Townhall.com
Kimberly Fletcher
February 20, 2018

I have known about Chick-fil-A restaurants for years from passing by their clever “Eat Mor Chikin” billboards. I’ve heard the stories of the founder’s faith, knew they weren’t open on Sundays, and remember the long lines of customers supporting the franchise when it came under attack for their beliefs. But until two years ago I’d never eaten at Chick-fil-A.It’s nothing against the restaurant itself, I just don’t do fast food. But that all changed two years ago when my son, Noah, began working at Chick-fil-A. Now I’m a walking commercial for the company.

I didn’t realize just how much of a blessing our son’s new job would be for our family. We encouraged Noah to apply because he wouldn’t have to work on Sunday and we loved that. But as he began work I quickly realized what an asset Chick-fil-A is to moms hungering for support in a very unsupportive world. As a mother of eight, I appreciate any support I can get in raising good sons and daughters.

Our son has literally grown up at Chick-fil-A. His father and I laid the groundwork and foundation for our values—hard work, courtesy, service, and the importance of cleanliness but what a breath of fresh air to have the company he works for reinforcing those same values. Our son is not only learning the value of work, business management, and workplace relationships, he is gaining priceless experience, knowledge, wisdom and the value of good character. But that’s not the only reason moms get giddy when a Chick-fil-A opens in their town. It is not only a family-friendly place. It is a place families love to come—because of the company’s standards.

American culture has changed dramatically in the last forty years. It used to be a lot easier to raise a family in America—back when society was an ally and resource instead of a direct threat.Steven Covey addressed this in his book 7 Habits of Highly Effective Families.

“In the past,” said Covey, “it was easier to raise a family…because society was an ally, a resource. People were surrounded by role models, examples, media reinforcement, and family-friendly laws and support systems that sustained marriage and helped create strong families. Even when there were problems within the family, there was still this powerful reinforcement of the whole idea of successful marriage and family life.Success was much more a matter of ‘going with the flow, but the jet stream has changed—dramatically. And to ‘go with the flow’ today is family-fatal.”

In a world where everything seems to be going against the family, it is really nice to find an ally. I found that ally at Chick-fil-A. I’ll never forget the day my son called me just a few minutes after dropping him off at work to ask if I could come pick him up.

“What’s wrong,” I asked as all the usual visions of a mom’s biggest worries went through my head.

“I forgot to shave this morning,” he quietly responded. “I can’t clock in until I shave.”

I LOVE Chick-fil-A!

Our son has come to appreciate the value of standards from the company’s strict grooming policy. He learned the value of service and sacrifice while sweating in a cow suit for hours, with dozens of children pulling at his tail and begging for pictures. Their customer service policy has got to be my favorite by far. Every employee is expected to treat the customer with utmost respect and courtesy. Every time a customer says, “thank-you” they are required to reply, “my pleasure.” It’s become such a habit for Noah it has carried over into our home. I can’t tell you how cool that is—although he smarts every time he catches himself saying “my pleasure” to his little brother. Which, of course, has caused his little brother to say thank you a lot more. Bonus! A former manager at the company told me, “Working with those kids at Chick-fil-a has given me hope for America’s future.” I totally agree.

A few months into his job, Noah asked if the whole family could go to Chick-fil-A for their Family Fun Night.After watching the change come over our son and positively affect our whole family, I thought I should at least go and try the food. I was stunned at what I found when we pulled in the parking lot. The place was packed and lines of families spilled out the door.I decided this may not the best day to visit but my son persuaded us to persevere through the line assuring us it would be worth it; and he was right. It was amazing to see all the families, dressed in some sort of cow costume or another, eating together, playing together, and talking together. And no matter how many people crowded in for their free chicken sandwich, the kids behind the counter smiled and really seemed to enjoy the challenge and opportunity to serve their customers. And much to my surprise, I found the food was actually pretty darn good—they could make a killing on that Chick-fil-A sauce on the open market.

I now have a whole new appreciation for those cow signs dotting the highway. I understand why families pour into the restaurant; why moms look with a gleam in their eye when they see the “Now Hiring” sign go up; and why comedian Tim Hawkins penned his famous Chick-fil-A song, singing “I can eat there seven times a day.”

As I round the corner of our local Chick-fil-A store with the parking lot once again full, and the usual long line of cars in the drive thru, the melodic sound of teenagers repeating, “My pleasure” echoes in my ears and I just have to smile because now I know the secret too. Chick-fil-A is a mom’s best friend!

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Great story. If only we had enough Chick-fil-A's to employ all the millennials.

RMD

quote:

If only we had enough Chick-fil-A's to employ all the millennials.

But we don't have to. All it takes is other companies recognizing the benefits of providing the same level of service, and how it benefits their bottom line, as well as their customers and employees.

Not holding my breath, though.

Great story. Thanks for posting it.

My first job was at a Chick-Fil-A. I started there a couple weeks after I turned 14 (legal working age in Iowa, and most states, I presume) and have been working ever since. It's a real solid company.

And yes, when you're the young grunt, you get to wear the cow costume. It comes with a 20lbs. vest full of those blue cool packs you find in lunch boxes. It gets that hot.

My wife and I love Chick. It's clean, the food is good and the staff are usually young kids that are very polite and attentive. But what we like most is what they stand for. They always seem to support the right cause. We also like the fact that they are closed on Sundays even though that inconvenienced us for awhile.

I know I've said it before here but it bears repeating. I have never been to a CFA and experienced anything other than outstanding service from extremely polite young men and women of every race who take pride in their appearance, their demeanor and their work. I always leave feeling great about the interaction, but I also find it sad that it is so rare as to be noteworthy.

I don't know how CFA goes about their hiring and training, but you would think that other fast food and other employers of young adults would seek to emulate the process. As far as I can tell, there is no interest in doing so.

Places like McDonald's are more than content to hire kids who look like they just came from shooting a rap video and who are barely motivated enough to interrupt their conversations to take an order. A "thank you" or "my pleasure" is not even in their vocabulary.

CFA certainly is a unique business, and a welcome difference. I don't eat at one as often as I should, but I do eat there and enjoy the experience (and the food).

flashguy

Never in my life have I imagined that a fast food company would bring tears to my eyes.

And they do open on Sundays... for tragedies like the shooting in Florida at the gay night club and other events.

They don't ever get the credit for that from those that hate the company's president for voicing his view.

quote:

Originally posted by JALLEN:
Townhall.com
Kimberly Fletcher
February 20, 2018....His father and I laid the groundwork and foundation for our values—hard work, courtesy, service, and the importance of cleanliness but what a breath of fresh air to have the company he works for reinforcing those same values. Our son is not only learning the value of work, business management, and workplace relationships, he is gaining priceless experience, knowledge, wisdom and the value of good character....

I guess my first thought was that with such a value system, Kimberly Fletcher would make a lousy democrat.

My wife and I often give fast food gift cards to younger families who need a break, Chick-fil-A is first on our list.

Never ate there until they came under siege. Now it is weekly

I had the pleasure of working at the farm of S. Truett Cathy for their managers meeting. They had tents setup on his property and I got to hear him and his son speak. After the event was over he and his wife setup some lawn chairs and watched as we broke everything down and loaded it out. He kept stopping people and asking them what they did and then complimenting whatever part of the event they were a part of. He was extremely friendly and still lived in the same small house that they bought before he was rich and famous.

I’ve eaten at his restaurants all over the country and I’ve never once had a bad experience. I only recall one time when my order wasn’t correct and the manager immediately offered to refund my money and fix it. I think even if I didn’t eat fast food I’d stop in once a week and buy a bottle of water or something just to show my support.

CFA is pretty much the only fast food place I go to. The ones by me are always packed and I started using the CFA app. It is AWESOME! Place your order in the car on the way, click “I’m here” as you park, and it’s ready when you walk in. Skip the 20 people in line, plus you get free treats frequently.

Great article.

I didnt realize the "My pleasure" response was company policy. Thats terrific. A few months ago I complimented a CFA worker on that because I absolutely hate the ubiquitous "no problem" reply you get at most places these days, which smacks of indifference and sounds like getting paid to do a job interferes with their daily routine of complaining about various millennial non-issues on social media.

Chic-fil-A came to my attention when it had ads featuring our beloved Longhorn mascot, Bevo, saying or tattoo’d on his rear end, “Eat mor chikken!”

I didn’t try eating there until a long time later, when they had the boycott over the family’s expressed beliefs. Very impressive! I’m not giving up on Whataburger but have added CFA to the approved list.

I had my wife stop in last night on the way home from the gym and pick up dinner.

Good article. I very rarely eat fast food but when I do it's CFA.

So well put -

“In the past,” said Covey, “it was easier to raise a family…because society was an ally, a resource. People were surrounded by role models, examples, media reinforcement, and family-friendly laws and support systems that sustained marriage and helped create strong families. Even when there were problems within the family, there was still this powerful reinforcement of the whole idea of successful marriage and family life.Success was much more a matter of ‘going with the flow, but the jet stream has changed—dramatically. And to ‘go with the flow’ today is family-fatal.”

quote:

Originally posted by Revolution37:
And yes, when you're the young grunt, you get to wear the cow costume. It comes with a 20lbs. vest full of those blue cool packs you find in lunch boxes. It gets that hot.

You must be young.

Let me tell you something about Doodles the chicken (the original, pre-cow, CFA mascot). That sucker came with no ice packs, no cooling fans, and much bigger feet.

The day you were Doodles was a loooong day.

I'm just sayin'.

-Rob