<p>I really don’t think it is necessary to shut down a business for this purpose. At my store, we offer religious accommodations and will not require anyone to work on a Sunday if they have religious reasons or attend church. We have a manager who cannot work Saturdays until after sunset, so she has off every Saturday (which is a big deal considering she’s a retail manager and its a huge sales day, but we have no problem with it). There are a lot of people who do not attend religious functions or who belong to different faiths and are perfectly fine with working on a Sunday. </p>
<p>I’ve eaten at Chick-fil-a once and really didn’t like the food at all. Over priced, the waffle fries were hard as a rock, and the chicken had too much seasoning and tasted overly sweet. We have a few around my area, but it is not nearly as popular as it is in some other places. Wawa is okay, but I prefer Sheetz’ food.</p>
<p>Why couldn’t a particular employee choose Wednesday as their day of rest? Maybe I’m just predisposed to dislike a company with an anti gay stance.</p>
<p>MomOfWildChild runs a lot of miles per week so calories aren’t a problem for her. I had four or five donuts last year - I don’t think that it’s going to kill me. I record everything that I eat on livestrong so I get to see the calorie hit and how it affects my calorie budget for the rest of the day.</p>
<p>Chick fil a is anti-gay though. If you look at which organizations they donate most of their money there is a surprisingly large amount of money going to anti-gay organizations.</p>
<p>I worked for chick fil a and they posted a different bible verse up on a board in the kitchen every week. Also, at our annual Christmas party they made me say a prayer with them. Very uncomfortable.</p>
<p>Why We’re Closed on Sundays: Our founder, Truett Cathy, made the decision to close on Sundays in 1946 when he opened his first restaurant in Hapeville, Georgia. He has often shared that his decision was as much practical as spiritual. He believes that all franchised Chick-fil-A Operators and their Restaurant employees should have an opportunity to rest, spend time with family and friends, and worship if they choose to do so. That’s why all Chick-fil-A Restaurants are closed on Sundays. It’s part of our recipe for success.</p>
<p>How did they “make” you pray? It’s a known christian organization, and they were probably very upfront with that when you applied. I can hear people pray and not participate, but stand quietly. I can stand by while people say and do all sorts of things that I don’t personally believe, but I don’t begrudge anyone’s opposing view.</p>
<p>They mentioned how friendly the employees are but did not once mention Christianity when I applied/was interviewed. They did not ask me for my beliefs (as they shouldn’t have) and if you didn’t already know it was a Chrishtian restaurant, then you wouldn’t have found out until you started working there. The manager never mentioned its religious affiliation.</p>
<p>When we were at the Christmas party they told us all (over 30 staff members) to put our heads down, close our eyes as the manager said a prayer. I wasn’t going to participate but everyone else was respectfully putting their heads down with their eyes closed and I didn’t want to be awkwardly looking around. It was just uncomfortable for me. </p>
<p>Should only Christians work at the restaurant because of the beliefs of the founders?</p>
<p>If you went to work somewhere, you are responsible for understanding the company and the culture. It isn’t exactly a national secret that Chik fil a is a Christian-led organization. If you choose to work there, then you have to deal with it and respect the culture, even if you don’t actively participate in it. Go work at McDonalds!</p>
<p>My son went to a running camp once that was led by a world famous runner who is a devout Christian. The online materials indicated that it would be a Christian camp, but my son figured “How religious can a running camp be, anyway?” Well- he found out as did we when we picked him up at the closing ceremonies. He was respectful throughout, but it was a lesson learned. (and we are a much less fundamentalist Christian family…)</p>
<p>Well, I’m kinda clueless and I knew they were a christian organization - lol. </p>
<p>Personally there are places I would and wouldn’t work, I probably wouldn’t work at the nra for example, though I do believe in the right to bear arms for example. I’m sure they said please bow your head - which you can just stand there. And I’m guessing from most of the posts here I’m way on the outs with most everyone. But it’s okay, to me it’s what makes the world go round. I don’t think anyone is stupid or ignorant for believing something different than me. And that’s as wild as I’ll get on my personal opinions of things.</p>
<p>I highly doubt chic fil would want or require only christians work there. You know they’ll have certain values and be closed sundays.</p>
<p>I’ve heard of Chick fil a but don’t even know where one is. Now that I’ve heard its philosophy, I’d never go anyway. Never heard of Wawa before this thread. My D goes to Panera at the mall but I don’t go to malls.</p>
<p>I personally despise SB’s - can’t even walk past it without feeling I have to gag from the smell. I am a DD girl all the way. By the way, DD’s bagels compare favorably to any in NY.</p>
<p>I don’t think that you can discriminate in hiring based on religion so I would think that it’s a question that a prospective employer wouldn’t ask.</p>
<p>I was shopping this morning and noticed that everyone working in the store was wearing a Patriots shirt. What if you work there and you’re a Giants fan? I’ve also been to stores (maybe WalMart) where all of the employees wore an elf hat. What if you don’t observe Christmas or find it offensive?</p>
<p>As an employee, you have to decide if you want to work there or not and if you can’t handle it, then leave. Yes, it’s tougher to do that in the current jobs environment. But we all have to make choices on employment.</p>
<p>No, you cannot discriminate or even ask about a person’s religious beliefs. The applicant shares their availability - and if they aren’t available Sundays, you don’t ask why. You just determine whether you have space to hire someone who cannot work Sundays, or Saturdays, or whatever. </p>
<p>And to the poster who told me “when you become a CEO…,” I never stated that it was wrong to close Sundays, just not a necessary business decision to give everyone an opportunity - they would have the opportunity regardless of religion or company hours. Chick-fil-a’s are not common in my area, so I did not know it was such a strong Christian company. Just gives me more reason not to go there and support what the company supports.</p>
<p>Momofwildchild I did respect it that’s why I played along but am I wrong for feeling uncomfortable? Do you really have to value an institutions ideas and culture in order to work their? Not all of us are rich pricks who can chose to work wherever we want to. We may apply to many jobs and get only get accepted to one. </p>
<p>If you work for a large corporation do you have to approve of their ideals and beliefs. Is someone who works at a BP gas station approving of the way BP handled the oil spill just because they choose to work there? No, it is simply a job to make money. A job is not a statement of who you are. Maybe so if you are a rich lawyer but not for the average middle class who will take any job they can find.</p>