Chick-Fil-A Employee

Were you there during the gay marriage flap and what was it like in the store?

Asked by trMA almost 12 years ago

I was there very recently, after the annoucing of the whole Christian thing. However I do have some insight, since it still is a relivant topic in the resteraunt.

Well from what I understand, and I could be wrong, the franchise of Chic-Fil-A as a whole generally has a Christian outlook. But Christianity can differ widely, especially on the topic of gay marriage.

I can only speak for the franchisee I worked for, but here's how our resturaunt worked. You have your own opinions. No one is forced to say gay marriage is wrong, or even be Christian. I worked there and not once was I asked what I believed in or what religion I am. That being said, a lot of the people who worked there, and the franchisee owner himself were in fact very adiment Christians, who talked about church openly. Even a few of the employees met the owner in Church and that's how they got hired. 

On the gay marriage thing, I'm not sure what the CEO or the owner of the whole Chic-Fil-A fanchise believes. That's his buissiness, and if he wants to spray his opinions everywhere then he can, but that's not the individual fanchisee's problem. As far as I know, the franchisee owners themselves believe in whatever they want, because the CEO or whoever won't, or even legally *can't* refuse a franchisee because of what they believe in. Was it a bad move for the CEO to say that Chic-Fil-A's stance on religion and whatnot is such and such? Yeah, because that isn't true. He can say that all he wants, but when it comes down to it, it's up to the individual resteraunts. 

Now, having said all that, I do have an interesting story about something that went down when I was working there about this whole situation. I was working the registers with a co-worker who had become my friend over the course of my time there. We were talking about movies, and we were both pretty excited to be talking about this because not a lot of our co-workers had seen recent movies and knew actors and actresses, we were pretty much the only ones. We got onto the recent movie "Warm Bodies", which we both really liked. While we were talking, a guest (coustomer) came up and we took his order, and resumed talking. The coustomer chimed in when he heard what we were talking about, and said "The funniest part of that movie was when the guy said '.....b****es man.'" (The guest had said the actual word I bleeped out). And I said "No, the funniest part is when the zombies all growl and the guy goes 'What did they say?' and the other guy says 'They said...'F yeah'.'" (I said the letter "F" instead of the word). Later, my friend and I sit down after our shift, and she says "Oh, so the people here are like all Christian right?" And I said "Yeah pretty much. Why?" and she said "Well, because I swear here sometimes, and I noticed you said "F yeah" instead of the actual word. I'm always scared someone might get mad, but they seem pretty chill. Like one time, Joe (not his real name), you know, the manager? A coustomer came up to him and he was gay, and he was like 'Oh so doesn't Chic-Fil-A hate gays?' and Joe said, 'No, it doesn't.' and then when the gay guy left he was like 'These people are so ignorent.'. And I thought 'asking a question isn't ignorent. You being a jerk is.'" 

That was a manager who said that, not the owner of the franchisee. The owner is actually much nicer, he was really understanding about me having to leave and didn't even make me work for two weeks after I put my two weeks notice. And he said if I ever need something I can call. Anyways, I guess what I'm trying to say without repeating or rambling too much is, it's up to the person. Some franchisee's can be openly for gay marriage, some aren't. I guess what the CEO did (although not the right way to do it) was allow people who might be against gay marriage, and who also happen to own a Chic-Fil-A franchisee, be themselves openly without fearing of being fired or being boycotted. 

I hope somewhere up ^there^ I answered your question. Thanks!

What are some of the things you say they "do differently" that impressed you?

Asked by Bear almost 12 years ago

Well first let me say that I've never worked at other fast food places. I can only go by what I've read, seen, and what my friends have told me. 

Some things I believe Chick-Fil-A does differently would be that they don't charge for A LOT of things. Sauces (they also have A LOT of different sauces. Buffalo, barbeque, honey mustard, light and regular mayo, ketchup, regular mustard, honey, ranch, Chick-Fil-A sauce, honey roasted barbeque, and sweet and sour), and refills are free all day. Our resteraunt was located in the mall, so you could essentially walk around shopping and keep coming back and getting drinks (so long as you brought your cup back). 

An example of the free stuff we give away? When I was working there, on like my first or second day, a lady came up to my register. She said "So you're new right? I come here everyday and haven't seen you before. Anyways, I'd like a big cup of hot water, 5 lemon slices, and 5 sugar packets." I just kind of stood there, and I said "Okay but...I don't know...how to charge you for that." And she said "Oh, they don't charge me." I asked one of my co-workers and sure enough they don't charge her. I know it doesn't seem like much but she had been getting these things everyday, 3 or more times a day, for at least 5 years. 

Another thing I believe they do differently, is that, at least at my franchisee, they are very generous with their discounts. Police, firefighters, military, and employee's all get 50% off anything they buy. So, a sundae would be around $1.16. But with my employee discount, I got it for pennies, only $0.58. Not to mention all the people that our franchisee owner knows, who get their food for free or at the least 20% off. For example, I've been there only two or so months. I've seen at least 5 separete different people who get their food free because the owner knows them. Every day. I've seen two who get 20% discounts, and one who gets 50% even though he isn't a firefighter, police, military, or an employee. Also, I've come in on a few occasions upset, but not schedualed to work that day. The owner gave me whatever I wanted, free instead of 50% off. Same goes for other employees that are having a tough time. 

I also think they do shifts differently. From what I've heard, other fast food chains work on 8 or 6 hour shifts. 4 hours is the most common shift at Chick-Fil-A. And every 4 hours you work, you get a free meal. Drinks while you're working are always free.

Now we get into the customer service part of things. Because of all the perks of being an employee, and because they are just generally nice people, all of the people who work there are super nice. I'm not talking fake-nice either. They are geniunly nice people. They are kind, and treat everyone with respect. I made at least 4 friends there, who really care about me. Getting to the custumer service part. First thing you learn, your very first training, is the words we use. Customer = guest, refill = refresh, thank you = my pleasure. Things like that. Next, always smile and, here's the big thing, keep it personal. I was impressed by that a lot, because it seems like the other fast food places just want to take your order and get you your food as fast as possible. But at Chick-Fil-A, they WANT you to take your time. They want you to make friends. They want you to talk to the guest, find some things in common, have fun. 

When I first started I rushed around, trying to serve each guest fast, so the line would get down and I could re-stock the sauces and cups. But, after about a week, I relized I was killing myself for no reason. I looked at my co-workers: they were calm, talking with the guests, laughing, all while getting them their sauces and drinks at a much more steady, calm pace. And the best part? The line was going down. The steady pace was much better than the fast and frantic, and they were making friends and creating lifelong guests, giving them the experience they wanted. 

One last thing - 2nd mile service. This is the second thing they teach us. 2nd mile service is what sets Chick-Fil-A the most apart from other fast food places. All the things up ^there^ that I talked about, that *is* 2nd mile service. Including things like if you see someone who might need help, offer to bring them their food to the food court, tell them to sit down and relax and then take care of them. Things like that. All of that really impressed me. 

You can correct me if I'm wrong, but I think at least most of that is different than other fast food places. Once again, I've never worked at them, so I'm not 100% sure. But from the way I've been treated at other places, I highly doubt it. 

(A side note: if my answers are too long, please someone tell me! I like to provide the most complete answers, and I know I like reading long answers, they're interesting. But if a lot of you guys don't, let me know.)

Are there any food items you'd never eat at Chick Fil A now that you know how they're made?

Asked by Damian almost 12 years ago

Honestly, no. There are some I wouldn't eat because I don't like the certain food items, like coleslaw and even the chicken sandwhich, but none I wouldn't eat now that I know how they're made. 

Everything there is made very fresh, and just plain good. I saw them make a lot of the stuff, and everything is not only made with extreme care, but they are made in the most hygenic conditions. I was pretty surprised that they go to such lengths, actually. Some of the stuff even seemed unnessisary, like picking up the thing of fries with a napkin. If you even touch something, or a coustomer brings something back, you HAVE to throw it away. You can't even eat it. The only thing you're allowed to eat is an ice cream cone, because you have to make that yourself with two napkins around it. 

Everything there (if I liked it personally) I would eat myself. It's really the best fast food quality you're going to get.

What time does a person need to be at work to open the store? How late does a person need to work to close the store? Do they allow female employees to wear skirts as part of their uniform if the color is the same as the pants?

Asked by Gingercookie almost 12 years ago

Well I've never opened before, but the mall that the resteraunt was in opened at 10AM, So that's when the resteraunt officially opened. However I've heard from the co-workers you have to be in at 7AM to open the store. So I don't know when other malls that other Chick-Fil-A's are inside of actually open, it would depend on the mall hours, as well as individual resteraunts, they make their own hours. But, I think the opening operations are similar with each Chick-Fil-A, but if you want to be sure, you should definately ask the individual place where you want to know about the hours. I'm sure they'll tell you. If you're just looking for an estimate, though, I'd say find the mall or resteraunt hours, then add on 3 hours to that, and that's a good estimate of when you'd have to go in to open the store. For example, if the resteraunt or mall opened at 11AM, you'd roughly have to go in at 8AM. 

As for closing, I have closed before. From what I've done/heard, it's a lot easier to close than to open. The mall closed at 9:30PM, so that's when we officially stopped serving guests and started cleanup. Now the time when you get out varies. It depends on how busy the resteraunt was during the final hours of operation. For example, if there was a lot guests from 6PM all the way to 9:30PM, you will have to stay later. We start doing cleaning jobs (cleaning the counters and stuff) around 6PM. So if virtually no guests come, you could get out right at 9:30PM. However, at least at the resteraunt I worked at, that very rarely happened, so I guess it depends on the resteraunt. In general, when I worked until closing, I got out at 10:20PM. That was with medium guests. So if you're swamped, you could get out as late as 11PM, or 11:30PM. 

As for the skirts...I don't think so. You could definately ask, but the manual they gave had a pretty strict dress code. For example, you have to have all black no-slip shoes, a black belt, the Chick-Fil-A visor, shirt, pants, no hanging earrings, only studs and only in your earlobes. No earrings on your ear cartilige or anywhere else, no hoops either. You can definately ask your franchisee owner, but I haven't seen any one of my co-workers wearing anything but the exact uniform. I wish it was different, those pants get really hot. 

Thanks for your question! 

Did you like working there, or did it feel like your typical minimum-wage boring job? (keep the long answers coming:)!!

Asked by Laura almost 12 years ago

This is kind of a tough question. It's tough because, in order to answer it right, I'd need to tell you a bit about my life for you to understand the place where I was while I was working there. (And since you said keep the long answers coming, I will!)

Well first off, I'm not actually from Miami (where the store is located). For my whole life I lived in New Hampshire, and moved here after I graduated high school eary in March with my fiancee's family. His family is...the worst time. He is super sweet, but his family is seriously horrible. 

So I basically was forced to get a job, which took a while (until May) because they pretty much refused to drive me anywhere, so I had to apply online. Then when I did start making money, pretty much at least 1/3 of my money went to them. (That is the short story, I tried to keep it pretty short because it's my personal life and not about my job. But if you guys want me to elaborate, just ask)

Because of that, and the fact that it was my very first job, even though it was like the best fast food place to work, it was pretty soul-crushing for me. Plus, I wasn't used to being on my feet for a while, which hurt really badly. I probably spent more money on theraputic insoles and foot fizzie baths and foot cream than I did on food. 

As for the typical boring minimum wage job? I think working at Chick-Fil-A (given the right circumstances) would be at least a hundred times better than the typical fast food place. I did make minimum wage, but there were a lot of chances to advance, as long as you stayed there for a while. For example, all of the people in upper positions (besides the owner) had first been team members (the lowest position). 

Like I said before, everyone was really nice, too. Except one person, a manager. I had to call in twice (really good reasons why I had to call in, wasn't my fault in the slightest) and when I called in the second time she was like "Well you already called in like 3 times so if you don't see yourself on the schedule for a week or so then I wouldn't be surprised." So then I came in the next day (I had to go through hell and back to get there, but that's another story) and my friend (thank God) was working, and told me I wasn't scheduled for that day. I had already been scheduled that day before I called, but she had gone in after the call, changed it, and then decided not to tell me. I know she said I wouldn't be scheduled for a while, but I had ALREADY BEEN scheduled for that day before the call. So long story short I ended up crying, both due to the trouble I had gone to to get there, and due to at that point, I knew I'd have to give my two weeks notice soon.

Other than that manager, though, everyone was really nice and sweet to me, and helped me through the tough times I was going through (even though they had only known me for a month or so).

Also, the benifits (food, short shifts, discounts) were really great, and made things feel like it wasn't just a minimum wage job. Along with the advancement opertunities, it felt like you weren't just stuck in a dead-end spot, it made things feel like there was always a brighter future right there for you.

Another thing that made it feel less boring, was that they wanted you to take your time with the guests, so I got to know a lot of interesting people. It helped me come out of my shell. Before, I used to wear the same hoodie everyday, I used to stray away from new people, stay indoors, only talk to people on the internet, a real introvert. But now, I speak my mind. I do what's right for me, I'm actually excited to hang out with people and talk with them. I want to go outside and do things with people, go have adventures. It really made me grow up and rethink things, change my life. I'm actually really greatful to that job, it gave me the courage to realise things weren't working out here, that I needed to go back to New Hampshire, go to college, and do things right. (There's a lot more to that but I'm trying to keep it short.) 

Well, that's the answer, sorry about all the extra stuff. I thought it was nessisary to the answer, and wasn't sure if you guys wanted to hear about that stuff. If you do, ask away, I have a lot of stories about my life and such. My life for the past year has been kinda crazy. Hope I answered your question though! Thank you!

Did you ever get anyone who just ran out of the store with their food without paying and what is company policy if that happens?

Asked by Troy over 11 years ago

Did you have to pay for your uniform? I'm a hiree in a new location and they are charging me $60 for the uniform

Asked by Rob over 9 years ago