Chick-fil-A Customer Service Essay Example for Free

Chick-fil-A Customer Service EssayChick-fil-A president Dan Cathy greeted employees at the newest Charleston area restaurant with a Bible verse, a prayer and a message about doing business the Chick-fil-A Way. Most people recognize the famous Chick-fil-A cows and their misspelled pleas to Eat Mor Chikin. But not every peerless may be aware of Chick-fil-As unique way of doing business. With a focus on quality food, superior customer service and dedicated employees, Chick-fil-A has construct a restaurant empire. Another freestanding restaurant undefendable Sept. 29 on Dorchester Road near the Ashley Phosphate Road intersection in northward Charleston. Two days before the opening, new employeescalled team members in the Chick-fil-A worldserved dinner to their family members and listened as Cathy explained the importance of smiling and treating customers with honor, dignity and respect. Chick-fil-As mission, he say, is to enliven God by being a faithful steward of what is entrus ted to us. Sandwich history Cathy is the son of Chick-fil-A founder S. Truett Cathy, who entered the restaurant business in 1946 when he opened Dwarf Grill in an Atlanta suburb. It would be another 20 years before the world was introduced to Chick-fil-A.In 1961, Truett Cathy accepted leftover pieces of volaille dresser from Goode Brothers Poultry. The poultry ships company provided airlines with boneless, skinless volaille breasts that would fit in the plastic trays used to serve food on airplanes but had plenty of leftover pieces to sell. Truett Cathy had considered adding chicken to his placard and decided to take the poultry company up on its offer to take the leftover pieces too big for the airline trays. Truett Cathy spent months perfecting the recipe and calculation out the best way to cook the chicken quickly.After four years, he had a boneless chicken sandwich. According to Chick-fil-A history, Truett Cathy originally called it a chicken steak sandwich but began thinkin g of something that could carry a trademark. The best cut of a steak is the fillet, so why not call the sandwich a chicken fillet, he thought. The name morphed into chick fillet and eventually became Chick-fil-A (with a capital A to emphasize quality). The source Chick-fil-A opened in Atlantas bullbrier Mall in 1967. The first freestanding restaurant opened in Atlanta about 20 years later.The restaurant has continued its incredible growth, expanding heavy into the western United States, introducing a breakfast menu and healthier menu options. The Chick-fil-A Way Certainly Chick-fil-A isnt the only quick service restaurant to settle billions, but what sets Chick-fil-A apart is the companys corporate philosophy, its emphasis on values, customer service and treating employees like family members. Dan Cathy attributes the companys success to his 84-year-old father, whom he describes as a tremendous influence, a patriarch and Moses figure in the family and in the company.Thanks to hi s fathers influence, Chick-fil-A has stayed the course, Dan Cathy said. Despite the many potential distractions, the company waistband focused on its recipes, hot food, clean restroomsthe things that are important to customers. Interestingly, Dan Cathy refers to his company as being in the hospitality businessnot usually the first description that comes to mind when thinking about fast food. But Cathy said the idea of being in the hospitality business began when his family opened its first diner. Thats our heritage, our roots, he said.When the focus is on the customers and employees, success pass on follow, according to Chick-fil-As philosophy. Its all about the people, Dan Cathy said. You crumbt have great degustation food until you have a good relationship with your employees. Chick-fil-A offers $1,000 college scholarships to its employees, having awarded about $20 million during the past 30 years. The company also has a unique arrangement with its operators, providing franc hisees with the chance to sublease a restaurant for $5,000. Each month operators pay the corporate office 15% of gross sales and 50% of net earnings as a franchise fee.Operators are assured a minimum annual income of $30,000. The company continues its long-standing tradition of being closed on Sundays, so employees can spend time with their families and attend a worship service. Despite opportunities to go public, Chick-fil-A remains a private company so it can retain promise over its key values. Chick-fil-A has proven a business with values and principles can do well. And not just survive but thrive, Dan Cathy pointed out. In 2004, Chick-fil-A achieved sales of $1. 74 billionan increase of 13. 8% over 2003.The company is opening 61 new restaurants this year, and customer satisfaction scores are the highest they have ever been, Cathy said. The company will introduce milkshakes to its menu next summer. And a spicy chicken sandwich is being tested in the Tampa, Fla. , area. Family t ies have local roots direct the new Dorchester Road location is Daniel Dickerson, whose family has been operating Chick-fil-A for years. His father was one of the first Chick-fil-A operators, and his brother, Patrick Dickerson, is the operator of the Mount Pleasant Chick-fil-A.Raised in Charleston, Daniel Dickerson previously ran a investment company in Ocala, Fla. Dickerson said he looks up to the Cathy family and also tries to live up to the legacy his own father left behind. Dickerson oversees 72 part- and full-time employees at his join Charleston store. Many of the employees are teenagers, and Dickersonfollowing a company traditionemploys students who are involved in their schools and extracurricular activities. Chick-fil-A promotes involvement and works around students schedules.Dickerson said he would rather have 20 students with less availability than students who arent involved in their schools. At the family night celebration, Dan Cathy assured the parents of the many t eenage employees their children would be working in a supportive environment. If grades arent maintained, students work schedules could be cut back. From providing scholarships to closing on Sundays, Chick-fil-A continues to do business its own way, based on principles Truett Cathy instilled in the company more than 50 years ago.In 2002, Truett Cathy published Eat Mor Chikin Inspire More People, a book that explains Doing Business the Chick-fil-A Way. Truett Cathy opens a chapter on priorities and commitment by recalling when a reporter asked him how he would like to be remembered. Cathy responded, I think Id like to be remembered as one who kept my priorities in the right order. We live in a changing world, but we need to be reminded that the important things have not changed, and the important things will not change if we keep our priorities in proper order. Holly Fisher is the supplements editor for the Business Journal.