boycotted a business because you disagreed with its politics?

Chick-fil-A is known for a lot of things – the chicken nuggets and waffle fries, the friendly and efficient staff, the cow statues hanging off billboards and urging people to ‘eat mor chikin.’

The opening of a new store can draw crowds of people for the chance to win a free year of food. The restaurants are popular places for school fundraisers. And many people look forward to the promotional days that offer free food to those like the cow mascots.

But in recent days, the Georgia-based fast food chain has been catching flak for president Dan Cathy’s statements again same sex marriage.

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In East Atlanta, the owners of _ Chef Calavino Donati and her wife, musician and activist Doria Roberts _ shot back with a chicken and biscuit themed special event called "Urban Cannibals Bite Back." they were looking for a way to combat "outrageous and hateful things being said by fairly powerful people" including Cathy.

Patch blogger raised his concerns in a post on the Decatur-Avondale Estates site and said he wouldn't spend money at the chain any more. Tewell wrote that he’d with the company, which told him “We are not anti-anybody.”

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Of course, Chick-fil-A is not the first company to take a stand that upset some of its customers.

In 2010, Target Corp. drew criticism from progressives for donating to the campaign of Republican Tom Emmer for governor in Minnesota. Some observers called Emmer the biggest opponent of gay rights in the GOP field that year.

Some Republicans boycotted Heinz ketchup during John Kerry's 2004 run for president. (His wife, Teresa Heinz, inherited the condiment company's fortune. Boycott supporters argued that buying Heinz products would help fund Kerry's campaign.)

So, have you ever boycotted a business because you disagreed with their political or social positions? Do you think such boycotts work to sway corporations? Tell us what you think in the comments area below.

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