4 Lessons You Need From Chick-Fil-A That Aren't About Customer Service

Have you ever wanted something so bad the more you couldn’t have it?

That’s what I experienced for the hundredth time this pass Sunday.

Chick-fil-a, the chicken based fast food restaurant wasn’t open yet again.

If you live near a Chick-fil-a, you’ve surely experienced this phenomenon.

It’s like the more you want it, the more likely it is to be Sunday.

And of course, statistically, that makes absolutely no sense.

But rather than sit and cry in outrage about why Sundays have seemingly been 3x more frequent this year, I decided to spend my energy more productively.

I asked myself, “What on Earth makes the Chick-fil-a franchise so damn successful?”

And after going through a deep rabbit hole of all things Chick-fil-a, a few things became very clear.

One is that everyone on Earth seems to love their customer service.

And people believe that’s their secret to success.

But I went deeper than the obvious.

I learned even more from the reigning champion of slinging chicken sandwiches 6 days a week.

Here’s the 4 lessons you need from Chick-fil-a that aren’t about customer service.

Lesson 1: You can have an ugly name and still succeed.

Okay I’m kidding.

But seriously, have you ever stopped to think of just how weird of a name Chick-fil-a is? Or where it even comes from?

Apparently, “Chick” stood for chicken and “Fil-a” was a twist on the word filet.

Nice one!

Okay let’s get into the real lessons.

Simple is more.

The simplicity of Chick-fil-a is a true feat of discipline and focus.

Chick-fil-a has a record low amount of menu items compared to all other national fast food chains.

And with less product, Chick-fil-A makes nearly $1.5 million dollar more per store than McDonalds.

The key here is that we have to learn to do more with less.

Many people think growth and success has to look like more, more, more.

And that’s not always the case.

When you keep things simple, you succeed with precision, not bloat.

Always blame yourself.

Chick-fil-a is never going to tell you, a customer, that they have done wrong.

I’ve seen some of the angriest customers walk into Chick-fil-a with outrageous requests, and walk out with exactly what they asked for.

Chick-fil-a takes the high road and it pays off.

We should do the same.

Every other fast food chain, may argue, fight, or try to explain why they are right and the customer is wrong.

That isn’t going to win anyone over.

And it will ultimately lead to less growth in the long run.

When you take the blame, you get the opportunity to grow.

And you become a better, more efficient version of yourself along the way.

Over-preparation beats luck.

When people see big winners like Chick-fil-a, their only explanation is it has to be luck.

“There’s no way a company could be doing $4.1 million in sales per store and still be closed a seventh of the time!”

But the key to outsized success like Chick-fil-a isn’t luck, it’s preparation.

In fact it’s over-preparation.

Chick-fil-a will have two times as many employees than is needed for the day.

And if the demand picks up, guess what?…

They’re prepared for it.

I saw a Chick-fil-a the other day, that has been optimized to hell, but for some reason they were adding a third drive-through.

Think about that. Not a second, but a THIRD.

When opportunity, traffic, or the big moment comes upon Chick-fil-a, they will be ready.

Now ask yourself, “What opportunities do I say I want, but I am truly not prepared for?”

People love specialists.

The last lesson, is one that I’ve been preaching for the longest.

People don’t want a jack-of-all-trades.

If you’re good at changing tires, cooking food, and editing videos chances are you’re not good enough at any of the three for me.

When you take a bold stance, on a special niche people respect you for it.

And they truly believe you are the best in that space.

Chick-fil-a didn’t set out to be the best fast food restaurant in the game, they set out to dominate all things chicken sandwich related.

And do you know how I know, because they were so confident and focused that they put “chicken filet” in their name.

It doesn’t get more specialist than that.

Stop being afraid to niche down.

Nobody wants a generalist, we want a specialist.

So be special and be specific.

People will respect and value your dedication to that specific craft.

Those are the 4 key lessons you need from Chick-fil-a.

If you use these lessons you will unlock a new level of success.

There’s so much to learn from the big winners all around you…even if you don’t sell chicken sandwiche…

In progress,

Tim