Founded about 75 years ago and the home of the original chicken sandwich, Chick-fil-A
is a well-known American fast-food chain. But this famous fast-food brand has a number
of interesting truths that not many are aware of. Continuing with our revelations, here
are 10 untold truths of Chick-fil-A - part 2!
It is a fast-food chain with the friendliest employees
Chick-fil-A is known to have the friendliest employees in the fast-food business. And
it’s not just us saying that; most customers have reported that they feel that Chick-fil-A
employees are extra-friendly. While most fast-food restaurants concentrate on fast service, increasing
foot traffic and aggressive advertising strategies, Chick-fil-A’s founder, S. Truett Cathy,
had envisioned a fast food restaurant that puts customer satisfaction first and above
all else. He wanted the restaurant staff to always be courteous and polite to customers.
According to a publication, the staff is trained to be exceedingly courteous and follow a set
protocol for friendliness and politeness to ensure a great service experience for customers.
Thus, ‘thank you’ and ‘please’ are unfailingly used by Chick-fil-A employees
when interacting with customers. In fact, Chick-fil-A was voted as the ‘most polite
chain restaurant’ in a 2016 survey of drive-thru service restaurants. It beat 15 other fast-food
chains in the survey to reach the coveted spot. Another interesting fact about Chick-fil-A
employees is that they are trained to use ‘elevated language’ with customers. So,
you’re more likely to hear ‘my pleasure’ instead of ‘you’re welcome’ from restaurant
staff.
Chick-fil-A generously supports employee education
Chick-fil-A is as dedicated to its employees’ well being as it is towards its customers.
Honoring the religious belief of its founder, S. Truett Cathy, Chick-fil-A is known for
its standout feature of Sunday restaurant closures - all Chick-fil-A restaurants are
closed on Sundays. Besides honoring the founder’s religious beliefs, the restaurant chain is
also dedicated to taking care of its employees’ futures. It does so by helping its employees
go to college. Chick-fil-A’s founder placed a lot of emphasis on higher education. It
is widely believed that the company has generously provided college scholarships to the tune
of $35 million to its employees since 1973. The company believes in investing in the future
of its employees so as to empower them to lead better lives. That is probably one of
the many positive reasons for employee satisfaction at Chick-fil-A. The company has an ongoing
employee initiative called ‘Remarkable Futures’ that is committed to funding the education
of its employees. As part of this initiative, in early 2019, Chick-fil-A reportedly gave
out upwards of $15 million in educational scholarships to about 6000 employees in its
American restaurants.
There is a Chick-fil-A in almost every state
Chick-fil-A became famous for its lip-smacking chicken sandwich that was created to match
the hamburger craze of the 1960s. But not many know that the legendary sandwich was
born out of a poultry surplus of that time. And the founder created the sandwich by using
the unique technique of pressure frying the chicken to give it a juicy taste and texture.
Adding a super-secret mix of seasonings and spices along with tasty pickles gave it a
distinctive taste. Though the final result may look very simple, one bite of the sandwich
and one realizes the complex layers of flavor that make a Chick-fil-A sandwich. The original
recipe of the chicken sandwich was the founder’s creation and is now a trade secret. With
such a deep history and unmatched taste, Chick-fil-A soon became a nationwide phenomenon. It has
outlets in many countries across the world and in almost every state of the United States.
We say ‘almost every state’ because there are three U.S. states that do not yet have
a Chick-fil-A. Besides Vermont, Hawaii and Alaska, all the other 47 states have one or
more than one Chick-fil-A outlet.
Chick-fil-A’s secret menu is quite extensive
Most fast-food restaurants have a secret menu i.e. a range of off-menu items that customers
in the know can order. And Chick-fil-A is no exception to this rule. In fact, Chick-fil-A
is known to have quite an expansive secret menu. Although its signature item is the
original chicken sandwich whose recipe is a major secret within the company, there are
a plethora of other items on the menu, including variations of the chicken sandwich, salads,
desserts, drinks, breakfast items, sides, and more. Many customers have discovered that
there are a range of secret menu items that Chick-fil-A employees will make for you if
you just ask nicely. Some of the items on this secret menu are a Buffalo Chicken Sandwich,
Double Decker Sandwich, Cheese Fries, The Spicy Char, Double Double Down, Root Beer
Float, Grilled Cheese, and more. The process to order these secret menu items is easy;
either you can just ask for them by their name or describe the item so that the staff
can make it for you as required. If you want a Double Decker Sandwich, just ask for two
patties in your chicken sandwich. If you ask for a Double Double Down, your sandwich bun
will consist of two pieces of fried chicken with two chicken patties, bacon and cheese.
For those craving a tangy sandwich, go for the Buffalo Chicken Sandwich that comes doused
in tangy Buffalo sauce. You can even get a quesadilla at Chick-fil-A; just ask for a
charbroiled chicken in a grilled flour tortilla and ask for cheese and your desired sauce
to be added to it. While their waffle fries are well-known, try their Cheese Fries too,
for they are just regular waffle fries with a melted cheese slice on top. And how can
you forget drinks; there is a secret menu item in drinks too! Go for a Root Beer Float;
most employees will serve it right up, but if they don’t, just ask for root beer to
be poured on top of a vanilla milkshake with a scoop of soft serve on top. Yum!
There’s a Hawaiian-themed Chick-fil-A in Georgia
Even though they do not have a location in Hawaii yet, Chick-fil-A has managed to open
a Hawaii-themed restaurant in Fayetteville, Georgia. The restaurant is the brainchild
of Chick-fil-A founder, S. Truett Cathy, and is aptly called ‘Truett’s Luau’. The
restaurant is close to the founder’s heart since he opened it when he was 92 years old.
He had envisioned a restaurant with a relaxed, vacation-style environment where customers
could have an excellent meal with family and friends. In the founder’s mind, nothing
embodied this spirit more than a Hawaiian luau. He reportedly sketched out the details
of this restaurant in the form of doodles and notes on a 3×5 index card. The restaurant
opened at the end of 2013 in a massive 8000 square foot space and is now the largest restaurant
in the Chick-fil-A portfolio. Truett’s Luau brought to life the founder’s vision
of a festive Hawaiian theme. With nearly 50 years of restaurant business experience and
nearly 1700 restaurants to his name, it isn’t surprising to hear that almost every décor
element in the restaurant was handpicked by Truett himself. As for the food, besides the
regular chicken items, the restaurant also serves pork and tropical seafood.
Anyone can open a Chick-fil-A outlet
Most fast-food chains operate on a franchising model. And owning a fast-food franchise is
a great source of income for many investors. But many people believe that opening a fast
food outlet is an expensive affair requiring massive initial capital, time and manpower
investment. But that isn’t the case with Chick-fil-A. Opening a Chick-fil-A outlet
is not very expensive; all you need is $10,000. Unlike other fast-food franchises, Chick-fil-A believes
in keeping the cost of initial investment low so that anybody with a decent amount of
interest and money can approach them to open an outlet. Reportedly, the company will even
pay all the initial business costs like real estate purchase, equipment, restaurant construction
costs, etc. But the ownership of the outlet will remain with Chick-fil-A. Since it has
a reputation to maintain, operating a Chick-fil-A franchise is not easy. The company has a stringent
screening process in selecting a franchisee. To become a franchisee, alongside an initial
capital of $10,000, reportedly all franchisees must pass through a series of interviews and
undergo a thorough training program, all of which are a time-consuming process. Each franchisee
is chosen after careful consideration by the company bosses to ensure adherence to company
values and customer service practices. To become a franchisee, Chick-fil-A has a set
of conditions that must be complied with, like, the restaurant operator/franchisee must
be actively involved in the running of the outlet, the restaurant location is selected
by Chick-fil-A and not the operator, each franchisee can only operate one location,
etc. An adherence to the company’s strict Christian values is likely also a large factor.
Chick-fil-A employs clever advertising tactics
Even if you’ve never eaten at Chick-fil-A, you are sure to have come across a signboard
or advertisement for it featuring a cow mascot that is seen writing ‘Eat Mor Chikin’
in all capital letters. This very clever and unique advertising strategy is said to be
the brainchild of The Richards Group and the first of such billboards came up in Dallas,
Texas. There has been no looking back in terms of a company mascot ever since. The concept
consists of Holstein dairy cows holding, painting, or wearing signboards that read the cheeky
company slogan ‘Eat Mor Chikin’ which encourages customers to eat more chicken sandwiches
instead of burgers or steaks. The now-famous cows and slogan are seen everywhere. But the
initial mascot of Chick-fil-A was a chicken, Doodles, who can still be seen on the Chick-fil-A
logo. Apparently, Chick-fil-A hosts an annual Cow Appreciation Day in July where customers
can dress up as cows and receive complimentary meals.
There is no secret recipe for the delicious Chick-fil-A sauce
Chick-fil-A is popular with customers not just for its scrumptious chicken sandwiches
and waffle fries, but also its Chick-fil-A sauce. For years, customers have dipped their
fries and chicken nuggets in this delicious sauce and tried to figure out its secret recipe.
But here’s the secret: there is no secret recipe for the sauce! Sure, the sauce tastes
magically yummy, but its recipe is not a secret at all. In fact, the people at Chick-fil-A
themselves revealed the recipe of the sauce on Twitter. The official Twitter account of
Chick-fil-A once mentioned that their signature sauce was a mix of honey mustard, ranch and
barbecue sauces. As simple as that! With such easily available ingredients, anybody can
whip up the Chick-fil-A sauce at home.
Chick-fil-A and the same-sex marriage controversy
Founded on the strong Christian beliefs of S. Truett Cathy, Chick-fil-A has been involved
in a same-sex marriage controversy since 2011. Many media outlets reported that Chick-fil-A
was donating millions of dollars to organizations and co-sponsoring events that were opposed
to same-sex marriage. Some outlets even reported that a charity founded by Truett and his wife,
The WinShape Foundation, did not permit same-sex couples on its marriage retreats. In direct
response to these reports, it was reported that students across the U.S. campaigned for
a ban or removal of Chick-fil-A restaurants from their university campuses. The controversy
hit a crescendo in mid-2012 when Truett’s son and Chick-fil-A COO at that time, Dan,
made a public statement opposing same-sex marriage, which was met with severe political
and public disapproval. But to counter the protests of same-sex marriage activists, a
former Arkansas Governor announced a ‘Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day’. To put an end to the
controversy, a civil rights organization issued a statement that ‘Chick-fil-A had ceased
donating to organizations that promote discrimination, specifically against LGBTQ civil rights.’
This statement was never officially confirmed by Chick-fil-A, though supposedly all persons
are said to be treated equally at Chick-fil-A outlets now.
Chick-Fil-A believes in upcycling
Committed to doing their bit to protect the environment, the folks at Chick-fil-A have
invested in upcycling plastic bottles to create staff uniforms. The company partnered with
a South Carolina-based apparel manufacturer to create a sustainable material from which to
make staff members’ polo shirts. After extensive research, they came up with a material, RPET
fabric, that incorporated bamboo fibers, organic cotton and recycled materials like plastic
bottles. By mid-2017, about 100,000 Chick-fil-A employees were wearing polo shirts made from
this upcycled material. The use of plastic bottles in making the polo shirts reportedly
saved 5.3 million bottles from being dumped into landfills or in the oceans. Reportedly,
each polo shirt contains anywhere from 9-19 plastic bottles. This apparently makes Chick-fil-A
employees the first ones in the fast-food industry to wear uniforms made from upcycled
and reclaimed plastic bottles.
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