# Consumer-oriented business that are closed on weekends **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 21, 2006, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consumer-oriented-business-that-are-closed-on-weekends/369617 "2006-08-21T17:34:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Tower\_Dweller](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bc79bd/32.png) [@Tower\_Dweller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tower_Dweller)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2006, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consumer-oriented-business-that-are-closed-on-weekends/369617/21 "2006-08-22T04:58:25Z")
I’m waiting for the one dry cleaners to decide that yes, they can be open on Sunday, it’s ok. I will be faithfull to them forever. EVERY dry cleaner I’ve ever seen is open 6 days a week, but not Sunday. Of course, they close around 6pm. If I’m busy or forget to drop my clothes off on Saturday, I’m screwed. A lot of restaurants in my neighborhood close randomly on Monday or Tuesday. Makes sense - more people want to eat out on the weekend than on a Monday night. How is it not the same for dry cleaning? ---
**Author:** ![Brynda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e79b87/32.png) [@Brynda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brynda)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2006, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consumer-oriented-business-that-are-closed-on-weekends/369617/22 "2006-08-22T05:00:10Z")
Car dealerships are another one that are often not open on weekends. WTF? Don’t you want me to be employed so that I can pay for the car? I am a small business owner of a sort–I run a private practice as a psychologist. My hours are 10 AM to 7PM. No one is up to seeing a psychologist at 8, but lots of people want my 5 and 6 PM slots. It has worked really well for me. ---
**Author:** ![Antonius\_Block](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/51bf81/32.png) [@Antonius\_Block](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antonius_Block)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2006, 8:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consumer-oriented-business-that-are-closed-on-weekends/369617/23 "2006-08-22T08:04:26Z")
[QUOTE=Roderick Femm] [QUOTE=teela brown] We live somewhat near San Francisco, which city is jam-packed with delightful little bistros and trattorias. I’m forever reading reviews of wonderful new cafes that I’d like to try. Unfortunately, dining in SF on a Saturday night is virtually impossible for an out-of-towner, as there is simply no parking to be had at that time. [/QUOTE] Two words: public transportation. It’s not just for the lower classes any more. Oh, wait. Public transportation on Saturday night just possibly might not work out too well either. Passenger volume is low, therefore frequency of buses/trains is also low. Oh well, now back to your regularly scheduled pitting. [/QUOTE] San Francisco has excellent public transportation (by US standards, at least) even on Saturday nights, and the last [Caltrain](http://www.caltrain.com/timetable.html) leaves SF for all points Silicon Valley ( **teela brown** ’s neck of the woods) at just after midnight. Eat and drink all you want, and take the train home. Win-win for all parties concerned. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2006, 9:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consumer-oriented-business-that-are-closed-on-weekends/369617/24 "2006-08-22T09:25:41Z")
[QUOTE=Absolute] What kind of a sick joke is this? I can’t believe this place stays in business - they can’t be making very much money, since the only people who have time to shop there are the unemployed. It’s a goddamned hobby shop - I don’t about you, but I only have time for my _hobbies_ on the weekend. [/QUOTE] Most hobby shops derive a significant portion of their income from **retired** people, who DO have time to shop during the day. And often prefer to do so, because the stores are not as busy then. Most dry cleaning locations do not actually do any cleaning at that location, but ship it off to a large dry cleaning center elsewhere in the city. Those centers are usually not open on Sundays. Which affects delivery dates. The local store would have to explain to everyone “Your cleaning will be ready in 2 days, except 3 days if left on Sunday”. And half the customers wouldn’t listen, and then be angry because their clothing isn’t ready when they came in 2 days later. Better just to close on Sunday (and have a day off). Otherwise they’d be there all day, just to get the cleaning that otherwise people would drop off Monday morning on the way to work. Not enough extra business to pay the costs of being open another day. Making a go of a small business is pretty tough; only those who carefully balance costs vs. profits survive. If there was a worthwhile amount of business to be gained by being open longer hours, one (or more) of them would be open. They aren’t open because they’ve all found it isn’t worthwhile. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2006, 10:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consumer-oriented-business-that-are-closed-on-weekends/369617/25 "2006-08-22T10:14:40Z")
I live in Japan. Japan is the wonderful nation where you go home on the train every day at the same time, wandering through the great big malls that they have built into the entrances to the train stations–all closed during the two big rush periods. It is that wonderful place where coffee shops (until Starbucks) did not open until 11am. We get banks open 10 to 4, Monday through Friday, as are all government offices. Supermarkets open 10am to 8pm. Restaurants are open until 9pm. The phone company is of course weekdays only. And the FRICKIN UPS man won’t leave packages out front of your door nor deliver anytime but weekdays or Saturday before noon. The trains stop all city-bound traffic starting around 9pm, and outbound at midnight. If you are a single, working person you are screwed when it comes to managing your homelife. For a year I had to stock up on food every Sunday and cram my tiny-ass fridge and freezer so I could eat through the week since I didn’t get home until 9:30 or so. And I marvel everytime I walk into a bookstore just as I get off of work, PACKED, to have them throw us all out in the next ten minutes. Very few things in the world piss me off like not being able to give people my money. It just makes no logical sense to me. NO, LET ME GIVE YOU MY MONEY. I WORKED HARD TO MAKE IT JUST SO I CAN BUY FOOD AND BOOKS AND ALL THAT SHIT. TAKE MY MONEY AND GIVE ME MY SHIT. Ah well… ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2006, 10:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consumer-oriented-business-that-are-closed-on-weekends/369617/26 "2006-08-22T10:29:34Z")
[QUOTE=Tower Dweller] A lot of restaurants in my neighborhood close randomly on Monday or Tuesday. Makes sense - more people want to eat out on the weekend than on a Monday night. How is it not the same for dry cleaning? [/QUOTE] In Spain, most restaurants that do take a day off choose either Tuesday or Wednesday. Those that get a lot of business from the Daily Menu crowd have enough staff to rotate days off. Most clothing stores, as well as hardware stores, open saturdays and close on monday morning. Most stores have a longer lunch hour than other businesses: their afternoon opening times are about one hour before most office workers get off, so when you leave the office you can go shop. People are always astounded when they complain about banks opening only in the morning and I tell them that “abroad” I’ve seen stores that do that. Then again, I’ve never seen a European town the size of Philly that was absolutely dead after 5pm, like Philly is. Based on that criterion alone, Mom classified NYC as “a real city” and Philly as “a durn big village with real wide streets” - and I lived on 3rd Street, 3 blocks from Market… there actually was some people around! ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2006, 10:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consumer-oriented-business-that-are-closed-on-weekends/369617/27 "2006-08-22T10:39:44Z")
Hobby Lobby is closed on Sunday _so their employees can worship_. Assuming every single employee in the corporation is a Sunday worshipper (is it mandatory?), _do they need the entire day to worship?_ They can’t open at 11:00 til 5:00? Do they think that most hobby people _don’t_ do their craft on the weekend when they’re not working? If it weren’t for the fact that they’re the only game in this town, I’d never give them a dime of my money. It’s moronic. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2006, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consumer-oriented-business-that-are-closed-on-weekends/369617/28 "2006-08-22T12:36:25Z")
I just ran into an instance of this on my vacation. Our party arrived in Idaho on a Sunday, planning to depart on a backpacking trip on Monday morning. We were making last minute arrangements like buying fishing licenses (no problem) when we read a poster on the bulletin board stating parties of 8 or more must get a wilderness permit from the ranger’s office. No problem, we drive over there, only to find the ranger’s office is only open Monday through Friday. It appears the ranger has weekends off, so don’t bother using the forest. We just filled out the self-help form used by smaller parties. Fuck 'em. ---
**Author:** ![DianaG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@DianaG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DianaG)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2006, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consumer-oriented-business-that-are-closed-on-weekends/369617/29 "2006-08-22T13:14:17Z")
My SO and I recently drove from Boston to Wilmington, DE for a baby shower. We were only staying one day, so it was essentially an 800 mile U turn. We left at around 7:00pm. (Yes, we’re crazy.) I’m not sure what road we were on through New Jersey (I don’t drive, they all look alike to me), but there was a Starbucks at every rest stop. And they were ALL CLOSED. What the hell is the \*point \* of a rest stop where you can’t get a cup of coffee at 1:00am? ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2006, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consumer-oriented-business-that-are-closed-on-weekends/369617/30 "2006-08-22T15:06:31Z")
Can we add government offices that deal with the public to this list? Why oh why would you have shortened or zero hours on weekends for the post office, department of motor vehicles, license and registration offices? So I have to take time off of work to get errands done? I actually bought a car based on hours of operation. I was going between a Honda and a Toyota. Service hours at Honda: M-F 7-6. Service hours at Toyota: M-F 7-10p.m., Sat. 9-6. Ended up with the Toyota. (p.s. the honda guys were unionized). ---
**Author:** ![drachillix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/48db29/32.png) [@drachillix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drachillix)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2006, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consumer-oriented-business-that-are-closed-on-weekends/369617/31 "2006-08-22T15:07:43Z")
[QUOTE=t-bonham@scc.net] Making a go of a small business is pretty tough; only those who carefully balance costs vs. profits survive. If there was a worthwhile amount of business to be gained by being open longer hours, one (or more) of them would be open. They aren’t open because they’ve all found it isn’t worthwhile. [/QUOTE] Funny thing I have noticed with my business. I run a computer repair service, onsite or pickup & delivery (im home based). I answer the phones 24/7. So far I have had only a handful of calls maybe 5 tops after 9pm and 1 after midnight. 95% of my business is 9-5 M-F and my phone book ads quite boldly proclaim nights, weekend and holiday availability. I have a few businesses I deal with and I expect them to be 9-5 operations. The businesses are bigger consumers of my off hours than the home users because they want services that do not interfere with business hours or are down and need to be back online before opening tomorrow morning if possible. ---
**Author:** ![PoorYorick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecccb3/32.png) [@PoorYorick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PoorYorick)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2006, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consumer-oriented-business-that-are-closed-on-weekends/369617/32 "2006-08-22T15:14:42Z")
[QUOTE=Hampshire] Can we add government offices that deal with the public to this list? [/QUOTE] This is why I came in here. I spent two hours at our local DMV straightening out a registration problem on my truck.\* Not that big a deal for me since I’m salaried, but some people could be in a world of trouble having to choose between a full pay check and driving a registered vehicle. \*Granted, registering a car can be done by Internet here, but only if all the insurance information checks out. ---
**Author:** ![Pixisis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@Pixisis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pixisis)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2006, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consumer-oriented-business-that-are-closed-on-weekends/369617/33 "2006-08-22T15:30:33Z")
[QUOTE=Hampshire] Can we add government offices that deal with the public to this list? Why oh why would you have shortened or zero hours on weekends for the post office, department of motor vehicles, license and registration offices? So I have to take time off of work to get errands done? I actually bought a car based on hours of operation. I was going between a Honda and a Toyota. Service hours at Honda: M-F 7-6. Service hours at Toyota: M-F 7-10p.m., Sat. 9-6. Ended up with the Toyota. (p.s. the honda guys were unionized). [/QUOTE] Thank OG my Honda dealer has seen the light and now has saturday service hours. I need some maintenance done and can’t afford not to get paid for a day to get it done. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2006, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consumer-oriented-business-that-are-closed-on-weekends/369617/34 "2006-08-22T15:45:55Z")
[QUOTE=kiz] Heh, I remember when my state had blue laws. Supermarkets weren’t allowed to open until 9AM on Sundays and had to close by 6PM. The larger retail stores weren’t allowed to open until noontime. Mom-and-pop stores? Forget it. That’s when everybody crossed the border into the neighboring state on Sundays. The blue laws were revised. By law you still can’t buy any liquor, beer, or wine on Sundays here, not even in the few supermarkets that carry them. Speaking from the retail side, it’s a double-edged sword. I’ve been working most Sundays now for…how many years? It’d be nice not to have a 6-day work week. OTOH, I get paid time and a half, so I really shouldn’t complain. [/QUOTE] Man, I wish I **remembered** when my state had blue laws, so I could recall them fondly. Ah, back in the day! Instead, I can’t buy a damned bottle of wine on Sunday, and if I cross the county line I can watch them put caution tape around almost everything at Wal-Mart at midnight on Saturday, 'cause you can only buy, like, food and shampoo until 1 o’clock Sunday afternoon. ---
**Author:** ![Cub\_Mistress](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea666f/32.png) [@Cub\_Mistress](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cub_Mistress)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2006, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consumer-oriented-business-that-are-closed-on-weekends/369617/35 "2006-08-22T17:24:13Z")
[QUOTE=Hampshire] Can we add government offices that deal with the public to this list? Why oh why would you have shortened or zero hours on weekends for the post office, department of motor vehicles, license and registration offices? So I have to take time off of work to get errands done? I actually bought a car based on hours of operation. I was going between a Honda and a Toyota. Service hours at Honda: M-F 7-6. Service hours at Toyota: M-F 7-10p.m., Sat. 9-6. Ended up with the Toyota. (p.s. the honda guys were unionized). [/QUOTE] Several clients of my non-profit complain that Department of Human Services has them come in for daytime appointments to verify compliance with DHS’s requirements that they have a job. So when are they supposed to be working at that job? Also, they’ll set kids’ appointments for couseling etc during school hours. That makes no sense to me. Our local schools also pulls kids out of the classrooms constantly for counseling, which seems counterproductive to me. ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2006, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consumer-oriented-business-that-are-closed-on-weekends/369617/36 "2006-08-22T17:52:37Z")
[QUOTE=Antonius Block] San Francisco has excellent public transportation (by US standards, at least) even on Saturday nights, and the last [Caltrain](http://www.caltrain.com/timetable.html) leaves SF for all points Silicon Valley ( **teela brown** ’s neck of the woods) at just after midnight. Eat and drink all you want, and take the train home. Win-win for all parties concerned. [/QUOTE] Unfortunately, CalTrain on Saturdays doesn’t serve us rubes who live as far south as Morgan Hill. San Jose is its southernmost Saturday stop, and even if we were to take it from there, it’s a 1.5 hour ride with all the stops. Then, in SF, we’d have to take a taxi from the train station to whichever bistro we were interested in. Then it’s a taxi ride back to the 1.5 hour ride back to where our car is parked. No, thanks. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2006, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consumer-oriented-business-that-are-closed-on-weekends/369617/37 "2006-08-22T18:20:30Z")
[QUOTE=Pixisis] Thank OG my Honda dealer has seen the light and now has saturday service hours. I need some maintenance done and can’t afford not to get paid for a day to get it done. [/QUOTE] Same here. Of course they also have a courtesy van to take you to work and back to the dealer. ---
**Author:** ![Pixisis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@Pixisis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pixisis)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2006, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consumer-oriented-business-that-are-closed-on-weekends/369617/38 "2006-08-22T18:29:19Z")
[QUOTE=gigi] Same here. Of course they also have a courtesy van to take you to work and back to the dealer. [/QUOTE] I’m comuting from CT to NYC for work these days. The courtesy van just wouldn’t cut it. Of course, when I worked close enough for the courtesy van to be effective, I had a “real” job with paid time off, and would usually just take the day off and get a bunch of things done. ---
**Author:** ![Cluricaun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bb73d2/32.png) [@Cluricaun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cluricaun)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2006, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consumer-oriented-business-that-are-closed-on-weekends/369617/39 "2006-08-22T18:41:41Z")
A few years so, upon arriving home late one Friday evening, someone’s small black cat ran into my house as I opened the door. It wouldn’t have been a big deal except that we had a dog and a cat in the house already that immediately went into to Full Lunatic Running and Making Noise Mode. They chased the other cat into the unfinished basement, where it proceeded to get wedged between the wall and the insulation in the ceiling. Any attempt to try and grab it was met with a full teeth and claw attack. I scooped up the cat and dragged the dog up the stairs and locked them in respective bathrooms while I called the police non emergency line. I explained my situation to the lady on the phone and requested that they send an animal control unit by my house. No dice. Animal Control does not work weekends. I explained that “weekends” weren’t really a concept that was understood well by Basement Dwelling Stray Cats and that I could really use some help before the dog succeeded in boring a large hole in the bathroom door. They offered to send a regular unit by. Yeah, sure, fine, just send someone. Cops came, looked at my Basement Cat and kind of shrugged. The cat also attempted to pull a moray eel on the cops. They eventually just left without even shooting the little bastard. Eventually my brother came over and we rigged a dealy that looked to us like the head loop thing that animal control uses using a hockey stick, an eyebolt and some coaxial cable. We successfully pulled the cat out and set it free outside. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2006, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consumer-oriented-business-that-are-closed-on-weekends/369617/40 "2006-08-22T18:54:01Z")
[QUOTE=Pixisis] I’m comuting from CT to NYC for work these days. The courtesy van just wouldn’t cut it. [/QUOTE] Got it! I actually go in on Saturday so I can avoid having to make small talk with the van driver. :o [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consumer-oriented-business-that-are-closed-on-weekends/369617.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consumer-oriented-business-that-are-closed-on-weekends/369617.md?page=3)