Chick-fil-A Offers More

Is their chicken sandwich that much better, or do they have a secret sauce? For the past six years,Chick-fil-A has dominated the customer satisfaction game, as measured by theAmerican Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI). Yet during that time, other quick service restaurants have raised the bar on food quality. Remember when Popeyes made a splash in 2019 with their new chicken sandwich? For a while, the lines in Popeyes’ drive-through lanes suddenly rivaled Chick-fil-A’s!

Yet when the ACSI results came out in June of 2020, Chick-fil-A again sat comfortably in first place.This is no accident. Years ago, Chick-fil-A realized that any restaurant could create a quality product. So, they decided to give the best service in the fast-food business.

It began with an idea from Truett Cathey, the company’s founder. While staying at a Ritz-Carlton, he noticed that the staff said, “my pleasure,” rather than the customary “you’re welcome.” He decided that if it worked for a luxury hotel, it could work for a chicken restaurant. It took several years to become habit, but eventually, the upgraded language stuck.

Today, if you visit aChick-fil-A, you can expect to hear “my pleasure” at ever turn. It’s become part of their brand, and this “upgrade” doesn’t cost the company a dime.

Pro-Active’s Take

Like Chick-fil-A, we recognize that your product is an important part of your brand identify. But it’s not everything. Ask yourself these questions to think about how your team’s actions impact your brand.

·       Do you leverage the power of positive language to make your customers feel great?

·       How can you give your customers free upgrades through the words you use?

·       It took Chick-fil-A years to make saying “my pleasure” a new norm. How long are you willing to work to make a simple (but powerful)change?

If you’d like some more information on how interpersonal skills and upgraded communication can help build your brand, or if you just want to know what Pro-Active is doing in the realm of customer experience training, drop us a line or give a call. We’d be glad to explore this further with you.

Same question as above re. “free upgrades,” which haven’t been specifically introduced in the article.

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