There’s tons to love about Chick Fil A – the cheerful employees, the charming cows, the free food… And even the food that’s not free is great!
I contacted our local Chick-Fil-A office to ask a few burning questions I’ve had and some of you have asked, too. Here’s the inside scoop:
Several people I know have asked “how in the world does Chick Fil A afford to give out so much free food? Aren’t they losing money?” So, how and why do you do it? Is it marketing? Philanthropy?
We appreciate our guests..and firmly believe in giving back to those who help us be successful.
About how many free items does Chick-Fil-A give away on a “free day”? What’s your most popular free item?
It varies greatly, but our free breakfast items are always popular—particularly the Chick-n-Mini! We love the days where our guests participate to “earn” free items: Cow Appreciation Day: if you dress like a cow you receive a free meal! And on our Labor Day Give-away, if you wear your favorite sports attire, you receive a free Sandwich. It makes for an easy, fun way to share our enthusiasm for Chick-fil-A and those crazy Cow Mascots!
Even on giveaway days when the stores are packed, your employees are courteous, cheerful, and always say “my pleasure”! What’s the secret to having such an awesome staff?
It begins with who we hire! We are very fortunate to have fantastic applicants! Then we believe that if you set the bar high, we will all strive to reach it! From Truett Cathy (our founder) and through everyone in the entire company, we all work to help each other and honor the guest.
Who are the cows? Are their employees who are specially trained to be cows or is it luck of the draw as to who gets to dress up?
Being the cow is a privilege! We audition from our team, and hold cow-training sessions. We follow our “Moo Manifesto” to be sure all of our cow mascots understand how important their role is!! Remember, the cows are all about self-preservation—and making people smile!
Man, I want to be a Cow! Think I’d get past an audition? Maybe one of my kids can be a Cow when they grow up.
What’s your favorite thing about Chick Fil A?
A lot of fast-food places could learn alot by watching the success of Chik-Fil-A. Customers are loyal because of the excellent service and the generousity of the company. Chik-fil-A has never been about squeezing the last penney of profit, but about establishing a good company that people love to frequent and through their support of their local communities. Their success is in direct proportion to their devotion to their employees and their customers! Horray for Chik-fil-A!
My favorite thing? Yikes, how to narrow it down to one.
I love that when I go and use coupons (free kids meals from the library, for instance), and don’t purchase anything else, nobody ever, ever, ever makes me feel like a moocher. I’m treated with as much courtesy as when I’m spending money.
I love that they are so supportive of libraries in all their communities.
I love that their kids’ meal toys are of a high quality.
But I think my favorite thing is that they don’t open on Sunday. That, to me, speaks volumes about their priorities as a company.
During customer appreciation week, I went there for lunch. Not only did I get 3 coupons for a free chicken biscuit, and “I Love Chick Fil A” sticker, and a cow antenna topper, they also gave me my lunch for free.
They are always so kind and courteous. I am always receiving notes from my child’s school promoting “Chick Fil A night.” The donate a certain percentage of sales to the school.
One day, I was leaving Target on Carefree and Powers. There was an older gentleman out by the intersection holding a sign asking for help. I saw a Chick Fil A employee walk up and give him what I assume was a chicken sandwich. It was so nice to see that.
There is a lot our family loves about Chick-Fil-A. We love that:
~they are closed on Sundays
~they donate a lot to the community
~the employees are always so friendly and willing to help
~if you dine in, they come around and offer to refill your drinks and clear your trays
~the drive thru line sometimes goes around the building, but they have such a great system that you’re through the line in less than 10 minutes
~of course, we love all the freebies they offer ;)
I asked my kids what they love about Chick-Fil-A. My daughter said she loves the food, the play area and the toys they give in the kids meals. I know they also love being able to trade in their toy for an ice cream cone!
I MUST echo Debra’s comments – especially the one about being closed on Sunday’s. Allowing their employees to attend church and spend time with friends/family is an awesome sentiment about the priorities of the company.
Just yesterday, I took my family to the Chick-Fil-A at Chapel Hills Mall and used (several) coupons to receive over $31 in FREE food!!! We ALL had a delicious lunch and didn’t pay a cent!
Last week, we enjoyed the FREE yogurt parfaits during “Customer Appreciation Week”!
Earlier this month, the Chick-Fil-A on Powers Blvd. donated LOTS of coupons (for free food) to our Colorado Virtual Academy students who were taking CSAP tests.
Chick-Fil-A —- You are the BEST!! Thank you for ALL you do for our community!!
I love that they give out books for the toddler “toy”. These are great to keep in the diaper bag since they are small and light-weight and it’s educational for my daughter!
They do add MSG to their food, so we try not to eat there too often. But what fast food restaurant doesn’t? :) But they are hands-down my favorite fast-food restaurant to support!
They have a competitive scholarship program they encourage their employees to participate in :) I have encouraged my kids to work there, when the time comes.
Funny you should write about Chick-Fil-A today… We were there for lunch today and had the most awesome experience I’ve ever had – and that’s saying A LOT because they are awesome every time – and while I was there, thought that I should write up a post about my love for the place! It is definitely our choice for most of our eating out.
Among my favorite things are their customer service and their “toys.” As a homeschooling mom, we have used MANY of their educational materials to add to our curriculum because they are just amazing!
I agree with what everybody else says, they are so flexible, great customer service, great for the kids, great play area, and best of all great food. You all have probably already seen this video but it is pretty funny. It is Tim Hawkins doing a song about Chick Fil A. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NsJHqstPuNo
Hahaha! That Tim Hawkins song is so funny! BTW, Tim Hawkins is coming to Colorado Springs on Sunday, May 2nd at Rocky Mountain Calvary. Tickets are $12. Call 597-1133 for more info. :)
Carrie, you can be a cow. Your kids would “have a cow.” ;o)
I was part of the Cow Training team when I worked there from 05-07. It was great! My absolute favorite part of working there. I loved seeing the bright-eyed little kids. Even the ones that were shy, I had ways of getting them to come around :)
Even though I don’t work there anymore, I would volunteer to be The Cow for free if I had the time!