UX: Chick-Fil-A

"I  ♥  companies that get it"

 "My Pleasure!"  You WILL hear these two words from the cashier if you are ever eating at a Chick-Fil-A.  If this is your first time eating there, you may be caught off guard by the departing comment.  After all, it is a much more classy farewell than people are accustomed to at a fast food place.  (Sorry, I mean "quick service".  If you call it "fast food" in the presence of an employee, or, God forbid an operator, you will be throat punched.)  Saying "my pleasure" at a fast food place is like having Cristal and caviar at a WWE match.  It just doesn't fit.  But let's deconstruct why that particular farewell is actually very fitting with the brand that is Chick-Fil-A.

Customer Service
I honestly hate using the term "customer service", its over used and under practiced.  But when a company elevates the term, I take note.  And they are serious about it!  Chick-Fil-A actually spends over a million a year just to MEASURE their service.  If you are in business and sell a commodity there are only two reasons that you will have people pay more for your products: convenience and customer service.  And while CFA doesn't have the omni-presence of a Starbucks yet, they are crushing it in customer service.  Consistent customer service will eventually lead to big profits and also...


Cult Followers
What better way to sell your products, and ultimately you brand, than producing consumer advocates.  Consumer advocate is just a fancy term for a customer that had such a good experience with your brand that they in  turn tweet/status update/yelp or just buy a friend lunch at your place.  CFA converts people to the Church of Chicken (not to be mistaken with Church's Chicken).  In fact, when Chick-Fil-A opens a new location, they will seek out CFA loyalists in the area and invite them to a free dinner the evening prior the the grand opening.  That evening, they will hand out free chicken coupons to those in attendance and will anoint them with chicken blood and black and white robes and send them out to proselytize others into the cult. (not really, but they should look into having some quasi-cult ceremony for grand openings)


Culture
Culture is really the ethereal substance that produces the whole brand aura.  This starts with the hiring.  To make sure that all operators are on the same page as the corporation, CFA has an epic hiring process.  The process can take up to a year sometimes and the hire will endure numerous interviews, along with their family members.   I had a buddy that went through this process, and when he came out the other side he was never the same. (I'm pretty sure they water-boarded him at one point, but he ain't talking. )  But This all ensures that the culture of CFA is consistent and excellent.  They want to be sure that the operators are the embodiment of Truett Cathy's words: "If we have to keep telling people what to do, it means we're not modeling the behavior ourselves.  If we're living it everyday, we don't need to talk about it."  Words I wish all companies would take to heart.  




*UX means "user experience"

Vision and Success

There is an old anonymous proverb that states "the fish rots from the head down".  Or, more simply, leaders need to lead.  This should start with a clear, inspiring vision.  Something that makes you want to get out of bed in the morning and do work.  A vision is not "lets go sell lots of stuff and make lots of money".  This is not inspiring, and besides, if you have an inspiring vision for your business then you will sell lots of stuff and make lots of money as a byproduct of conducting your business with consistent excellency.  


It is not surprising that the most successful businesses also have had leaders that have specific, effective visions.  

• Nike’s vision is to experience the emotions of winning and crushing the competition.
• Disney’s vision is not to make cartoons; it is to make people laugh.
• 3M’s vision is to solve problems informatively.
• Zappo's vision is to be a customer service company that sells shoes

I wonder how many CEOs and business owner really can articulate their vision for the company?  And if they can, I wonder if their manager's can as well, and in turn, instill that vision to their subordinates?  I am not talking about some lines on a plaque, collecting dust on a wall. No, I am talking about every one involved in that business buying in to the vision and pulling in the same direction to achieve that vision.  

In my world of the wireless industry, it is definitely a vision-less environment.  This could have something to do with the transactional nature of the job or the fact that we now sell a very ubiquitous commodity.  Either way, there are many areas of improvement for this industry and it should start at the top with an inspiring vision.  If Zappos could do it with shoes, surely wireless could do it with smartphones.  After all, when selling a commodity, the only variable which you really have control over is the quality of service you offer the custy.  

Brand Kaizen

Kaizen is a Japanese word for "improvement".  As a principle, it means a constant and never ending quest for learning and improvement.  It has been applied to industries from automotive to computers.

I work in the wireless industry, which, over the past decade as evolved into a consumer juggernaut.  But I have noticed over the several years I have been here something disturbing: that people absolutely, unequivocally hate interacting with us.  Even when it is time for an new phone.  Its like they wake up that morning and say in a stoic and somber tone "Alright, it's upgrade time".  Then they lace up their boots and head off into the combat zone.  Upon arriving at the shiny retail location, they open the door and brace themselves for retail battle.

Now they are in the store and are "greeted" by a computer that they input their information and it spits out a wait time.  30 minutes later, amid the torrent of kids playing Angry Birds on the iPad displays and emo rock playing in the background (both making the custys want to end it all).

Sure, the story is exaggerated.  Sure, all retailers are similar.  Aren't they?  Maybe, but doesn't mean there isn't room for HUGE improvement.

Here are just a few areas of kaizen for my industry:

Communication:  Air spots on the local news showing what incredible things smartphones can do.  Then, at the end of the spot, pointing viewers to a blog post, newsletter, facebook page, twitter, opt-in email with different apps and functions to make life easier.

Customer Support:  Have advanced sales training where your sales people can opt-in for tech training. This so that when a customer comes into a store you don't just stare at them blankly.  You will actually have answers.


Interaction: After the customer interacts with your brand from the spot on the news, you would have a tremendous amount of information about that customer that you could use to be proactive and recommend  solutions based on their interests (ie: in their facebook profile it mentions they like exercise so you could send them an email with the top 5 exercise apps).


There are a 100 more improvements I could mention but what do you all think?  What would you recommend for improving the wireless industry?