When it comes to average restaurant sales, no fast food brand does it better than Chick-fil-A.
The chicken chain once again led its industry peers, with average standalone restaurant sales of $9.3 million last year, according to company filings.
That’s more than twice as much as McDonald’s U.S. branches ($3.7 million) and nearly five times what Taco Bell ($1.9 million) earned last year, according to Technomic, a restaurant industry group.
Much of Chick-fil-A’s success can naturally be attributed to its succulent fried chicken tenders and buttery buns.
But what do Americans love as much as a good chicken sandwich? Stay in their car.
The company said it serves more than 100 cars during peak hours and that drive-thru sales account for about 60% of the brand’s revenue, according to Forbes.
While McDonald’s and Taco Bell are downright heavyweights in the drive-thru lanes, Chick-fil-A’s operations continue to beat the competition in customer satisfaction.
A ranking last year by QSR magazine found that Chick-fil-A scored highest despite having one of the slowest drive-thru execution speeds among major brands. (Taco Bell managed to set the fastest time.)
It turns out there’s a pretty simple explanation for these slow lanes: There are more cars waiting in line. Lots more cars.
In fact, when QSR adjusted the total number of cars in the queue, Chick-fil-A recorded the fastest time per car served.
Not only were they faster, but customers also gave the chain top marks for order accuracy, food quality and staff friendliness.
And it highlights Chick-fil-A’s ultimate weapon that helps it stay ahead of the competition year after year: a highly trained, highly motivated staff.
The company is legendary for finding and cultivating a level of talent that most people wouldn’t expect to see in a typical service company.
In recent years, as competitors have turned more to AI and voice recognition to automate the drive-thru ordering process, Chick-fil-A has doubled down on its commitment to in-person interactions.
Now, instead of high-tech kiosks, Chick-fil-A customers are much more likely to see a friendly, red-shirted employee armed with a tablet walk up to their window to start their order.
“It’s a great way for us to get very high volumes of orders to the kitchen very early and move cars through the drive-thru in an extremely efficient way,” said Chick-fil-A’s Artie Sposaro, who led the brand’s driving innovation team during the pandemic. said in a 2021 company blog. “It’s also a way for us to offer our customers personalized service where they might not expect it.”
businessinsider
