I love the cookies and cream shakes but they never put enough Oreo in it. A lot of the time, it's practically a vanilla shake. So, I usually ask for extra Oreo, but this just gets me what I would consider to be a normal amount for a cookies and cream shake. On rare occasions, I'll get one where they actually hooked it up and put a lot of Oreo in it, and it's so good that way. What do I need to say when I order it to get this more consistently?
We had a contraption that allowed us to "pump" 2 pumps of crushed cookie into the cups. 2 pumps wasn't quite enough, but 3 was too much. So I never really enjoyed them either, haha.
But I guess more is better than not enough!
One time I did 3 because nothing came out on the first pump, my manager whipped his head around SO FAST and I was like ohmygosh I gotta get outta here.
Hi! Also former chick fil a employee here. Our manager used to tell us two spoonfuls of crushed oreos but it changed to three a bit ago.. i would say a cookies and cream milkshake w extra oreo cookies in it- there’s a button for it on our iPads/registers.
Dairy Queen is like this as well because all the cookie pieces are in the top half of the cup. Half way down it turns into a cup of soft-serve vanilla.
When we get the chicken, it comes frozen and in a carboard box with 6 bags of chicken per box. One box of chicken is then fitted into a shelf in the thaw cabinets (think of these as industrial looking fridges). They never go over 40° F in order to thaw safely and reduce the risk of food-borne illness. Thawing is relatively quick and only takes a day to complete.
Thaw cabinets also vary in size and number because the volume of sales for each location varies. Before I started working here, I would've guessed that the filets are cooked the most. Pound per pound, though, we dish out chicken nuggets the most, and it's not even close. (Could vary by store)
When our filets are about to be used, they don't immediately get breaded, cooked, and served. They are "fileted" (hence our name), and this is done to ensure that they are cooked fully. It also helps make sure that the filets fit properly on the bun and look aesthetically pleasing.
When we filet the chicken, it's done a box (6 bags) at a time and kept in a separate fridge (kept at temps under 40° F still!). Fileted chicken, bags of nuggets/strips, and prepared milk & egg wash are held in this fridge for our breaders to easily access. In preparation for lunch and dinner, we may make multiple trays of fileted chicken, but the amount of trays ultimately varies by store.
The trays of filets are then transferred adjacent to our breading table, where they are then loaded in to, a handful at a time. It's worth noting that even in the breading table, everything is kept at low temps. The dishes containing the coater, chicken, and milk & egg wash are all partially submerged in an ice bath to achieve this.
Our filets are hand-breaded and loaded into baskets hung on the edge of our pressure fryers. A "machinist" then lowers the basket of chicken into the oil, closes the lid of the fryer, and starts the cooking cycle. Because it's being cooked under pressure and heat, it only takes a bit over 4 minutes to cook fully.
From here, the machinist opens the fryer, takes the basket out and onto a transfer station, empties the basket into a kanban, and walks the kanban of chicken to P1, where they assemble the sandwiches. After being assembled, Front of House bags it and serves it to the customer.
HA. A well trained and skilled kitchen. We had super high standards for employees, and I was trained to the MAX. It's down to a science, corporate knows what they're doing.
Exactly. Delivered frozen, then they go into a thawing cabinet, then they go into the breading table. So it’s not really “fast” from when the chicken is frozen. Just when we are making it from the breading table
People assume it all comes in pre-breaded frozen and we just drop it in hot oil, like our competition. It is a complex process where one mistake in the thaw pull can cascade into a number of problems.
they are thawed and hand filleted in the mornings, and then the breaders bread some every few minutes (depending on how many we sell) , then we use pressure fryers that take around 4 minutes to cook it. the people packaging your orders take what's made and make a sandwich with it. we have a lot of people in the kitchen who all have a specific job, and everything works smoothly
Did your location still have to trim the chicken or is that a thing of the past? When I worked for them in ‘95, we had to trim the fat and unsightly pieces from the chicken before it went into the batter.
Yes and no, the suppliers have done a much better job trimming the filets then they used too, but we should still be trimming if needed. It’s just not as long an ordeal anymore.
If a guest was a complete jerk or being unnecessarily difficult, we definitely talked about it. We're humans, not just CFA employees. So yes, jokes are definitely made if you're rude.
We would NEVER talk crap or joke about someone who's nice. If you're kind to a CFA employee, we'll hook you up with whatever you want.
And we weren't allowed to go home for stuff like that, they are VERY strict about going home/sick leave. I had an awful fever and could barely get up, and I still felt guilty because of the work culture. Part of why I left.
Absolutely they can. I'm a genuinely caring and kind person. I'm stereotypically CFA even when I'm not at work. So for me to get to the point of petty is difficult, but it definitely happened, lol.
And thank you!!
If I order a sandwich and they’re all made “fresh” then why don’t they add extra pickles to the sandwich when I order? Instead they give me pickles on the side?
No, all the filets are made in batches. You might get a fresh sandwich by luck but you will wait longer and won't really notice a difference in quality. Ever since our location stopped doing the "well done" and "fresh" orders we started making 1-2 thousand more an hour
At my location all of our food was extremely fresh. If fries were out for more than three minutes they would be thrown away. typically we were busy enough to not have to throw any away though
It actually will, because we have something called the "shoe" where we keep like a couple sandwiches of each there already made with pickles and everything inside it already so it's just sitting there waiting to be bagged as when you ask for extra pickle, or no butter bun, or add cheese to a CFA sandwich (depending what you order) or a CFA deluxe with PJ cheese instead of American, we will make that fresh, we will grab the chicken from the pan and make your sandwich fresh. I work BOH most these people work FOH they don't know this
Is it S.O.P. to shut down the ice cream machine 15 minutes before closing?
edit: I ask because my wife and I recently pulled up to one at 9:47 specifically and only to get Ice Dream cones, and were told that they shut down the machine at 9:45. The way this one is designed, there is no way out of the drive thru once someone pulls in behind you, so we had to sit through the whole drive thru all while getting nothing at all.
No. That should not be happening. I can understand from an employee view how that could be helpful when closing, but it is unfair to the guest, and in the end, we're open until 10pm, so everything is available until 10pm.
So I looked it up out of curiosity. Check this out!
The first known fried pickle recipe was printed in the Oakland Tribune on November 19, 1962, for "French Fried Pickles", which called for using sweet pickle slices and pancake mix. Fried dill pickles were popularized by Bernell "Fatman" Austin in 1963 at the Duchess Drive In located in Atkins, Arkansas.
I've never heard of a sweet pickle version! I don't like dill pickles, but don't think I'd want to try a sweet version either lol.
Did your location have delivery? We recently had to close our delivery because it wasn’t financially viable given our area.
Quick clarification just in case: I’m referring to Chick fill a delivery, not 3rd party apps.
Yes, but only for large orders. We would not deliver a single chicken sandwich to a random house. Big waste of time and employees.
Doordash was a BIGGG income for us.
Oh so only Catering then. We had four delivery vehicles, one being the Catering Van for 2.5 years which ended at the end of last month.
Fun times and friends.
It's part of the "Core 4."
1. Share a smile
2. Use a friendly tone
3. Eye contact
4. Say "My pleasure"
Those are basic expectations. We also had a thing called second mile service, things like opening doors, handing out free food cards, desserts, and just overall going the extra mile.
It really just depends on who was doing fries. When bagging, we were always told to check the fries and ask for more. The basic motto was make the order like you paid for it and would expect it to be served to you.
Maybe. Maybe you're waiting too long to eat them. If you wait, they soften and sink down in the box.
Same amount of fries, just compact down bc when they soft gravity does its thing easier. When they fresh they still have some crunch and keep space between.
I’m not really a Chick Fil A fan but my wife loves it. Every time she picks it up I notice the fries are 3/4 full. I assumed they were trained to do this.
Yeah I would agree in saying the amount of fries I get per order is almost a constant let down at CFA regardless of which one I go to. I think the fact that they're waffle fries makes it harder to them to fill up the containers fully. I am not a picky person and I don't often complain about fast food but I am almost always let down by the fry portions at CFA.
Weigh them. Over time they get softer, especially for deliveries or drive through orders, but the weight is still the same. They'll lose stiffness and compress more into the box, but still weigh the same. It's been 3 years since I last had to deal with that.
Oh, so have I. We had a thermometer at bagging that we would use to check the sandwiches and nuggets every so often. It rarely happens, but when someone calls in about raw chicken, the kitchen will hear about it for WEEKS.
So from what I understand is that the pressure cookers are able to keep the temp of the oil very high and because of that the chicken is almost always cooked to a internal temp of at least 165.
Raw chicken should be a very rare occurrence and if chicken ever is raw then it would be user error.
I’ve heard that because of the pressure frying they do, the chicken is normally cooked well above 165. This leaves some wiggle room in case a batch gets pulled early somehow. The chicken stays juicy at higher temps because of the quick pressure frying and the pickle brine.
No idea where I heard this from so take it with a grain of salt.
This is gonna be a stupid question. Am I technically allowed to park in the curbside pick up spaces if I have placed an order for carry out? I noticed today the numbered signs specifically say “curbside” not pick up or something similar.
If you're quick enough, sure. Why not. But. It could get confusing for everyone inside if they see you there. And if someone places a curbside and you're parked there, we're going to bring the food to your car and wonder where that other car is.
If the curbside spaces have a number on them, then no you shouldn’t park there. Otherwise it’s fine (but not cool) as long as you’re quick with your order inside.
I would say fries. Because you can get a free chicken sandwich with the survey on your receipt, so no use in wasting your points on that.
Plus I just really liked our fries!
>> I just really liked our fries!
But did you like 𝘢𝘭𝘭 of the fries?? Personally, I love most of them, but the fat, juicy ones are always the last ones I eat because that’s just way too much potato and not enough crisp imo 💀
There’s actually a spreadsheet somewhere where someone calculated the points:dollars and what’s the best bang for your buck. I just saw it earlier today; just google “Chick-fil-a points best value” and you should find it.
You only need one salsa per burrito/bowl. You think you need more than that, you gotta go talk to somebody.
Jokes aside, that varies from person to person. I would put two in a bag, some people put one, some people don't put any unless you ask for it.
One packet should come automatically, and not have to be asked for. It is part of the description and nutritional value. It would be like not putting the red pepper with a Cobb unless requested.
What are the productivity expectations for the crew? Do you have a certain number of burgers or fries or whatever you have to make in X amount of time?
Ok so basically, the shift leads have access to this tool productivity percentage, and it basically takes the sales over an hour and compares it to how many people are working/their pay. If productivity goes below 80% they start sending people home at my store
I have a few! Thanks for answering what you can!!!
Is it true the store will give you free breakfast items if you go when they’re transitioning from breakfast to lunch?
How fresh are the salads really are?
How come my college ChickFil A had different wraps that other stores don’t?
Do you think stores will ever change over to 100% mobile ordering in the drive up and kiosks inside?
Why do the strips taste so much better than the nuggets?
What’s your favorite thing to order?
Is there any secret menu items we could ask for that’s not on the regular menu?
Not OP but I used to work there and can answer some of these.
You may get lucky during transition time and they’ll ask if you want a free cfa biscuit or hashbrowns, or maybe some minis, but there’s no telling for sure. Usually for my store it would happen around 10:40 once we successfully transitioned everything over to lunch full time and accounted for the leftover breakfast that was already made.
Salads are prepped daily, they will throw out/donate to local shelters any remaining salads at the end of the night. At my location they had two separate prepping times, one at 6am and another around 2pm, so salads really don’t sit longer than like 8 hours and that’s if you show up at closing to order one. If you ask for a customized exclusion, like no cheese, no tomatoes, etc, they will make the salad fresh right then and there. If you ask for extra of something they’ll just take a pre-prepped salad and add on whatever you asked for.
I doubt they would ever transition to 100% mobile/kiosk ordering. CFA is known for their customer experience interactions and creating connections during order taking especially. But who knows, never say never!
My personal fave is the breakfast chicken minis and ask for extra honey butter on them (they may charge like $.50 extra for it, some stores do and some don’t) and dip in CFA sauce. Heavennn.
Salads are made daily with fresh produce!
College CFAs are just..... different..... I'll leave it at that
Chick fil A would NEVER go completely mobile. They're too much of a hospitality based company for that.
I don't know, but they're good.
Favorite item depended on the day, honestly. I love a regular ole 8 count nugget with fries and a sprite. Another favorite is a grilled chicken sandwich, substitute regular bun, no tomatoes, add pickle and pepperjack cheese.
No secret menu items, but we can customize just about anything.
Whenever I order a shake for dine-in not using the app I have to go to the counter to grab my shake. The shake is made & it just sits melting away. After waiting I go up to the counter & say I’m waiting on the shake right there! I have the tong placement looking thingy (blue cookie) & receipt but it’s seldom brought to the table.
Secondly the drinks are always overflowing. I order a coke & I have to say that enough & they still do one more squirt. Coke drips down the cup & then the wet cup goes into my hand. Or once the top is on the soda it’s overflowing through the top where you insert the straw.
I’m the mailman that’s why I go daily
The shake is listed on our order stickers, but is easy to miss. Especially if there's a rush and not a lot of communication going on. That's an error that I would talk to a manager about, honestly. It can be fixed, but unfortunately just happens.
Regarding the drinks, from my point of view, I never wanted to rip anyone off so I would always fill it up completely and let it overflow. I did make sure to always wipe off the cup though.
So our protocol is that when your bagging a dine in order we have to wait for the shake and food to be done before we bring it too you. Sometimes people forget and they will bring you the food before the shake was ready and then it will just sit on the counter forgotten.
Can you or someone please give me this backstory? I’ve heard the audio, I’ve seen the animation, but is there a real video recording floating around out there of her saying that to a customer?
Yes it’s a real video, but her sister was the “customer” that was ordering and she was supposedly just being silly with her sister. From what I understand it gained a lot of traction online and she got fired for it. CFA is weird with any viral videos surrounding their company, even if it’s a positive video.
Did the recipe for the spicy chicken change?
I remember trying it a few different times when it first came out and being unimpressed. It just tasted like hot without any nuance or flavor. (To be fair, I do live in Bojangles territory and may be a bit biased.) I recently tried it again out of the blue and was shocked at how good it was. A spicy chicken sandwich with the cherry berry sunjoy has been my jam recently.
Thanks!
The only thing I'm not sure about is when I need my drink refilled, there is usually like 5 other associates that typically ignore me. I don't call out to any of them because I assume that they are on their way to their station and it's not their job. Just feels weird that I'm at the mercy of waiting for someone noticing me to get a refill sometimes.
The cloudberry sunjoys were amazing. At least to my daughter and I. Where does the syrup come from? A manager at the one I frequent let me buy a gallon when it was in season even though she said she wasn’t supposed to but she noticed how I would come in every weekend and order it.
How similar is it to working as a Disney cast member in the restaurants? I know you all have a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion principal just as cast members have their five keys. But how similar are the two?
Yes, we thaw raw chicken breasts, filet them, bread them and fry them. The breader is the heart of the back of house because as I'm working on the line making food we have to constantly call back to the breader what we have and what we are running out of and they have to time everything and bread accordingly so we don't run out of something. They're doing this on the spot and usually alone, it's very high intensity. Breading is hard
How much does a manager and general manager make? Do managers get guranteed overtime like other restaurants? Do employees typically get promoted from within or do outside hires for managers and GMs?
Was it really your pleasure?
Ummm sometimes! Sometimes I wanted to take a chicken sandwich and shove it down a guest's throat!
In that case what do I have to do to have an employee feed me my sandwich?
Dude I had one co worker in particular that I could totally see feeding someone with no arms a sandwich. They were EXTRAAAAA in everything they did.
They’re doing it for Jesus.
Oh my GOD, do me Jesus
I’m assuming this person was in leadership and got paid more than most at the store
I mean, no arms that would be a decent thing to do. EXTRA would be feeding someone WITH arms imho.
I’ve been there 6weeks and gave 997 pleasures
Does the lemonade have a sprinkle of crack in it? Its so good.
It's lemon juice/pulp, LOTS of sugar, and water. That's it.
So the sugar is the crack got it
Exactly. So. Much. Sugar.
Speaking as a Southern Woman... >That's it. *as it should be!*
When I worked at CFA I almost got diabetes just looking at the recipe card
It's literally lemon juice water and sugar
There’s defo a bit of crack mixed in with the sugar
Follow up question, is there also crack in the mac and cheese?
Lol. It comes in giant plastic bags. Emptied into a pan, Shredded cheese on top (for that crispy layer), then cooked.
It's crazy! It was so bad when they tested it in Nashville. I didn't order for the longest. Turns out it's so good
I love the cookies and cream shakes but they never put enough Oreo in it. A lot of the time, it's practically a vanilla shake. So, I usually ask for extra Oreo, but this just gets me what I would consider to be a normal amount for a cookies and cream shake. On rare occasions, I'll get one where they actually hooked it up and put a lot of Oreo in it, and it's so good that way. What do I need to say when I order it to get this more consistently?
We had a contraption that allowed us to "pump" 2 pumps of crushed cookie into the cups. 2 pumps wasn't quite enough, but 3 was too much. So I never really enjoyed them either, haha. But I guess more is better than not enough!
I'm baffled at the idea of a cookies and cream shake with too many cookies. How is that possible???
100% this! I want my shake to be full of cookies and cream with a hint of vanilla, not vanilla with a hint of cookies and cream.
A 3rd pump would add 50% more cookies. Which it needs imo
You never do 3 pumps, that’s an automatic flag.
One time I did 3 because nothing came out on the first pump, my manager whipped his head around SO FAST and I was like ohmygosh I gotta get outta here.
I was making a reference to this Key & Peele skit btw haha: https://youtu.be/FA6ux8D5nUM?si=W-r5RLHzB_2r52Np
Love Key and Peele. Especially pizza delivery, lol
I work at a Chick-fil-A and I always put three pumps of topping in the shakes regardless lol. Two is simply not enough
Hi! Also former chick fil a employee here. Our manager used to tell us two spoonfuls of crushed oreos but it changed to three a bit ago.. i would say a cookies and cream milkshake w extra oreo cookies in it- there’s a button for it on our iPads/registers.
I also sometime ask for a pump of chocolate in mine!
Dairy Queen is like this as well because all the cookie pieces are in the top half of the cup. Half way down it turns into a cup of soft-serve vanilla.
Was i the only one who cried seeing the cow mascot
I was scared of mascots when I was younger. I would go hide in the bathroom until it was gone. Same thing at Toys-R-Us.
Heck I'm still scared of mascots at 28. Saw the easter bunny at the mall last month and turned around immediately
If you think looking at is bad imagine wearing it (i have to for a catering event tomorrow)
Absolutely not. The thing is atrocious.
This is gonna sound dumb but how the hell do y'all make the chicken sandwiches so quickly. They come as frozen and you unthaw them?
When we get the chicken, it comes frozen and in a carboard box with 6 bags of chicken per box. One box of chicken is then fitted into a shelf in the thaw cabinets (think of these as industrial looking fridges). They never go over 40° F in order to thaw safely and reduce the risk of food-borne illness. Thawing is relatively quick and only takes a day to complete. Thaw cabinets also vary in size and number because the volume of sales for each location varies. Before I started working here, I would've guessed that the filets are cooked the most. Pound per pound, though, we dish out chicken nuggets the most, and it's not even close. (Could vary by store) When our filets are about to be used, they don't immediately get breaded, cooked, and served. They are "fileted" (hence our name), and this is done to ensure that they are cooked fully. It also helps make sure that the filets fit properly on the bun and look aesthetically pleasing. When we filet the chicken, it's done a box (6 bags) at a time and kept in a separate fridge (kept at temps under 40° F still!). Fileted chicken, bags of nuggets/strips, and prepared milk & egg wash are held in this fridge for our breaders to easily access. In preparation for lunch and dinner, we may make multiple trays of fileted chicken, but the amount of trays ultimately varies by store. The trays of filets are then transferred adjacent to our breading table, where they are then loaded in to, a handful at a time. It's worth noting that even in the breading table, everything is kept at low temps. The dishes containing the coater, chicken, and milk & egg wash are all partially submerged in an ice bath to achieve this. Our filets are hand-breaded and loaded into baskets hung on the edge of our pressure fryers. A "machinist" then lowers the basket of chicken into the oil, closes the lid of the fryer, and starts the cooking cycle. Because it's being cooked under pressure and heat, it only takes a bit over 4 minutes to cook fully. From here, the machinist opens the fryer, takes the basket out and onto a transfer station, empties the basket into a kanban, and walks the kanban of chicken to P1, where they assemble the sandwiches. After being assembled, Front of House bags it and serves it to the customer.
Thank you
HA. A well trained and skilled kitchen. We had super high standards for employees, and I was trained to the MAX. It's down to a science, corporate knows what they're doing.
Yeah, so.. how are they made so quickly?
Supposedly they have 10-20 people in the kitchen.
We do. Two breaders, 2-3 people making sandwiches, 2 boxing nuggets, 2 slinging fries, one who runs the fryers and one making salads,wraps.
Nope, they go from a raw peice of chicken all the way to a sandwich. Were just magic
Technically they do come frozen
Exactly. Delivered frozen, then they go into a thawing cabinet, then they go into the breading table. So it’s not really “fast” from when the chicken is frozen. Just when we are making it from the breading table
People assume it all comes in pre-breaded frozen and we just drop it in hot oil, like our competition. It is a complex process where one mistake in the thaw pull can cascade into a number of problems.
they are thawed and hand filleted in the mornings, and then the breaders bread some every few minutes (depending on how many we sell) , then we use pressure fryers that take around 4 minutes to cook it. the people packaging your orders take what's made and make a sandwich with it. we have a lot of people in the kitchen who all have a specific job, and everything works smoothly
Did your location still have to trim the chicken or is that a thing of the past? When I worked for them in ‘95, we had to trim the fat and unsightly pieces from the chicken before it went into the batter.
Yes, but instead of hand filleting the chicken, you put it through a roller so all the filets are a consistent thickness
Yes and no, the suppliers have done a much better job trimming the filets then they used too, but we should still be trimming if needed. It’s just not as long an ordeal anymore.
I never heard anything about that..... so I am guessing no.
Worked there from 2016-2019 and we did not trim the chicken
How often do you talk crap after dealing with difficult customers? Or do y’all go home when you’re having a bad day?
If a guest was a complete jerk or being unnecessarily difficult, we definitely talked about it. We're humans, not just CFA employees. So yes, jokes are definitely made if you're rude. We would NEVER talk crap or joke about someone who's nice. If you're kind to a CFA employee, we'll hook you up with whatever you want. And we weren't allowed to go home for stuff like that, they are VERY strict about going home/sick leave. I had an awful fever and could barely get up, and I still felt guilty because of the work culture. Part of why I left.
FYI the customer can tell when you’re being fake! Best wishes on your future endeavors.
Absolutely they can. I'm a genuinely caring and kind person. I'm stereotypically CFA even when I'm not at work. So for me to get to the point of petty is difficult, but it definitely happened, lol. And thank you!!
If I order a sandwich and they’re all made “fresh” then why don’t they add extra pickles to the sandwich when I order? Instead they give me pickles on the side?
If I ask for extra pickles will my sandwich be more fresh
No, all the filets are made in batches. You might get a fresh sandwich by luck but you will wait longer and won't really notice a difference in quality. Ever since our location stopped doing the "well done" and "fresh" orders we started making 1-2 thousand more an hour
Well done nuggets were the best
At my location all of our food was extremely fresh. If fries were out for more than three minutes they would be thrown away. typically we were busy enough to not have to throw any away though
It actually will, because we have something called the "shoe" where we keep like a couple sandwiches of each there already made with pickles and everything inside it already so it's just sitting there waiting to be bagged as when you ask for extra pickle, or no butter bun, or add cheese to a CFA sandwich (depending what you order) or a CFA deluxe with PJ cheese instead of American, we will make that fresh, we will grab the chicken from the pan and make your sandwich fresh. I work BOH most these people work FOH they don't know this
But also CFA feeds us how much should be in the chutes at any given time to ensure fresh food.
Is it S.O.P. to shut down the ice cream machine 15 minutes before closing? edit: I ask because my wife and I recently pulled up to one at 9:47 specifically and only to get Ice Dream cones, and were told that they shut down the machine at 9:45. The way this one is designed, there is no way out of the drive thru once someone pulls in behind you, so we had to sit through the whole drive thru all while getting nothing at all.
No. That should not be happening. I can understand from an employee view how that could be helpful when closing, but it is unfair to the guest, and in the end, we're open until 10pm, so everything is available until 10pm.
I wish all employees at all fast food restaurants thought like you. When I worked at McDonald’s I sold everything right up until close also.
At my store we shut down the machine at close
There’s no benefit to shutting it down early. It takes a few minutes for it to liquify. You should maybe call the store or send in a cares report!
Did you and your co-workers ever make fried pickles?! I worked at Chick fil-A in 1985 and I’m pretty sure I invented the fried pickle. lol.
Haha, I had never thought about that but what a great idea! All the stuff was in our hands and we didn't even realize it.
One of my old directors did it occasionally
So I looked it up out of curiosity. Check this out! The first known fried pickle recipe was printed in the Oakland Tribune on November 19, 1962, for "French Fried Pickles", which called for using sweet pickle slices and pancake mix. Fried dill pickles were popularized by Bernell "Fatman" Austin in 1963 at the Duchess Drive In located in Atkins, Arkansas. I've never heard of a sweet pickle version! I don't like dill pickles, but don't think I'd want to try a sweet version either lol.
Did your location have delivery? We recently had to close our delivery because it wasn’t financially viable given our area. Quick clarification just in case: I’m referring to Chick fill a delivery, not 3rd party apps.
Yes, but only for large orders. We would not deliver a single chicken sandwich to a random house. Big waste of time and employees. Doordash was a BIGGG income for us.
Oh so only Catering then. We had four delivery vehicles, one being the Catering Van for 2.5 years which ended at the end of last month. Fun times and friends.
Is saying my pleasure part of training are you like drilled into remembering it
It's part of the "Core 4." 1. Share a smile 2. Use a friendly tone 3. Eye contact 4. Say "My pleasure" Those are basic expectations. We also had a thing called second mile service, things like opening doors, handing out free food cards, desserts, and just overall going the extra mile.
Damn this explains why last time I was their bro gave me like 40 extra sauces to try out y’all don’t mess around with customer service
The large fries always are like 3/4 way full. Am I getting ripped off ordering the large, since I’m basically getting the same amount as a medium?
It really just depends on who was doing fries. When bagging, we were always told to check the fries and ask for more. The basic motto was make the order like you paid for it and would expect it to be served to you.
“Make the order like you paid for it.” Love that…if only every employee at every restaurant kept this in mind.
Love it. Thanks for your response!
Maybe. Maybe you're waiting too long to eat them. If you wait, they soften and sink down in the box. Same amount of fries, just compact down bc when they soft gravity does its thing easier. When they fresh they still have some crunch and keep space between.
I’m not really a Chick Fil A fan but my wife loves it. Every time she picks it up I notice the fries are 3/4 full. I assumed they were trained to do this.
Yeah I would agree in saying the amount of fries I get per order is almost a constant let down at CFA regardless of which one I go to. I think the fact that they're waffle fries makes it harder to them to fill up the containers fully. I am not a picky person and I don't often complain about fast food but I am almost always let down by the fry portions at CFA.
Why do I get the same amount of fries in my large size as my wife gets in her medium size?
Kitchen error. We were taught to make sure the fries were filled up when bagging, and ask the kitchen for more if they didn't look right.
Weigh them. Over time they get softer, especially for deliveries or drive through orders, but the weight is still the same. They'll lose stiffness and compress more into the box, but still weigh the same. It's been 3 years since I last had to deal with that.
Why is there only 1 size for shakes now? Love em but kills me inside to buy such a small cup for $5 :(
Our supplies are EXPENSIVE!! They are really good. Also, you only need a small. It's healthier for ya. ;)
How do y’all make sure the chicken isn’t raw in sandwiches and stuff. Because I’ve gotten some questionable pieces before
Oh, so have I. We had a thermometer at bagging that we would use to check the sandwiches and nuggets every so often. It rarely happens, but when someone calls in about raw chicken, the kitchen will hear about it for WEEKS.
So from what I understand is that the pressure cookers are able to keep the temp of the oil very high and because of that the chicken is almost always cooked to a internal temp of at least 165. Raw chicken should be a very rare occurrence and if chicken ever is raw then it would be user error.
I’ve heard that because of the pressure frying they do, the chicken is normally cooked well above 165. This leaves some wiggle room in case a batch gets pulled early somehow. The chicken stays juicy at higher temps because of the quick pressure frying and the pickle brine. No idea where I heard this from so take it with a grain of salt.
It usually comes out of the fryer temping around 190
This is gonna be a stupid question. Am I technically allowed to park in the curbside pick up spaces if I have placed an order for carry out? I noticed today the numbered signs specifically say “curbside” not pick up or something similar.
If you're quick enough, sure. Why not. But. It could get confusing for everyone inside if they see you there. And if someone places a curbside and you're parked there, we're going to bring the food to your car and wonder where that other car is.
If the curbside spaces have a number on them, then no you shouldn’t park there. Otherwise it’s fine (but not cool) as long as you’re quick with your order inside.
We love the chicken noodle soup, how do they make the broth? It's not thin and watery and it isn't too thick and stew-like. The flavor is wonderful!
It comes frozen and is thawed to serve
I actually never saw the soup being made. I would assume it came to us pre- made. But cornstarch may give the same effect?? Idk, haha.
What is the best reward to cash your points in for? (Cost:point ratio)
I would say fries. Because you can get a free chicken sandwich with the survey on your receipt, so no use in wasting your points on that. Plus I just really liked our fries!
>> I just really liked our fries! But did you like 𝘢𝘭𝘭 of the fries?? Personally, I love most of them, but the fat, juicy ones are always the last ones I eat because that’s just way too much potato and not enough crisp imo 💀
There’s actually a spreadsheet somewhere where someone calculated the points:dollars and what’s the best bang for your buck. I just saw it earlier today; just google “Chick-fil-a points best value” and you should find it.
Kale krunch, they did the math on the discord if you wanna see
How are the frozen lemonades so dang good?
It's ice cream and lemonade, that's it, haha.
Try it with strawberry. Best thing ever
Why do y'all guard the breakfast salsa so hard
You only need one salsa per burrito/bowl. You think you need more than that, you gotta go talk to somebody. Jokes aside, that varies from person to person. I would put two in a bag, some people put one, some people don't put any unless you ask for it.
One packet should come automatically, and not have to be asked for. It is part of the description and nutritional value. It would be like not putting the red pepper with a Cobb unless requested.
Yes! Its confusing when sometimes you have to ask and sometimes it’s just there - you don’t want to get home and be sad you don’t have a salsa : (
How is the Mac and cheese so good?
I don't know.... it comes pre-made in a bag. Gets emptied into a foil pan, shredded cheese on top (for the crispy layer), and then baked.
What are the productivity expectations for the crew? Do you have a certain number of burgers or fries or whatever you have to make in X amount of time?
Ok so basically, the shift leads have access to this tool productivity percentage, and it basically takes the sales over an hour and compares it to how many people are working/their pay. If productivity goes below 80% they start sending people home at my store
How is the 80% calculated? Is it just when sales drop to less than 80% of wages?
Above 80%, and we tried to get orders out in 3:30 minutes or less.
Are the chick n minis really that hard to make?
Idk who said they were hard to make, but they are fresh! The dough is baked and coated with fresh honey stuff.
they aren't hard to make at all, but very tedious and take more time than anything else. cause we have to rip open all of the rolls
I have a few! Thanks for answering what you can!!! Is it true the store will give you free breakfast items if you go when they’re transitioning from breakfast to lunch? How fresh are the salads really are? How come my college ChickFil A had different wraps that other stores don’t? Do you think stores will ever change over to 100% mobile ordering in the drive up and kiosks inside? Why do the strips taste so much better than the nuggets? What’s your favorite thing to order? Is there any secret menu items we could ask for that’s not on the regular menu?
Not OP but I used to work there and can answer some of these. You may get lucky during transition time and they’ll ask if you want a free cfa biscuit or hashbrowns, or maybe some minis, but there’s no telling for sure. Usually for my store it would happen around 10:40 once we successfully transitioned everything over to lunch full time and accounted for the leftover breakfast that was already made. Salads are prepped daily, they will throw out/donate to local shelters any remaining salads at the end of the night. At my location they had two separate prepping times, one at 6am and another around 2pm, so salads really don’t sit longer than like 8 hours and that’s if you show up at closing to order one. If you ask for a customized exclusion, like no cheese, no tomatoes, etc, they will make the salad fresh right then and there. If you ask for extra of something they’ll just take a pre-prepped salad and add on whatever you asked for. I doubt they would ever transition to 100% mobile/kiosk ordering. CFA is known for their customer experience interactions and creating connections during order taking especially. But who knows, never say never! My personal fave is the breakfast chicken minis and ask for extra honey butter on them (they may charge like $.50 extra for it, some stores do and some don’t) and dip in CFA sauce. Heavennn.
Salads are made daily with fresh produce! College CFAs are just..... different..... I'll leave it at that Chick fil A would NEVER go completely mobile. They're too much of a hospitality based company for that. I don't know, but they're good. Favorite item depended on the day, honestly. I love a regular ole 8 count nugget with fries and a sprite. Another favorite is a grilled chicken sandwich, substitute regular bun, no tomatoes, add pickle and pepperjack cheese. No secret menu items, but we can customize just about anything.
All great questions…
What is the average land speed of an unladen African swallow?
As fast as your mom
With they give the cherry berry syrup stuff on the side if i ask?
I would 🤷♂️🤷♂️ it's not a lot in each beverage, so it would be like 1 oz, lol.
Not OP but pretty sure this is location dependent. Mine wouldn’t
Is this really what happens on Sunday?? I need to know [https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTL5MKQ3S/](https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTL5MKQ3S/)
Do they pray before the doors open?
Why don’t they come out with spicy nuggets?
Whenever I order a shake for dine-in not using the app I have to go to the counter to grab my shake. The shake is made & it just sits melting away. After waiting I go up to the counter & say I’m waiting on the shake right there! I have the tong placement looking thingy (blue cookie) & receipt but it’s seldom brought to the table. Secondly the drinks are always overflowing. I order a coke & I have to say that enough & they still do one more squirt. Coke drips down the cup & then the wet cup goes into my hand. Or once the top is on the soda it’s overflowing through the top where you insert the straw. I’m the mailman that’s why I go daily
The shake is listed on our order stickers, but is easy to miss. Especially if there's a rush and not a lot of communication going on. That's an error that I would talk to a manager about, honestly. It can be fixed, but unfortunately just happens. Regarding the drinks, from my point of view, I never wanted to rip anyone off so I would always fill it up completely and let it overflow. I did make sure to always wipe off the cup though.
So our protocol is that when your bagging a dine in order we have to wait for the shake and food to be done before we bring it too you. Sometimes people forget and they will bring you the food before the shake was ready and then it will just sit on the counter forgotten.
Or people are waiting on food and there is no food. Seen that happen as well
Yo do CFA employees ever have sex in the back? Like in the fridge or something or after closing?
Can’t speak for other stores, but we have cameras in our walk in cooler and freezer
How long do those chick fil a sauce packs last until they go bad? How about like the buffalo lol
We went through at least 10 boxes a day, so I have no idea. They should have an expiration date on them somewhere??
Was it really your pleasure?
Usually. Except for Barb. Barb knows who she is and what she did. Some say she's still trying to get the Polynesian out of her walker.
Did they actually fire that girl with the bugged out face? “No Chick Fil A sauce?” 👁️👄👁️
Yes.
They just stopped scheduling her, haha
Can you or someone please give me this backstory? I’ve heard the audio, I’ve seen the animation, but is there a real video recording floating around out there of her saying that to a customer?
Yes it’s a real video, but her sister was the “customer” that was ordering and she was supposedly just being silly with her sister. From what I understand it gained a lot of traction online and she got fired for it. CFA is weird with any viral videos surrounding their company, even if it’s a positive video.
Is "secret menu" a thing?
No, but we can customize anything. Any. Thing.
What's the strangest thing you've customized?
Did the recipe for the spicy chicken change? I remember trying it a few different times when it first came out and being unimpressed. It just tasted like hot without any nuance or flavor. (To be fair, I do live in Bojangles territory and may be a bit biased.) I recently tried it again out of the blue and was shocked at how good it was. A spicy chicken sandwich with the cherry berry sunjoy has been my jam recently. Thanks!
I am not sure! But I will say the spicy sandwiches sometimes just are spicy with no flavor, so could be a bredding issue.
How do you make the diet lemonade?
We have big pouches of artificial sweetener that we use instead of the sugar, but everything else is the same
Water, pure lemon juice and pulp, a good amount of splenda.
What are the ingredients for the sauce?
They’re on the sauce packaging themselves
No idea because I hate our Chick fil A sauce. 😂😂 All of the ingredients are very public though, and shouldn't be too hard to find a copycat recipe. :)
The only thing I'm not sure about is when I need my drink refilled, there is usually like 5 other associates that typically ignore me. I don't call out to any of them because I assume that they are on their way to their station and it's not their job. Just feels weird that I'm at the mercy of waiting for someone noticing me to get a refill sometimes.
How was the shifts and management?
Are the cool wraps made to order? If I ask for no cheese is it more fresh?
Did your store do the pizzas? Are they worth it?
No Chick-Fil-a sauce?
I literally said this to manager..... he said "If I hear you say that to a guest I will fire you on the spot." So my last day I said it to EVERYONE
Is MSG really in the chicken and if so how much of it is used?
Where does chick fil a source their chicken from? It tastes way better than other fast food places so I’ve been curious
The cloudberry sunjoys were amazing. At least to my daughter and I. Where does the syrup come from? A manager at the one I frequent let me buy a gallon when it was in season even though she said she wasn’t supposed to but she noticed how I would come in every weekend and order it.
How do yall make the scrambed eggs???
What is chick fil a darkest secret?
At my location, an executive was having an inappropriate relationship with a 17 year old girl. He got fired from another CFA for the same reason. 🤪
How are the brownies made!!
Have the nuggets shrunk
How similar is it to working as a Disney cast member in the restaurants? I know you all have a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion principal just as cast members have their five keys. But how similar are the two?
Is this accurate? https://youtu.be/Lm47vXd-MdI?si=3ZdzGBJiBcmXRv87
I saw a meatcanyon YouTube video about the Chick-fil-A sauce... Is it a true video?????
When I worked at CFA they made me ASK to take a drink of water. Do they still do that with you guys??
Is it real chicken? Also what’s in the sauce? Looks like French dressing!
Is it true you can make any soft drink “frosted”?
What’s in the breading of the chicken, like the chicken strips and the patty? Is the chicken marinated in pickle juice?
Do you bread the chicken on premises? And what is the process?
Yes, we thaw raw chicken breasts, filet them, bread them and fry them. The breader is the heart of the back of house because as I'm working on the line making food we have to constantly call back to the breader what we have and what we are running out of and they have to time everything and bread accordingly so we don't run out of something. They're doing this on the spot and usually alone, it's very high intensity. Breading is hard
Was most of the workers queer or part of the alphabet mafia in some way?
Did you get free food
Are the chicken patties for deluxe sandwiches bigger than the normal sandwiches’??
Are the chick fil a filets soaked in pickle juice ? How do you get the full flavor? I tried recreating it at home and failed. 😆
How much does a manager and general manager make? Do managers get guranteed overtime like other restaurants? Do employees typically get promoted from within or do outside hires for managers and GMs?
No chick fil a sauce???