As a Chick-fil-A addict, I was beyond excited when I was finally hired to work at the holy grail of fast food. It was a three-week process of interviews, but in the end, I got the job and I couldn’t be happier. Within my first month, I’ve learned a lot about the standards and everyday tasks of a team member. Because of Chick-fil-A’s emphasis on hospitality and quality, there are some things we do a bit differently than most fast food chains. With that, there are some unique struggles we face, like:
1. Conditioning yourself to respond with “my pleasure”
Unless you’re born in the South and southern hospitality is your forte, it’s unlikely that responding with “my pleasure” is instinctive to you. Coming from Miami, a simple “mhm” usually suffices when someone says “thank you.” Getting used to saying “my pleasure” took some time to adapt to.
2. Not being able to stop saying “my pleasure”
You struggled to get the hang of it, now you can’t stop. Someone thanks you for opening the door for them? “My pleasure.” Someone thanks you for picking up their pencil in class? “My pleasure.”
3. When someone places an order with several milkshakes/frosted drinks
I gotta admit—I love cookies and cream milkshakes just as much as the next person. But an order of five shakes really slows everything down. Especially when it’s a lunch rush and you’ve got a line of people waiting on you.
4. Not knowing what to order for your shift meal
After working for a while, you’ve pretty much had everything on the menu (at least once). You can switch up your sauces and sides, but you somehow always end up getting your usual. Picking something out can get tough, so you just need to get a little creative since you’re so familiar with the menu. Which leads to you…
5. Becoming a picky orderer
Congratulations, you’ve become the customer you’ve always ranted about. But can you blame yourself? When you’re taking so many unique orders and you’re familiar with all the options on the register, you know what’s good. So yes, I’ll have a well done spicy sandwich with extra butter, and no pickles, please.
6. When you spot a crowd of people about to walk in
You spot them from the window all coming in at once. You buckle up because you know it’s going to be a long couple of minutes. Whether it’s an entire sports team or group of sorority girls coming back from an event, the order-taking is exhausting.
7. Dealing with a variety of coupons/deals
There are so so so many different types of coupons. So. Many. Dealing with receipt surveys, calendar coupons, special promos, and app deals can get tedious. You’ve got to read the promotion extra carefully and input the exact discount. And if you’re unlucky, you may have to input an entire meal because the coupon only covers the chicken sandwich/nuggets and the customer didn’t originally mention they had a coupon. Those darn freebies.
8. Restocking on lemonade entirely
Arguably one of the most annoying front-counter tasks: making tubs of lemonade. Especially when there’s zip and you have to restock completely. The recipe is simple, right? Lemon juice, water, and sugar? Correct, but making 12 tubs of lemonade is tedious and time-consuming. But, hey, we do have pretty great lemonade.
9. Having a collection of sauces back home
Chick-fil-A addicts can also relate. When you dine here so often and you’re given plentiful sauces, you’re bound to build your own collection of heavenly sauces back home. If you want to get really creative, you can even add some to your own recipes.
10. Nonetheless, never getting tired of Chick-fil-A
Even after working there for so many hours, there’s a reason to keep coming back. The food is one-of-a-kind, the service is top-notch, and the ambiance is always welcoming. Friends may be quick to dismiss Chick-fil-A as a lunch date option because they assume you’d be tired of it, but you know very well it’d be your pleasure to go.