Chick-fil-A Customer Service Essay Example for Free

Chick-fil-A Customer Service canvasChick-fil-A president Dan Cathy greeted employees at the newest Charleston argona eatery with a Bible verse, a prayer and a message round doing business the Chick-fil-A Way. Most people recognize the famous Chick-fil-A cows and their misspelled pleas to Eat Mor Chikin. entirely not everyone may be aware of Chick-fil-As queer way of doing business. With a focus on quality food, superior guest assistance and dedicated employees, Chick-fil-A has built a restaurant empire. Another detached restaurant opened Sept. 29 on Dorchester Road near the Ashley Phosphate Road intersection in North Charleston. Two days in the beginning the opening, new employeesc all in alled 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 said, is to glorify God by macrocosm a faithful steward of what is entrusted 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 oddment pieces of chicken breast from Goode Brothers Poultry. The poultry confederation provided airlines with boneless, skinless chicken breasts that would jeer 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 menu 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 figuring out the best way to fasten 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 depen ding of something that could carry a trademark. The best cut of a steak is the fish 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 premier(prenominal) Chick-fil-A opened in Atlantas Greenbrier Mall in 1967. The first freestanding restaurant opened in Atlanta nearly 20 years later.The restaurant has continued its incredible growth, expanding heavily into the western United States, introducing a eat menu and healthier menu options. The Chick-fil-A Way Certainly Chick-fil-A isnt the only quick service restaurant to make 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 co mpany.Thanks to his fathers influence, Chick-fil-A has stayed the course, Dan Cathy said. Despite the many potential distractions, the company stays focused on its recipes, hot food, clean restroomsthe things that are master(prenominal) 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 root, he said.When the focus is on the customers and employees, success will follow, according to Chick-fil-As philosophy. Its all about the people, Dan Cathy said. You cant have great tasting food until you have a sober 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 agreement with its operators, provid ing franchisees with the chance to sublease a restaurant for $5,000. Each month operators pay the corporate righteousness 15% of gross sales and 50% of net profits 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 control 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 following(a) summer. And a spicy chicken sandwich is being tested in the Tamp a, Fla. , area. Family ties have local roots Operating 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 stand up Pleasant Chick-fil-A.Raised in Charleston, Daniel Dickerson previously ran a store in Ocala, Fla. Dickerson said he looks up to the Cathy family and also tries to hump up to the legacy his own father left behind. Dickerson oversees 72 part- and full-time employees at his North Charleston store. Many of the employees are teenrs, and Dickersonfollowing a company traditionemploys students who are knotty 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 teenage 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 remnant 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.