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Chick-fil-A is known for its first-rate service. But it has not always been like that.
In the early 2000s, Chick-fil-A had recently crossed the 1,000-store mark. As the chain expanded, executives began looking for solutions to continue to build customer loyalty and maintain consistent customer service.
Founder Truett Cathy started the campaign with a small request. In 2001, at the company's annual seminar, Cathy recounted how she had visited a Ritz-Carlton hotel in New York City. Whenever he thanked an employee, the worker smiled and replied: "My pleasure."
"He believed that these two words," my pleasure, "would remind us and our customers that we really enjoyed serving," wrote Steve Robinson, former CEO of Chick-fil-A, in his book "Covert Cows." and Chick-fil-A ". . "" You can not say & # 39; my pleasure without looking in the eyes, & # 39; he said, and eye contact creates a personal connection. & # 39;
Read more: 11 fast food chains with the best customer service in America
When Cathy asked the operators to start asking the staff to say "my pleasure" instead of "you're welcome" in the restaurants, Mr. Robinson stated that it had taken a few years for the change to take effect. Cathy's son, Dan, who was then director of operations, decided that "my pleasure" could be a signature of Chick-fil-A's company in 2003, and it made it mandatory.
"It's Dan who had the idea of relying on the principle of the second mile of Matthew 5:41," Robinson told Business Insider recently, citing the Bible verse which states: " If someone forces you to go one kilometer, with them two miles. "
However, Dan and the rest of Chick-fil-A's management team wanted to go further than a new slogan. They decided to call on the experts.
Dan contacted Horst Schulze, then the Ritz-Carlton Operations Manager, who met with Chick-fil-A employees and operators to ask them to crack the hotel code. Schulze told Chick-fil-A's staff that the channel was currently "the best of a bad spell", which means she was better than her fast-food rivals, but could not manage. to compete with seated restaurant chains and gourmet restaurants.
Chick-fil-A executives began to badyze these other restaurants. After interviewing customers, Chick-fil-A created what he called the "Core 4" of customer service: creating eye contact, sharing a smile, talking with enthusiasm and staying connected to make it staff.
Chick-fil-A also consulted Danny Meyer of Union Square Hospitality Group. Meyer, who was later to find Shake Shack, worked with Chick-fil-A to develop a better understanding of the hospitality industry – making an extra effort in an unusual way in fast-food restaurants.
"Once the operators have seen the impact on sales and profits, [also] Mr. Robinson said, "I have not been to a Chick-Fil-A store for years where I have not had service on the second mile. . "
Analysts point out that Chick-fil-A's customer service and customer service policies are a determining factor in distinguishing the chain of rivals from fast food restaurants.
Chick-fil-A tops the list of the most polished chain in the fast food sector, being named as the most popular fast-food chain in the United States in the annual satisfaction survey. of American customers carried out in the last four years
"Little things like being told" please "and" thank you "- we feel like being appreciated as a customer and to be human at Chick-fil-A, "said badyst Mark Kalinowski. "And especially in today's very complex world, it's very nice to be able to get to a place where you feel appreciated."
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