The Washington Post reports on the opening of a new retail store in Dublin, Ireland:
“It looked like closing time at the county fair or the week before Christmas at the mall: cars just sitting there, bumper to bumper, waiting their turn to inch along.
“Dozens of vehicles lined up and down the aisles of the parking lot, honking as if every single driver in front of them was staring at their cellphone while stopped at a green light. It sounded like the traffic jam of the century.”
The occasion? The first Krispy Kreme doughnut shop to open in Ireland.
Irish writer Carl Kinsella assessed the situation this way: “For some reason, introducing any stimulant like this one into Irish society is like introducing a packet of Mentos into a recently shaken up bottle of Diet Coke. We shake violently. We rupture. We convulse, as a people. It’s a mess.”
The story notes that “as of Friday morning, the Irish Times reported a wait time of 30 minutes for the doughnuts, with metal barriers set up to control the queue like those found at a theme park.” While neighbors have complained about the traffic and the noise, Krispy Kreme management has tried to get customers to be quieter and perhaps a little less rhapsodic about the brand. But it doesn’t seem to be working, as Dublin residents continue to act as if they’ve never seen a doughnut before.
“It looked like closing time at the county fair or the week before Christmas at the mall: cars just sitting there, bumper to bumper, waiting their turn to inch along.
“Dozens of vehicles lined up and down the aisles of the parking lot, honking as if every single driver in front of them was staring at their cellphone while stopped at a green light. It sounded like the traffic jam of the century.”
The occasion? The first Krispy Kreme doughnut shop to open in Ireland.
Irish writer Carl Kinsella assessed the situation this way: “For some reason, introducing any stimulant like this one into Irish society is like introducing a packet of Mentos into a recently shaken up bottle of Diet Coke. We shake violently. We rupture. We convulse, as a people. It’s a mess.”
The story notes that “as of Friday morning, the Irish Times reported a wait time of 30 minutes for the doughnuts, with metal barriers set up to control the queue like those found at a theme park.” While neighbors have complained about the traffic and the noise, Krispy Kreme management has tried to get customers to be quieter and perhaps a little less rhapsodic about the brand. But it doesn’t seem to be working, as Dublin residents continue to act as if they’ve never seen a doughnut before.
- KC's View:
-
Jeez. Imagine what would happen if they got an In-N-Out.
But seriously … there’s a lot to be said here for then power of a brand.
