While many are disappointed with Cracker Barrel’s ‘knee-jerk’ reaction by pulling a large amount of Duck Dynasty merchandise off their shelves and marking the remaining merchandise down to sell out as fast as possible, I do have to give them kudos for realizing their mistake, correcting it and issuing an apology for their error.
“We were flat out wrong.”
That’s the message Cracker Barrel is sending to enraged customers after the restaurant chain removed the Duck Dynasty items from its stores over fears it might offend people. “Our intent was to avoid offending but that’s just what we’ve done,” Cracker Barrel said in a statement posted on its Facebook page. “You told us we made a mistake. And, you weren’t shy about it. You wrote, you called and you took to social media to express your thoughts and feelings.”
One of those customers was Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council who said his family has eaten in nearly every Cracker Barrel in the country. “Cracker Barrel must be off their rocker,” he said in a statement. “For Cracker Barrel to take the bait of an organization like GLAAD, which has led the attack on Phil Robertson, they are betraying the values of the vast majority of their customers.”
The restaurant chain known for its country cooking admitted they were wrong and not only offered an apology, but ordered the products to be returned to their stores immediately. “Today, we are putting all our Duck Dynasty products back in our stores,” Cracker Barrel stated. “And, we apologize for offending you.”
Cracker Barrel took immediate action on Friday after Duck Dynasty patriarch Phil Robertson was indefinitely suspended from the popular A&E show for making comments the network found offensive to homosexuals. Reports allege that workers were instructed to remove all merchandise that featured Robertson.
Outrage and condemnation from Cracker Barrel customers was also immediate and swift. Thousands posted messages on Facebook vowing to eat their biscuits and country fired steak somewhere else. Among those taking offense was former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee who wrote on his Facebook page, “I have no respect for a company that bows to the slightest pressure from the politically correct.”
The question now I suppose is, how many Cracker Barrel customers will accept the apology and continue to patronize the chain? Considering Cracker Barrels apology came after they realized how much business they were about to loose, will their customers find forgiveness in the hearts, (or belly’s), or continue to hold their discontent over the initial knee-jerk reaction?