Chick-fil-A just fixed one of customers' top complaints

Business Insider ^ | 6/1/2016 | Hayley Peterson

[mac_truck]

Chick-fil-A is rolling out a new app that will let customers avoid waiting in line at the register.

The app, called Chick-fil-A One, will allow customers to order and pay for their food in advance, then pick it up at a counter designated for online orders.

That's big news for fans of Chick-fil-A, which is typically slammed with customers during regular meal times, making long lines inevitable.

The app will also allow users to customize and save their favorite orders.

Michael Lage, a veteran of Facebook and Google who helped develop the app, says it will change how customers, particularly parents with young children, experience and interact with Chick-fil-A.

"I have a 2-year-old daughter, and I can't imagine interacting with Chick-fil-A without the app anymore," he said, commenting on the difficulty of managing toddlers while waiting in line.

To celebrate the launch of the app, Chick-fil-A is giving away free chicken sandwiches to everyone who downloads it between June 1 and June 11.

Customers will get their choice of a free original, spicy, or grilled chicken sandwich when they sign up.

[Vigilanteman]

In a previous life, I worked in corporate franchising. One of the biggest headaches is screening out prospective franchisees who want to use your good name but do their own thing. Don’t know about Chick-fil-A, but we got a lot of these types. They can wreck a brand quickly if you aren’t careful.

[needmorePaine]

I don’t know what is going on with Chick Fil A, but their service level has gone down the toilet the past few months. They are getting my orders screwed up more and more frequently.

That's funny. I have never experienced this, and I go semi-regularly to a few different locations. I am actually surprised that there are complaints about wait times. I go at peak lunch hours, and there are lines, but they move very quickly.

[Vigilanteman]

Yes it is. It is even tougher when your priority is maintaining and promoting a good brand image and not collecting franchise fees and opening new locations. See my post #21.

[pangaea6]

You are chosen for a franchise, purchase is just a token price. Plus you need to be related to someone, it ain’t easy but you can make 250k on average per year owning one.

[Kla Ha Ya]

I love Chick-fil-A the company but not Chick-fil-A the chicken. It just seems flat to me. Sorry.

[pepsi_junkie]

The lines at Chick-Fil-A are insane at lunch time. I’ve been to them in several different states and it’s always the same, outrageous lines at lunchtime and not because the service is slow, they move. It’s volume. They must be the top revenue making fast food joint at lunchtimes, bar none.

[Beagle8U]

"Oh for Pete’s sake, Little Mary Whinefest. Just hand the toddler to the gorilla."

[Extremely Extreme Extremist]

That’s not the case.

You misunderstand. It takes years to get a Chick-Fil-A store to open due to the rigorous process. There is only 1 Chick-Fil-A store in all of Wisconsin, for example, while most of them are centered in the South and Southeast.

[Soul of the South]

“What Corporate needs to do is streamline the process for franchising.”

Perhaps not. Quality is more important than quantity. Chick fil A limits its franchises to one store in which the franchise owner must be an active worker. McDonalds suffers greatly from too many multi-unit franchises with absentee owners who are milking the cow.

[Grams A]

And then you end up with something like Sonic or Mickey Dee’s which are both horrible.

[Patriot Babe]

Ok is it just me but was the spelling of the company name changed?

I recall it was Chic-Fil-A, then I would see it as Chik-Fil-A, now it is Chick-Fil-A? What is going on? Someone que the Twilight Zone theme please LOL

[Diana in Wisconsin]

“’I have a 2-year-old daughter, and I can’t imagine interacting with Chick-fil-A without the app anymore,’ he said, commenting on the difficulty of managing toddlers while waiting in line.”

OMG! I managed to raise THREE KIDS without an app to show me how to feed them! However did I do it?

*SMIRK*

[Extremely Extreme Extremist]

Quality is more important than quantity.

Non-sequitur. It's simple supply-and-demand. People want the Chick-Fil-A product; then Corporate needs to respond and streamline the process so more stores can be opened.

Chick-Fil-A is already known for quality anyway. They just overtook KFC as the #1 chicken restaurant.

[COBOL2Java]

I thought they were going to be open on Sundays was the announcement.

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That may be a customer complaint, but Chik-Fil-A answers to a Higher Authority...

[RummyChick]

These women and all their children manage just fine.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qISA2TD8xhk

[COBOL2Java]

Ok is it just me but was the spelling of the company name changed?

I recall it was Chic-Fil-A, then I would see it as Chik-Fil-A, now it is Chick-Fil-A? What is going on? Someone que the Twilight Zone theme please LOL

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I'd go by the logo:

[WyCoKsRepublican]

Any wait for the best chicken sandwich on the planet is worth it. Ya’ll quit yer whinin’.........

[BelleAl]

I have a friend whose father bought an existing franchise when he retired from his corporate job. According to her, the franchise price is only 5K, but the screening process is crazy tough. I love it that you don’t have to be rich — just work hard — to open an outlet. Once you own, the outlet can be incredibly lucrative. I know one nearby outlet has over 2 million in yearly sales — and the food is not cheap! I would think there is a nice margin for the owner.

My friend’s father has since really retired. He gave up his franchise a couple years ago.

[RummyChick]

See You On Monday - Chick-Fil-A Song
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hwmOTEx2r8

[Lisbon1940]

Good for liberals who want to get in and out without being recognized. The rest of us are proud to order in public.