can I get my new managers to listen to feedback?

A reader writes:

I work at a fast food place. I took the job because it was literally the only one I could get: I have a college degree and some professional experience, but not much, and I really needed a job. I've been promoted here, and that's good, and up until now the place has been very tolerable and even fun.

However, we've recently come under new ownership. The new franchisees are changing just about everything. We used to work for the only food place that offered health benefits to regular employees, even part-time ones. Now, all benefits (including employee discounts) are gone, and every little thing, from the way we take drive-thru orders to the dress code, is different.

Some of this I can understand. They want to make money. But some of the new rules are just ridiculous. Customers are getting angry (the new owners won't even let the napkins be stored in the dining room; customers have to come to the counter and ask for them. This is a major pain in our asses and the customers know what the new owners think of them). Pretty much all employees hate the new owners and are looking for other jobs.

My question is, to what extent can I do something about it? I'm a shift lead at one of 22 stores they now own. They claim to value employee feedback and retention, but their position on benefits betrays them (seriously, if they let employees have 50% off while they're working, they recoup the cost of the ingredients, so they're not even losing money!). I've written two letters about specific issues (one an employee incentive program and the other a note on some dress code issues), both done very professionally and deferentially, and have received no reply to either. To what extent is this feedback simply annoying to them? To what extent can I truly hope to change policy over 22 restaurants?

Yeah, you're probably annoying them. That's not because feedback is annoying, but because their silence indicates that these people in particular aren't into hearing it.

Now, good managers would want feedback, especially from someone on the front lines who has a different vantage point than they do, and especially when they're making a lot of changes, some of which will likely play out in ways they didn't anticipate, because that's what happens with change sometimes.

And good managers would also respond to feedback in some way -- even if they consider your input and decide they disagree, or that there are other priorities that trump your points, or whatever. Greeting it with silence pretty much sends the message that they don't care to hear from you, no matter what you have to say.

So no, I don't think you have much chance at changing things, because they've indicated they're not interesting in hearing it.  

My advice is to use the experience as a good case study in managing change. If you look at it from a distance and try to be objective about where they're probably coming from, I bet there are some good lessons in there about why bad changes get implemented, how good changes can be ruined when the communication about them is mishandled, and other interesting aspects of managing major business changes. Sometimes living through bad management can teach you a lot.