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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