Wow Chick-fil-A must be doing something right!

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Farmer17

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Every time I pass a Chick-Fil-A in any city the parking lots are full and the line of cars for the drive thru wraps around the building, no matter what time of day or night! I always thought the food was pretty average but my young daughters LOVED the place so we ate there a few times a month. I will say they have drive thru service figured out, the long double lines go fairly fast and the young people working there seem a little sharper and better trained than the typical fast food places. They have to be making a ton of money.
 
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I have tried to go to Chick-Fil-A approximately 6 times, only being able to get in within a reasonable amount of time 3 times. I am NOT waiting an hour for fast food!

I thought the food was descent (an upgrade from McDonalds, BK, Wendy's, etc.) but nothing so special that it is worth a long wait. I do value their policy's, ethic's and personnel and might stop in again in the future, but if there is a substantial line - I am outta there.

I too shake my head in disbelief when passing a Chick-Fil-A and seeing a super long line of cars wrapping around the parking lot. I think that it is partially the food quality and partially the fact that Chick-Fil-A is more aligned with good old fashion morals. Either way..... good for them!
 
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One of the best run businesses you will ever come across. Efficient, well trained, friendly, etc etc.
The two around here are owned by one family who live in the community, and they donate $$$’s to local charities, youth groups, etc.

The first one they had opened required local LE to keep the lines from going out onto a major thoroughfare, a hundred yards away.:eek: The location was not ideal for that amount of traffic. I blame the town for approving the location, as they do on so many other projects. The owners opened a second one about 4 miles away and that alleviated the problem.

One location, the new one, is directly across from Mickey D’s. Guess which one has the long line. In fact, the MD’s always appears empty.

The only fast food joint I ever go to unless there’s absolutely nothing around in some one horse town we pass through.
I admire their decision to close on Sunday.
 
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I really think many fast food places are going the way of the DoDo Bird, K-Mart, Monkey Wards, Sears, etc.

There have been a number of recent posts on a neighborhood social media site (Nextdoor) about our local McDonald's being closed at 1 or 2 in the afternoon. A Nextdoor busybody finally confronted the owner who indicated “we simply can’t hire staff at any price to keep the local stores open for our regular business hours.”

Ironically just that day, I had been by a Chick-Fil-A at lunch time. As Farmer states they had a two lane drive-thru with probably 50 cars in each lane. There was a literal army of clean-cut, smiling young people out getting orders and handling the customers at a level of efficiency of a NASCAR pit crew.

A mile down the street McDonalds was sitting empty with a sign in the drive-thru window that said “Sorry Closed. We can’t get help.”

I wonder if Chick-Fil-A, Five Guys and these other speciality fast food places aren’t simply putting McDonalds out of business the way Wal-Mart did to K-Mart, Sear’s etc.
 
I admire their business model, which is nothing new--it's old, in fact. McD used to be the same. As for the food, the wife loves it. I can take it or leave it.
 
SMSgt said:
I admire their business model, which is nothing new--it's old, in fact. McD used to be the same. As for the food, the wife loves it. I can take it or leave it.
Click to expand...

I tried it once a few weeks ago it was OK. Much better than the **** that KFC or Popeye's puts out.

To be honest we were on the NYS Thruway and they were in a rest area building. Not sure if things would be a bit better and quite possibly cheaper at a normal stand alone location.
 
Teenagers cannot get enough of it. To me the portions are smaller and the prices are higher. I also find the sauces too sweet, but if we drive through a city that has one the grandkids are all over it as soon as we hit the planning stage.
 
I have been to a CF only a few times, not really a chicken fancier either at home or elsewhere. But the CF franchise model operates in a totally different way from the other fast food chains, as franchisees actually own nothing. The CF company itself is the sole owner of the store and contents. The franchisees are fundamentally just CF employees who get paid a large slice of the profits. They are normally allowed to have only a single location, and must be hands-on managers and they cannot turn over operational and managerial responsibilities to someone else. It is a great deal of work to be a CF franchisee. Had some friends who looked into it and decided that they didn't want to turn their whole lives over to the CF company without having any equity ownership.
 
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Interesting thread. There is one in our area across from a Japanese supermarket we visit once a month or so. Always stacked up with lines of cars. I had no idea why it was so popular prior to reading this thread.
 
I don't care much for chicken but I did get a chicken salad at CF once and it was outstanding . I do think that In-N-Out Burger is well run and the only fast food burger joint worth going to. But they are none in Missouri so the only time I get eat at one is when I visit my son in Arizona
 
My wife loves them, me eh not so much. Pickles on a chicken sandwich doesn't please my pallet. I am not a fan of any fast food nowadays, expensive and you never get what is in the picture.

I will get an egg McMuffin sometimes when I have an early t-time and if I am going to get a fast-food burger it will be Wendy's or more likely 5 guys.

I do like how they took a stand on their principles when under attack. People respect it even if they don't necessarily agree. After all, this is America.
 
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When a special interest group that opposed their policies announced a one-day boycott several years ago I decided to throw some business their way. Me and the rest of the county. I waited in line for an hour to order. Since the boycotters had suggested going to KFC instead, when asked for my name I said "Harlan Sanders".

I like the food well enough, but not well enough to sit in a long line other than to make a point.
 
I like Chick-Fil-A. Local restaurant is frequently rebuilding or reorganizing to try to improve traffic flow.

I like their spicy chicken. Milkshakes are also good.
I especially like the fact that I can order most any menu item without saying “hold the ...”. Sandwiches are to my tastes the way they are made.
 
I was a youngster who visited the original Dwarf House in Hapeville, Ga where Truett started it all. It was a sit down restaurant in the front, and the sandwiches were sold out the back, fast food style. It was a common lunch stop when I worked part time at the Georgia Power HQ that was close by.

As a born and raised Georgian, I’m proud of both Chik Fil A and Waffle House. Both are neat business models to learn about.

And by the way, if you haven’t tried the Chik Fil A lemonade, you are missing out!
 
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Truett Cathy was a car guy, too. I used to call on Chick-fil-A headquarters in Georgia (I sold them the lighting systems for their stores) and Cathy had several of his antique cars on display in the lobby. I was looking at them one day after a meeting and he came up and started talking to me about them. Nice guy.
 
I haven't even attempted to go to the two CF locations in Vegas. I am reliably informed that they are manic at all times. Bag that noise. I go to Houston Hot Chicken instead. Food is better than Cane's and it is closer to my house.

The nearest In 'n' Out to me is always stupid busy, too. Food is pretty good, but I prefer Five Guys. Their big cheeseburger with a small fry will feed my wife and I.
 
I was working in Memphis this past week and was going to stop at a CF-A across the street from my hotel on Monday. It had the usual dual lanes wrapped around the building and probably a good 30-45 minute wait for the drive thru. Parking and going in would have been just as bad because the line was blocking cars from backing out until someone let you out. There was a Mickey D’s next door handling the CF-A overflow with maybe a 20 minute wait. On the same side of the street as the hotel was a Krystal, and since I haven’t had a Krystal burger in nearly forever, I opted for that. I was the only customer in line with maybe two cars parked in the lot. I dealt with a surly unsmiling young man festooned with tattoos and wearing dreadlocks who mumbled monosyllabic responses. The Krystal burgers were totally unlike those I fondly remember from my youth and after just a couple of bites, I threw them in the trash, went back to the hotel and ordered a pizza. Anyway, every city I’ve visited in the past couple of months all have similarly busy CF-A’s, so they’re obviously doing something right. But I don’t always remember them being so busy. It seems like their popularity has exploded just within the last few years. Even 8-10 years ago, I don’t recall the crowds they now command. Anyone else notice this?
 
their popularity is partially to blame on the burger bin franchises raising their prices and making their food smaller.. and compared to KFC it is a bargain... but I still like my Popeyes spicy...
 
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