Chick-fil-A consulted Ritz-Carlton, Danny Meyer on service improvement



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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

Chick-fil-a.
Hollis Johnson

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.

Chick-fil-a.
Hollis Johnson

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. . "

Chick-fil-a.
Hollis Johnson

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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