3 Ways Chick-Fil-A Uses Technology to Enhance Its Winning Customer Service
See how Chick-Fil-A found the perfect blend of technology advances and excellent customer service
We all know Chick-Fil-A is winning when it comes to customer service. The franchise earned the top spot as America’s most beloved fast-food chain in the American Customer Satisfaction Index for the second year in a row and has reported 50 consecutive years of sales growth. You can’t argue with those numbers.
But what you might not realize is how the company is using technology to facilitate better customer service. Here are three ways it’s doing so:
1. Chick-Fil-A One Membership Program and Mobile App
While the Chick-Fil-A mobile app isn’t a new concept as far as the restaurant business goes, Chick-Fil-A managed to make it better. Besides the beautifully redesigned interface and easy-to-use features, there are many perks for customers to use the Chick-Fil-A mobile app.
If you’re an avid Chick-Fil-A goer, the best part about the app would most likely be the Chick-Fil-A One membership program. The membership program gives you points every time you use the app that can later be redeemed for free food and drinks.
The program is broken down into three levels:
- Chick-Fil-A One Members receive 10 points per dollar spent
- Chick-Fil-A One Silver Members receive 11 points per dollar spent
- Chick-Fil-A Red members receive 12 points per dollar spent.
In short, the more you spend, the more points you get and the more rewards you earn.
And if that doesn’t get you excited about the app, Chick-Fil-A also offers a multitude of ways to order and pick up your food in fast and efficient ways:
- Swing by the drive-thru line and let attendants know you have a mobile order
- Park in restaurant designated spots so that team members can bring your food to you
- Or go inside the restaurant and head over to the mobile pickup station
Talk about convenience.
More than 13 million customers have downloaded the Chick-Fil-A app, helping to increase the franchise’s already impressive average of $4.4 million in annual sales per store, nearly $2 million more than McDonald’s, according to Forbes.
2. Innovative Drive-Thru Applications
If you’ve been to a Chick-Fil-A recently, you may have noticed some changes about the franchise’s drive-thru system. For some of the busier Chick-Fil-A restaurants, keeping up with traditional drive-thrus were causing long lines of cars and prolonged wait times.
To combat these issues, the company started a new system utilizing multiple employee attendants to hop from vehicle to vehicle, taking orders on a tablet computer that relays the order to the kitchen staff and delivering the order through the passenger-side window.
Ironically, the use of iPads to take orders actually gives customers better face-to-face interaction with Chick-Fil-A team members and allows employees to serve customers in a more efficient and less stressful way than the traditional speaker box. Chick-Fil-As that have implemented this new system are already reporting record sales and are breaking drive-thru car count records left and right. Through the use of coordinated movements and modern technology, Chick-Fil-A is giving its customers the best experience with a minimal wait time.
3. Kallpod Table Devices
Chick-Fil-A has also added new technology inside of its restaurants. In some locations, Kallpod devices have been installed on tables allowing dine-in guests to stay longer and call for a server whenever they want via the push of a button. Employees receive an alert on their smartwatch to assist customers. After installation of the devices, franchise owners saw increases of 500% in revenue saying that the Kallpods give diners an easier way to place second orders.
Chick-Fil-A is just one example of the many companies that are taking advantage of technology-driven conveniences to enable speed and efficiency and ultimately improve customer service and revenue.
What’s your favorite technology that companies use to make your experience as a customer easier? Comment below!