The following appeared in a memorandum from the owner of the Juniper Caf a small local coffee shop in the downtown area of a small American city We must reduce overhead here at the caf Instead of opening at 6 a m weekdays we will now open at 8 a m On week

While it is laudable that this business owner wants to maximize profit by cutting off unnecessary expenditures, reducing business hours may not necessarily be the best strategy, and until certain facts are made clear, he may be shooting himself in the leg. This discourse, therefore, seeks to discuss the untenability of this argument and its predictions.

First, it’s been assumed that the costs of operating between the hours of 6 a.m. and 8 a.m. have incurred more cost and in return, little or no profit was made such that scrapping those several hours appears the most logical decision. It is pertinent to know, however, how he arrived at such a conclusion by verifying if a feasibility study was done and by whom? By him? An economist or business strategist or analyst? Has he taken a critical unbiased look at his finances? This is because if the prediction of this magnitude has to be made, then, it should not be based on mere observation by the business owner. Getting professional advice is highly germane to making business decisions.

Moreover, because this is a coffee shop, which primarily has coffee on sale, every coffee shop owner in America knows that Americans love their morning coffee. Most people are seen rushing to grab a cup of coffee between the hours of 7 a.m. – 8 a.m. Moving the opening hours by a few hours would mean forfeiting the profit that would be made within those hours. Is this reasonable? Has this loss been considered as being dispensable? Would it not seem that he is unabashedly sending off his customers, thereby losing money and clients in the process? Or are other coffee shop owners opening at later times too? Addressing these practical issues would, to a large extent, help the shop owner understand the magnitude of the implications of his decisions.

Also, as a business owner, he must be aware that opening for business at a slated time does not translate to starting transactions at that time. When would his employees resume to make the coffee and the snacks to go with it before customers start to stroll in? Has he considered the unpreparedness, chaos, and disorganization that would be the order of the day and what impression this would make on his employees and clients alike? Is he aware of the high competition in the coffee shop business or does he have other plans on how not to lose these loyal employees and workers during the change wave?

In conclusion, until these questions are answered, I beg to differ to the shop owner’s predictions as his arguments do not hold water in several ways. He needs to carefully consider and address other factors that may have resulted in reduced sales and less profit. Although it is quite laudable that he has considered the interest of his employees at this crucial period, adopting this as his best strategy without providing reasonable answers to the questions raised in this discourse could be detrimental. He may rack up more losses in the process and end up closing the shop eventually. Hence, this challenge needs to be nipped in the bud by channeling his efforts towards particular aspects of his business that need attention.