How Chick-fil-A Creates an Outstanding Customer Experience

“It’s my pleasure.”

And you believe it. This is a familiar phrase to anyone that has ever experienced a Chick-fil-A restaurant. Associates at Chick-fil-A are taught to say ‘my pleasure’ instead of ‘you’re welcome’ or not problem.’ It is a differentiator and oddly, one that very few other retailers have been able to replicate. Chick-fil-A makes it more than a statement that associates are required to say, it is a culture they are immersed in from the time they start.

Before I go too far into this article, I think it is important to acknowledge that Chick-fil-A is not without its controversies. My point in this article is not to agree or disagree with their religious or political views, but rather to remain focused on the experience the company and its franchise owners provide consistently across the United States.

That culture starts from the moment a person is interested in becoming an owner of a Chick-fil-A. There is a rigorous selection process and then once selected an intense and lengthy training and development period before the restaurant even opens. Every owner works with a dedicated training team and in a training store located on the Chick-fil-A corporate campus for nearly a year before they can begin to operate their own store. Owners are designed to be operators as well. Chick-fil-A owners are only allowed to own a single location. In some cases, typically where one location is inside of a mall, they may be allowed to own two restaurants. The goal for Chick-fil-A is to ensure their owners are a part of the every day business, immersed in the day to day activities, and hands on with the customers. That defines a culture.

It starts with hiring

Chick-fil-A has access to the exact same talent pool as every other retailer and quick serve restaurant, so why do they seem to have better associates? Their reputation helps immensely. You see a lot more pride and positive comments from Chick-fil-A employees on forums and Reddit entries than most other fast food places (and retailers in general). People, especially those in the 18-25 age range, want to work at Chick-fil-A over other similar job opportunities. The interview process does not appear to be any more or less rigorous than other similar places, but the expectations and criteria for selection is, in many cases, higher. Making it through to the second round of interviews with the owner narrows means that they have already narrowed the crowd down. Then the owner can make the final selection based on the best fit for the culture they are creating in their restaurant.

Consistent orientation

Chick-fil-A provides an orientation process that franchises can use and adapt to their own specific needs. But it is consistent in the videos and process that are used across all stores. New employees are provided a ‘training’ badge to allow customers to know they are still learning and each associate receives feedback and coaching along the way to help them be set up for success. I have read many comments from associates that state that ‘my pleasure’ begins to just come naturally after a few shifts since you are constantly practicing it.

Throughout the training and orientation process, the videos provide scenarios that help associates be prepared for situations that might arise with customers. This allows them to have some experience ahead of it becoming a real situation. Practice is an excellent way to ensure any associate is ready for the real thing when it happens.

Engagement

Finally, the piece that connects all of the dots for Chick-fil-A is creating a culture of engaged employees. Having the owner so close to the business and having such a vested stake in the outcome means engagement becomes critical. Franchise owners can run their business as they see fit within the confines of expectations that Chick-fil-A corporate defines. They spend a lot of time on leadership training for the owners prior to them getting their own restaurant open. Without this level of dedicated development for the owners, the ability to deliver the consistent culture experience that Chick-fil-A achieves would be nearly impossible.

Many of the key leadership concepts that define Chick-fil-A can be found in books and articles written by Mark Miller, who has served as a Senior Vice President with Chick-fil-A for more than twenty years. While he rarely mentions Chick-fil-A specifically in his work, it does come up and it is apparent he is speaking from his experiences. His works Talent Magnet, Leaders Made here, The Secret of Teams, and Chess Not Checkers are all valuable resources to use in any business and provide some insight into what makes Chick-fil-A a unique experience for customers and associates alike.

Having leaders that create a culture of empowerment and engagement makes all of the other pieces possible. A group of employees that are typically just getting a ‘job’ become associates of something bigger that they want to be a part of. And while high turnover is common in quick serve restaurants, Chick-fil-A remains below industry norms while still working through the need to continually be adding new people into their environment. The culture is what creates the experience and the experience is what supports the culture. Few other places have been able to accomplish the two working together so well and consistently.

Almost everything Chick-fil-A does is replicable, yet few people have the commitment to the time and effort it takes to consistently deliver the experience they do. You can apply the concepts above into your business, but do not expect overnight success. It will take time and a consistent effort to maintain the high expectations. It requires resources necessary for a dedicated orientation process, and the follow up to provide coaching to support the new ways of delivering an exceptional experience every time.

What is your first step in creating a ‘my pleasure’ culture in your business?

Other resources:

Chick-fil-A is taking over America by offering the best customer service in fast food

4 Lessons of Employee Empowerment, Courtesy of Chick-fil-A

Every life has a story (video)

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