[blwall1416]

To name a few...

Six Flags. (SIX; about 30,000 employees; stock down 84%). This theme-park operator has been losing money for several years, and selling off properties to try to pay down debt and get back into the black.

Blockbuster. (BBI; about 60,000 employees; stock down 57%). The video-rental chain has burned cash while trying to figure out how to maximize fees without alienating customers.

Krispy Kreme. (KKD; about 4,000 employees; stock down 50%). The donuts might be good, but Krispy Kreme overestimated Americans' appetite - and that's saying something.

http://www.usnews.com/blogs/flowchart/2 ... -2009.html

[flamesbball84]

not surprised about six flags. the one time i went to the one in baltimore it was absolutely horrific. we got there as soon as the park opened and there was trash everywhere (do they not have custodians? regardless of the reason, it is 100% inexcusable to open the park and have trash all over the place) and the eateries were horribly mismanaged: no napkins, food was absolutely terrible, no paper towels in the bathrooms - i guess they just expected everyone to bring their own napkins and paper towels or dry their hands on their clothes. several of the rides weren't even operational, and it was a clear, sunny day and the park had only been open for about a month or so...

[Cider Jim]

Krispy Kreme is on the list, but thank God that Bojangles isn't.

[SuperJon]

If Krispy Kreme dies so will a little part of me.

[ATrain]

I'm not surprised Six Flags is on that list either, they have not done very well managing their parks and acquired way more than they could handle.

Krispy Kreme's demise would utterly suck...but on the other hand, less temptation for unhealthy eating.

[ALUmnus]

Good bye, Krispy Kreme, hellloooo Duncin Donuts!!

[JDUB]

hopefully someone will buy krispy kreme and keep it alive. i love that place

[Ed Dantes]

Blockbuster is no surprise. They've been dying for years. I once read that they were given the chance to have an exclusive window for every new release -- movies would be released at Blockbuster first, then to regular retail stores two months later -- and Blockbuster turned them down. When they had to update its inventory to accommodate DVD's, they never replenished its stock of old films (you can find 10,000 copies of 'The Hottie & the Nottie' in every store, but good luck finding a classic like 'Dr. Zhivago'). Its customer service sucked, too... I'm so glad I go with Netflix.

[thepostman]

i like blockbuster better then netflix simply because you can return movies to the stores and right away your new movies will be shipped to you instead of having to wait for it to get through the mail when you are dealing with netflix...plus depending on what deal you go with you can exchange several moves a month in the store so you can have a movie while you're waiting for the next one or two to come...so thats why i don't want blockbuster going out of business...

krispy kreme and dunkin donuts should merge...they can sell kk's donuts and sell dd's coffee...best of both worlds

[absturgill]

not surprised about six flags. the one time i went to the one in baltimore it was absolutely horrific. we got there as soon as the park opened and there was trash everywhere (do they not have custodians? regardless of the reason, it is 100% inexcusable to open the park and have trash all over the place) and the eateries were horribly mismanaged: no napkins, food was absolutely terrible, no paper towels in the bathrooms - i guess they just expected everyone to bring their own napkins and paper towels or dry their hands on their clothes. several of the rides weren't even operational, and it was a clear, sunny day and the park had only been open for about a month or so...

I am not suprised to hear that about 6 Flags. I have heard other complaints about them and the park. There has also been a history of violence in and around the park.

Also, Redskins owner Dan Snyder has a large share in Six Flags.

[absturgill]

If Krispy Kreme dies so will a little part of me.

I would love to have a Krispy Kreme back in Lynchburg. Back in the late 1990's, the building where Little Caesar's is now was a Krispy Kreme.

Even the Krispy Kreme in Charlottesville has closed. It's been tuned into some other restaurant for a couple years now.

[LUconn]

I worked at 6 flags new england during the summer when I was in college. It was spotless and everyone who worked there was trained to pick up any piece of trash that we saw. That was my first does of the FISH philosophy, and that was definitely a place where you could have fun. It's pretty easy to freak people out as a ride operator. Anyway, working there is also the reason why I'm pretty weary of getting on amusement park rides and would never in a million years get on one at one of those carnivals that show up in mall parking lots one weekend. Engineering crews maintain the rides under a microscope and I still saw some scary stuff happen. I can't imagine carneys taking that great of care of their trailer rides.

[01LUGrad]

If Krispy Kreme dies so will a little part of me.

I'm searching for a rim shot emoticon and can't find it.

Just kidding, big guy!

[71FLAME]

If Krispy Kreme dies so will a little part of me.

Had two yesterday...glazed chocolate cake and a raspberry filled glazed....and a thang of milk. YUM

[RubberMallet]

dd > cc

don't get me wrong i love me some crispies but i'll take a box of munchkins all day long.

unfortunately we have neither around the area any longer....

[Realist]

I worked at 6 flags new england during the summer when I was in college. It was spotless and everyone who worked there was trained to pick up any piece of trash that we saw. That was my first does of the FISH philosophy, and that was definitely a place where you could have fun. It's pretty easy to freak people out as a ride operator. Anyway, working there is also the reason why I'm pretty weary of getting on amusement park rides and would never in a million years get on one at one of those carnivals that show up in mall parking lots one weekend. Engineering crews maintain the rides under a microscope and I still saw some scary stuff happen. I can't imagine carneys taking that great of care of their trailer rides.

Ditto, I worked at Carowinds one summer in college. I also won't go near the water park. There's at least 10-20 pieces of crap in there a day.

[qkslvrsrfrboy]

is this still happening? http://www.roanoke.com/business/wb/154656

Mallet, where are you in Illinois that you dont have dunkin donuts?

And completely agree, Dunkin Donuts far greater than krispy kreme

[RubberMallet]

northwest....

closest is further than an hour and a half away.

[El Scorcho]

And completely agree, Dunkin Donuts far greater than krispy kreme

Blech. Cake doughnuts are gross.



I'll take my yeast rings, please.

On the other hand, it serves Krispy Kreme right. They got too big for their britches and changed the process to cut out the trans fats. If I'm eating a freaking doughnut the last thing on my mind is the trans fat content. Booo changes. Booo expansion.

KK for life.

[RubberMallet]

who eats cake donuts....not i

[ALUmnus]

Being from the northeast, when we like something, we overkill it. The town I grew up in probably had equal number of McDonald's, Dunkin Donuts, and Friendly's. And there were probably six or seven of each. Krispy Kreme would never have made it, it just can't hold a pinkie to DD.

[Sly Fox]

Landrys is the one I am most interested in. That would be awful to have that company go under. I love Kemah and all his chains. Buying the Golden Nugget just before the recession was horrendous timing by Tillman.

[adam42381]

i like blockbuster better then netflix simply because you can return movies to the stores and right away your new movies will be shipped to you instead of having to wait for it to get through the mail when you are dealing with netflix...plus depending on what deal you go with you can exchange several moves a month in the store so you can have a movie while you're waiting for the next one or two to come...so thats why i don't want blockbuster going out of business...

I'm in the same boat. I got locked in on the 1 dvd out at a time with unlimited in-store exchanges for $11.99. We get on average 6 movies a month from Blockbuster along with the same number of in-store exchanges.

[ALUmnus]

i like blockbuster better then netflix simply because you can return movies to the stores and right away your new movies will be shipped to you instead of having to wait for it to get through the mail when you are dealing with netflix...plus depending on what deal you go with you can exchange several moves a month in the store so you can have a movie while you're waiting for the next one or two to come...so thats why i don't want blockbuster going out of business...

I'm in the same boat. I got locked in on the 1 dvd out at a time with unlimited in-store exchanges for $11.99. We get on average 6 movies a month from Blockbuster along with the same number of in-store exchanges.

I've got this (for 2 DVD's), plus a monthly coupon for a free movie or game rental. It' such a good deal and something that Netflix can't do. I've never understood the appeal of Netflix over Blockbuster Online. I have a feeling it's more of a "hate the big corporate bad guy" thing and not the actual product. Now, with the Netflix downloading service, especially for Xbox Live, now that's something special, I could see going for that.

[LUconn]

I'm on a 2 week free trial of Netflix right now and have been watching on Xbox live for the last few days. It's pretty awesome. The selection is not the best yet, but I'm sure it'll grow. Right now it's mostly older movies with some more modern ones thrown in. (By the way, I finally saw No Country For Old Men yesterday and the ending was bad on an epic scale.) Right now the movies are strictly 2 channel audio, which is lame, but I assume that'll be fixed some day. I can't see this as not being the future of movie rental. Once they get the audio improved and more of a selection it would be superior in every way possible. How can you beat an entire video store's worth of movies on demand for a relatively low monthly rate?