Albany Chick-fil-A Caters with Customers in Mind
Tuesday, November 29th, 2011
In 2010, Chick-fil-A, Inc. reported an 11 percent increase in sales over 2009 and same store sales grew by nearly 6 percent. The company has reported year-over-year growth every year since its founding in 1967. Also in 2010, Chick-fil-A ranked highest in customer satisfaction in three of the ten markets surveyed by J.D. Powers in its 2010 U.S. Restaurant Satisfaction Survey, placing it in a tie with In-N-Out Burgers for top honors in the quick service restaurant segment. Customer service is one of the qualities that sets Chick-fil-A apart from its fast food competitors and helps drive its strong sales performance.
Here in Albany, K.J. Wari is the franchised restaurant operator of two Chick-fil-A locations: on Albany Square, which is a drive-through only location, and in the Albany Mall He is also a operator consultant on the campus of Albany State University. At each location and in the catering operation, commitment to the customer drives decision-making.
“No one sets up like we do,” said Lawrence Knighton who is responsible for outside catering sales for Chick-fil-A in Albany. “From tablecloths to balloons and even little cows on the tables, our deliveries reflect the customer service we’re known for.”
Catering For Any Type of Event
According to Knighton, Chick-fil-A provides catering services to local hospitals, medical offices, pharmaceutical reps, churches and schools in and around Albany.
“We’ve even catered wedding receptions. We can cater any type of event,” he continued.
Sales in 2011 in catering are up over 2010 and Knighton expects 2012 to be a good year as well. He said, “We’re hoping to get into area manufacturers who are renewing their foodservice contracts next year.”
Chick-fil-A is also creating additional distribution points such as serving the Fourth of July celebration at the Marine Corps Logistics Base. “We try to be involved in all things going on in the community,” Knighton said.
An All-Breast Meat Entrée Strategy
Chick-fil-A has stuck to a limited, all-breast meat entrée strategy. Its chicken sandwich, chicken nuggets and chick-n-strips consistently rank number one in their categories in product quality surveys conducted by Marketing and Research Counselors, Inc.
The company uses 100 percent refined peanut oil for cooking, which is naturally trans-fat and cholesterol free. The entire menu is trans-fat free and 10 menu items have 10 or fewer grams of fat.
“Our catering menu contains most of our restaurant menu although we can’t deliver fries or our char-grilled sandwiches because of temperature requirements,” Knighton explained.
According to Knighton, each restaurant prepares meals in its own kitchen.
Unique to Chick-fil-A
Founded by S. Truett Cathy in 1967 with the opening of a restaurant in the Greenbriar Mall in Atlanta, Chick-fil-A has several company policies that differ from those at other quick service restaurants. For example, all Chick-fil-A restaurants are closed on Sundays. Cathy believes that being closed on Sunday says two important things to people: one, that there must be something special about the way Chick-fil-A people view their spiritual life and, two, that there must be something special about how Chick-fil-A feels about its people.
Chick-fil-A is also unusual in that it offers scholarships to restaurant employees. Cathy established the Team Member Scholarship program in 1973 to encourage Chick-fil-A restaurant employees to further their education. Since then, Chick-fil-A has offered more than $27 million in financial assistance to 27,000-plus restaurant team members who have attended 2,138 colleges, universities and other educational institutions throughout the country. The company will award $1.6 million in scholarships to its restaurant team members in 2011.
The company launched its one-of-a-kind “Eat Mor Chikin®” campaign in 1995. Since then Chick-fil-A sales have increased six-fold. The campaign has won multiple awards for creativity and effectiveness over the past 16 years. For the 2011 holiday season, restaurants will again sell a Cow Calendar featuring the “Eat Mor Chikin” cows. The theme for this year’s 15th annual edition is “Trail Grazers: Blazing New Paths That All Lead to Chicken.” The calendar will be available for $6 in restaurants through early January 2012.
More information on Chick-fil-A is available online at www.chick-fil-a.com. For local catering sales, contact Lawrence Knighton at (229) 869-6387 or the Albany Square restaurant at (229) 889-1166.
