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Good Friday isn't what it used to be
By KRIS HUNDLEY, Times Staff Writer
If you want to eat dinner at an Outback Steakhouse on Good Friday, you're in luck. But don't try reaching anybody at the restaurant chain's corporate office in Tampa. They'll be shut tight until Monday. In the "who's on, who's off" scramble that takes place the Friday before Easter, Outback's split policy just adds to the confusion. Post offices? Closed on Good Friday. Cable company, phone company, supermarkets? Open. Have a problem with your electricity? TECO and Progress Energy Florida will both have essential staff working shifts to keep the lights on. But don't try calling for routine information because utility companies on both sides of Tampa Bay will have their offices closed for the day. People who are frustrated to find an office closed Friday may suspect that more businesses are using religion as an excuse for a three-day weekend. But anecdotal evidence suggests the tradition of Good Friday closings is eroding except in the most firmly entrenched industries. One of those may be the financial markets, an arena not exactly known for its religious fervor except when it comes to holidays. The stock exchanges will be closed Friday, as will most banks. Closing on the Christian holiday marking the death of Christ was a given back in the day when stores were closed on Sunday and only hospital emergency departments were open around the clock. Today, more businesses operate on a seven-day work week. And vacations at most schools are planned with the calendar, not religious holidays, in mind. Good Friday is, for many businesses, just one more day of the week. The change has come at Verizon Communications. Until three years ago, the phone giant observed the Good Friday holiday, giving its employees a day off. Then it noticed more of its customers were staying open -- and possibly getting a little irritated at finding Verizon's offices closed. So the company, which has 12,500 employees in the Tampa Bay area, gave employees additional personal days to be used at their discretion. On this Friday, Verizon will be open for business as usual. Employees who want to take the day off, and have arranged it with their supervisor in advance, can take a personal day. Such an accommodation is made by most companies that remain open, including Chick-fil-A. The Atlanta fast-food restaurant will be operating as usual on Friday. But don't stop by on Easter expecting to pick up chicken sandwiches. Since the company started in 1946, operating rule No. 1 has been the restaurants close on Sunday so employees can have "an opportunity to worship, spend time with family and friends or just plain rest from the work week." "Made sense then," Chick-fil-A's Web site says. "Still makes sense now." -- Kris Hundley can be reached at hundley@sptimes.com
or (727)892-2996.
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From the Times Business report
From the AP
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