Why Chik-fil-a Rox my face off!

I observe restaurants and places of business and how they are run when I go to them. I CAN'T HELP IT! It's what I do. Anyway, one of my favorite restaurants to observe is Chick-fil-a (check out their story here). I love walking in a restaurant and checking out how everything and everyone works and works together and then asking myself, "Why'd they do it like that?" and "What can I learn from them?" Here is some of the stuff I love about Chick-fil-a...

• The Mint Guy and The Drive Thru Chick! I love when I eat in the restaurant and am finishing my meal and the guy comes around with a basket with some rockin' mints in it. And then there's the girl (I know! Sometimes it's a dude!) that comes to your car in the drive thru when it's busy and takes your order before you're even at the order board! It's called "Extra Mile" folks! Most places don't do it!
• Free Extra Sauces! Nothing ticks me off worse than going somewhere and asking for an extra sauce or salad dressing and then being told there is a charge. DUDE! I just drove to YOUR location and chose YOU over somebody else. Don't "thank" me by charging me 30 cents for a tiny-tub of blue cheese!
• "You-know-what-you're-getting" consistent quality! They do chicken! And they do it AWESOME! When I order a Chick-fil-a sandwich, I know what it's gonna be like every single time! Bun, chicken, pickles. Unless I order it differently, and then that's the way I get it! NO SURPRISES! Even when they introduce a new food item, I know the quality is going to be off the charts!
  
• They take risks; they're just EXTREMELY well thought out! The other day Chick-fil-a did a "keep your receipt" day where whatever you bought on that day, if you kept your receipt and brought it back in the month of August you got the same items that were on the receipt free. Most people would probably call that a risk and a big one at that. But by the numbers of people I saw when I went that day and the buzz I heard, it must have paid off. And what kind of service did I get that day? The same quality service I get every other time.
• They're closed on Sundays! And they have been since the beginning! And they still had earnings of over 2.2 billion dollars in 2006! NO! Before you ask! I'm not saying everybody should be closed on Sunday! But what I am saying is that they have a conviction and they are committed to it! Yep, I have been out on a Sunday afternoon and been craving some C-fila and not been able to get it. But I still go back on Monday.

I could go on for a while, but in a nut shell, the reason I observe restaurants and businesses is to see how I can take winning principles and apply them to the church and student ministry or even my personal life. So to that end, here are a couple questions for ya:

• Am I going that extra mile for my "customer", whoever that may be? What would they say?
• Am I sticking it to a loyal "customer" by "charging for extra sauce"?
• Is excellence a priority? Really? Does it show?
  
• Am I trying to do to much? Is the quality of EVERYTHING compromised as a result?
• Am I willing to take risks? Not stupid or foolish ones, but well thought out and evaluated risks. Yeah, some may fail, but some are going to yield insane results! What RISK are you taking?
• What's your "Closed Sunday" conviction? Do you compromise it? Why?

Anyway, just some thoughts to chew on.

Keep it real!

srr

sinbad