My ass. No one is going to stop buying their donuts from this guy. 99% of the people that go there go, there for their sugar fix and I'm sure it's convenient for them on their way to and from work. Also, I'm betting he gets along fine with most of his regular customers and they aren't leaving. If he would have stood his ground people would have forgotten about it in a few days. People are fickle and they can't stay focused on one thing for too long. The next day Facebook would tell them what their next plan of attack should be and who they should be pissed off at.
I remember when everyone was pissed off at Starbucks for saying they would hire illegals. It was the talk for a while then it died down. The place that I go to has about 3 times more people coming now than in the last year.
You're being naive. Its happened before. It may not close them completely, but it will surely hamper profit margins. They are not willing to take that chance. Businesses get hurt financially when they take stances on social and/or political issues. Yes, you may be correct that the talk may die down, but it also MAY hurt their profit margins for a certain period of time. The fact is, you don't know how people are going to respond. I don't either. However, the social landscape has changed and business owners are more frightened than they have ever been.
1) "A coffee shop owner has closed her shop after facing boycotts and receiving tremendous hate on social media in response to an anti-cop Facebook post over the weekend. “I’ve lost my business and I’ve lost my daughter … I don’t know how this story just keeps building, but I need people to leave me alone."
2) The owners of the Cup It Up restaurant in Tucson, Ariz., say they’re hoping to open “sometime soon” after closing their doors earlier this month following a "nasty" backlash over a pro-POTUS Facebook post.
3) INDIANAPOLIS — A bakery that drew protests for refusing to prepare a cake for a gay couple has closed its doors.