Personal Reflection

I feel that this section of the book, Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser clearly demonstrates the unstableness and hardships of running a chain restaurant in the eyes of the franchisee. The franchisee puts all of his or her time and effort and money into this restaurant, and doesn't have a guaranteed success. Yes, back when this all hit off, Ray Kroc promised everyone a rich outcome, but with the number of new businesses surrounded in one tiny location, competition is a huge battle. The franchisee may be successful but the franchiser displays the most success. Dave Feamster has to battle competitors by his employees and the service they provide, along with the quality of his products. He has no guarantee that he will thrive in the years to come. To me, it's like gambling because the gambler may lose his or her money, but the casino stays profitable. It's a constant game, a constant hardship, but for those that are successful, may live a very comfortable life. In the beginning of chapter, Schlosser starts the visual scene of a man, ending up being employed at Dave's restaurant, delivering pizzas, and earns a tip of not even $2, stating that it was the biggest tip he had all night. What does that even get us any more? We can't even purchase a gallon of gas with that money. This is what we see all the time. This also ties in with current class discussions about employees that work fast food are generally teenagers who will accept low pay. This is pretty much the same view Schlosser also gives America employment through fast food chains. The unfortunate part of this chapter, in my opinion, is that you have a huge change to be successful when opening your restaurant, for that is what the founders of these restaurant chains guaranteed their franchisees when these businesses kicked off, but now we look around. Take a look at Harbor Town in Manitowoc, we've seen food chain businesses come and go, because their is so much competition in one little area that isn't booming any more. Yet, we continue to expand businesses and close out businesses without realizing all the time and money that one person puts in to develop such a business.

Schlosser, Eric. "Success." Schlosser, Eric. Fast Food Nation. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2001. 104.