You know you have a good business problem on your hands when, due to the demand for your services is so huge, the cities you operate are trying to declare a public nuisance because of traffic backups. As is the case happening for multiple cities where Chick-fil-A operates in.

After all these years, Chick-fil-A restaurants are getting better and better, and is a brand more and more customers truly can’t live without. How do they do this? They definitely have had their share of obstacles over the past two decades; from explosive growth, which is usually a customer experience killer (see 6 Reasons Your Customer Experience Plummets When Your Business Skyrockets), to the great recession, pandemic, and the founders controversial views on same-sex marriages. Regardless of all of this, the one thing that can’t be ignored is the incredible success the brand continues to have and what other organizations can learn from it.

The average Chick-fil-A free restaurant (non-mall units) generates more than $8 million in sales a year, which is 54% growth over the past five years. With only 2,700 locations, Chick-fil-A generates more total sales than any chain outside of McDonald’s and Starbucks. However, Chick-fil-A makes more per restaurant than McDonald’s, Subway, and Starbucks combined, even while being closed on Sunday.

Even as the demand for Chick-fil-A is at an all-time high, the private company will only grow at a pace they ensure they won’t jeopardize the brand experience. This is one of the keys to their success. They could grow 10x faster, however, their obsession with their operational excellence, customer experience, and internal culture will not allow them to compromise any of those for more units and higher sales.

This may sound like cliché and lip service, however, Chick-fil-A is meticulous about who they select to run their restaurants (operators and team leaders), and work in their restaurants (team members).

They are still #1

As Chick-fil-A sales go up, so does their Net Promotor Score. They are always at the top of their industry for customer satisfaction.

One of the restaurants’ keys to building a world-class brand is that they don’t go out and find great talent, great talent finds them. Quality attracts quality. With Chick-fil-A’s reputation for being a world-class customer experience so well known, that right there filters out potential candidates who only are looking for a job and don’t want to be held to a higher standard.

Chick-fil-A places so much importance on selecting amazing leaders, one of their primary filters for selecting the best leaders are asking the following; “Is this someone who cares about others and will pour genuine love and care into their team? And is this someone I would want my child to work for?”

When the core team of leaders (Operators and their top directors) is that kind of leader, then great talent gets interested. So many companies look at recruiting and talent as if it’s just throwing the line and dragging in the fish, however, what if that fish wants to jump in the boat? Magnets attract and when you start with a quality core of leaders, quality follows.

Competency is also a critical part of Chick-fil-A’s recipe but is not their number one priority in their selection process. Most companies start with competency. However, competency can be taught, and in many customer interacting positions, you can find hundreds of employees with similar skill sets. Chick-fil-A chooses to prioritize character and chemistry over competency.

During the interview process, Chick-fil-A likes to focus on asking the questions such as, “WHY do you want to do this?” The what and the how are elementary, but the candidate’s “why” is where authenticity gets revealed. After the initial interview, Chick-fil-A takes it even deeper, testing whether this person really wants to do this and do existing employees want the potential candidate to be their colleague? They use experiential interviews toward the end to put them in a restaurant and observe them, as well as time to shadow existing employees, so the candidate can really see what this job is like and get a feel for if it is right for them.

Chick-fil-A says its service is so consistent because it invests more than other companies in training its employees and helping them advance their careers — regardless of whether those careers are in fast food.

Franchisees are encouraged to ask their new hires what their career goals are and then to try to help them achieve those goals. “Do you know the dreams of your team?” franchisees are constantly asked. For Kevin Moss, a Chick-fil-A manager of 20 years, supporting his team has meant funding an employee’s marketing degree and paying for another worker to take photography classes. Moss says he also tries to support his employees in times of need. For example, if an employee’s family member is in the hospital, he will send food to the family and hospital staff. “I’ve found people are more motivated and respond better when you care about them,” Moss told Business Insider.

The company also offers leadership positions in all of its restaurants that come with higher pay as well as greater responsibilities. Crew members can work their way toward “director” positions in marketing, cleanliness, kitchen operations, and drive-thru operations. “The better we train, the longer people stay with us,” Moss said.

*Register for our New Customer Experience Executive Academy Class starting this fall

Ryan Magnon of Chick-fil-A Keynoting 2022 Customer Service Revolution

We are so thrilled to announce that Ryan Magnon will be speaking at this year’s Customer Service Revolution. Ryan is a recognized leader in service excellence, hospitality operations, and quality management practices. He currently serves in the role of Sr. Operations Lead, Field Operations for Chick-fil-A. Ryan’s primary responsibilities include partnering with Chick-fil-A Restaurant Franchisee Owner/Operators across the chain to help them develop effective operational strategies in order to grow sales and improve the customer experience within a meaningful Brand.

Ryan’s Topic: Creating a Culture of Genuine Care

Hear how Chick-fil-A intentionally strives to create a culture where those inside the organization are truly cared for so that they may care genuinely for, and win the hearts of, every customer they come in contact with. The world needs a little more love and caring – hear how Chick-fil-A Corporate, Owner/Franchisees, and their teams aspire to do just that.

CONGRATULATIONS TO DAVE MURRAY!!!

The DiJulius Group is proud to announce that Dave Murray has been appointed VP of Consulting.

Dave continues to provide consulting services and winning strategies for his clients; he will also support content creation for The DiJulius Group, the Customer Experience Executive Academy and CX Coaching.

Mr. Murray’s role will make use of his experience as a consultant and business leader, to train and guide a group of customer experience consultants who provide advisement to organizations concerned with improving the service they deliver.

EPISODE 84 OF THE CSREVOLUTION PODCAST – 4 Price Myth Busters

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“Your processes shouldn’t drive your experience, your experience needs to drive your processes.”

CX VIDEO CLIP OF THE WEEK

How to create your signature experience & remove employee roulette

*Register for the 2022 Customer Service Revolution Conference

BECOME A LICENSED CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE COACH

Are you waking up before your alarm goes off, throwing the covers off, and jumping out of bed because you are so excited about your workday, your career, and the impact you are having? Believe it or not, there are a lot of people who do feel like that. Maybe it is time you become one of them.

*Next Coach’s Camp July 19-22, 2022

The DiJulius Group is holding their next CX Coach Camp, training passionate CX (Customer Experience) Coaches. These entrepreneurs will be licensed to train businesses on the exact same methodology that has been used with the best customer service companies from all over the world, to start their own six-figure coaching businesses.

If you can answer yes to the following, becoming a CX Coach may be perfect for you:

Are you ready to make a difference in the lives of businesses?
Do you want to be part of a community of revolutionaries?
Are you seeking financial independence?
Are you looking for a turnkey business model and coaching system that offers incredible opportunities for growth?

Customer Experience

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Why Chick-fil-A is one of the Most Loved Brands

Ryan Magnon of Chick-fil-A Keynoting 2022 Customer Service Revolution