What Chick-Fil-A Employees Wish You Would Stop Doing When Ordering

As a fast food restaurant, Chick-fil-A has managed to achieve cult status among its fans that vouch for its tasty food options like chicken sandwiches and waffle fries. As noted by USA Today, Chick-fil-A was picked by consumers as the best fast food restaurant in 2021. And according to the American Customer Satisfaction Index, the eatery won top honors for the seventh year in a row. So they're doing something right!

But, while Chick-fil-A is a popular pick for many diners, its employees do wish that things worked a bit differently — and they often express these views on platforms like Reddit. A Redditor recently wrote that they really don't like it when customers don't pay attention to them when placing an order. As they explained, "I try my best to put on a smile and act enthusiastic, but I am SO tired of literally being ignored, I can't contain it anymore. I am catching myself rolling my eyes because I just can't believe people can be so rude." For them, it's unbelievable that some customers can simply ignore their presence and refuse to make eye contact when stepping up to the counter.

As discussed by the Reddit user (who also happens to be a Chick-fil-A employee), people often tend to simply look at their phones and don't pay attention when placing an order. The original poster added, "[They] act like I'm not even there other than to whisper, 'number 1' as quietly as possible and then complain that their order wasn't right when they get to the window." As evidenced by the comments in the thread, it seems to be a common complaint of many other workers.

One Chick-fil-A employee wrote that they can now read lips when taking an order and have learned to cope with the issue. They said that they really have to listen when someone has a mask on, though. Another person mentioned that they need to tell customers that they're slightly deaf and need to be louder. The employee added that it's a highly frustrating experience. Someone else had another suggestion, writing, "I've started pretending I can't hear people when they do this. When I ask them to speak up they don't, so if I can't understand them I just stare at them till they get the hint." So, it might be good to remember the next time you step up to the counter that a little common courtesy can go a long way.

In fact, Chick-fil-A employees are consistently praised in the food service industry for their overly polite behavior. According to Business Insider, the company's staff members are believed to easily be some of the most good-spirited in the food business, citing a report in QSR Magazine that revealed Chick-fil-A workers were "most likely" to thank their customers at their drive-thru locations and offer a smile when they pulled up.

This seems to be a conscious decision as far as the brand is concerned, making common courtesy a big part of employee training. "It's all about speed and accuracy, but we know our customers appreciate that we can be nice while being fast and accurate," Mark Moraitakis, senior director of hospitality and service design at the company told QSR in a statement. He added that simple things such as maintaining eye contact with customers can make a big difference when they're ordering food at the restaurant's drive-thru. And as discussed on Reddit, employees just hope that sign of respect could be returned.

Chick-fil-A works extra hard to make sure that its staff feel ready to greet their customers in a friendly manner and assists them in every way possible. A former employee at the company was full of praise for the fast food brand, writing on Quora, "My customer service training with Chick-fil-A was excellent, better than any I've gotten from other entry-level job. They were fairly clear: Let the customer speak until they're done, go the extra mile, don't sweat the small expenses to win them over." 

That said, it can be a little tough for employees to stay calm when they have to confront rude customers who are unwilling to be polite in return. The former Chick-fil-A employee who wrote on Quora made a really great point when they said, "But most of all, it's really easy to be nice to someone who's polite in return." 

A former employee at Chick-fil-A who worked with the chain for several years also mentioned on another Reddit thread that some customers could be mean and took advantage of the fact that the staff members were so nice to them. However, they were so used to being polite that it was hard for them to move away from the script. In a great piece of perspective, the Redditor wrote that people can be "hostile" in any field, implying that it's an unavoidable part of life — and the only thing that can be controlled is someone's reaction to the situation.