Eat Mor Chikin

We have been a Chick-fil-A family since our oldest, Political Sphere, turned 16 and got his first job—at Chick-fil-A. And not just any Chick-fil-A, but the third most successful of the about 5000 restaurants nationwide. The only two that rate higher have a double drive-thru—which this one is getting during renovation this summer. All of our kids and one daughter-in-law have worked there. We’ve had kids working for Chick-fil-A almost continually for over a decade. For a family that wants their kids to learn hard work but also wants them to come to church with us on Sundays, Chick-fil-A has been a great answer.

Out local Chick-fil-A
photo from KTRH.com traffic, August 1

The owner has two stores, the other one just a few miles up the same northwest Houston road. And that second store is where Political Sphere works now, as his second job. He works the daytime rush, and then comes home for a bite to eat (usually Chick-fil-A food he has brought home with him) and then heads out for his full-time swing shift job. So he was there yesterday during the onslaught. This second store is always busy. While not in the top three like the one down the road, it is consistently in the top 10%. They handle a huge rush crowd for every meal. They rarely take more than two minutes to get your food in hand after taking your order. Efficiency and good food is what they do. And they have a loyal clientele.

They’re located on a busy corner, adjacent to a Wal-Mart parking lot, across the street from a Kroger and Kohl’s. And neighborhoods are nearby. They have a drive-thru setup where they merge traffic coming in from two directions. There’s often a line at lunch and dinner rush, but it hardly ever takes more than ten minutes to get through with your food. Wednesday, Political Sphere reports, wait times were as long as an hour. At one point they had to stop taking orders, because the system was overwhelmed. (I think that means they couldn’t cook fast enough to meet the needs.) When they made the announcement, the crowd cheered. Giving Chick-fil-A the absolute maximum amount of business was the goal.

The ice machines couldn’t keep up with demand. The need was immediate—no time to make a call and wait for a delivery. So they sent personnel across the parking lot to Wal-Mart to bring back three shopping carts full of bags of ice. The Wal-Mart parking lot was crowded, but not with Wal-Mart shoppers; it was packed with people in line for Chick-fil-A.

The next day Political Sphere got the rest of the story. The store has been prepared for 40% increase daily because the other store is under renovation, so traffic comes to this one. And they thought that a marginal increase over that would do the job yesterday. But they weren’t ready for a 100% increase. At about 8:30 they had to announce that they would run out of chicken in half an hour.

The story today was that all of the Houston Chick-fil-As either doubled or tripled their usual business. About half closed early after running out of food. The one where Political Sphere works doubled, but when it starts with such high volume, that’s still significant. In the hour they had to shut down, they did $4500; they had three $3000 hours during the dinner rush.

By the way, they overwhelmed the system again Thursday. And they’re gearing up for the supposed protest tomorrow—because in our area that is much more likely to mean more of what we saw Wednesday (people supporting the company because of its willingness to stand up for its beliefs) than a group of peace disturbers. Down in the Montrose area things could be more troublesome; we’ll see.

Social Sphere
ready for work
Cow Appreciation Day 2010

I had intended to go to Chick-fil-A yesterday. I was up north, and needed to get a salad right at 6:00 and then drive across town to a meeting by 7:00, somewhat against rush traffic, but while traffic is still heavy. So we had strategized and identified two stores near where I would be, and chose the one closest to the freeway. But I checked my email as I got to my car, and a text had just come in from Political Sphere: “Don’t go to Chick-fil-A.” If I’d waited in an hour-long line, I’d have never made it to my destination. I saw on a nighttime news broadcast that the one I had chosen actually closed at 8:00 PM, having run out of food. So, while Chick-fil-A gets my business pretty often, and my support always, yesterday I had to miss out on the community get-together.

I have often thought that the Chick-fil-A marketers are clever; I love the cows with spelling problems, and the apparently endless ways that idea can be used. (I get a Cowlendar for my kitchen wall every year.) But I don’t think they could have come up with a plan and put it into action that would have accomplished what this spontaneous outpouring of support has done. There are several clear messages sent by the clean, orderly, patient, pro-business throngs:

·         We like your chicken, waffle fries, and the rest of your really good food—and the quick service and good prices we’ve come to expect.

·         We support your willingness to stand up for what you believe.

·         We are against the bullying tactics of those who blacklist and marginalize anyone who doesn’t agree with their opinions.

For your listening pleasure, please take a couple of minutes to hear Christian comedian Tim Hawkins’s latest Chick-fil-A song: