Did you know Chick-fil-A has an app? You do now.

This picture of a crowded Chick-fil-A^® parking lot is not a unique one. All across the country this scene is being recreated as brand-new Chick-fil-A^®s in hundreds of cities open their doors for the first time. And while it’s never quite this crazy each and every day that Chick-fil-A^®s are open for business, the hype and the business never really dies down—not entirely. Chick-fil-A^® is known for its crowded lobbies and in turn for its remarkably speedy guest turnover rate despite its jam-packed restaurants. But although the crowds are virtually dumping profits into the franchise and boosting the company’s reputation with each guest it serves, they’re still overwhelming for the team members of each restaurant, so much so that in most of the restaurants in the chain, there are literally twice as many employees to work the front counter and drive through as there are to man the kitchen.

Pair that with the fact that American customers are continually, and in constantly increasing force, demanding easier, more convenient modes of living (as they demand this not only from Chick-fil-A^® but from numerous other outlets within their lives) and you get a massive problem, or set of problems, that requires a move on Chick-fil-A^®’s part; a move that’s necessary if it wants to continue to not only satisfy but also impress its guests without simultaneously taking on labor costs that come both from hiring literally twice the amount of workers for the counter as for the kitchen and from time lost (and in turn, profits lost) from training those workers, as well.

The Solution

In 2013, Chick-fil-A^® found itself on the brink of answering this problem in what was, for them, quite a revolutionary manner: enter the Chick-fil-A^® Mobile Payment function. This function is not a new thing to the food service industry of which Chick-fil-A^® has been a major part since 1967 when S. Truett Cathy invented his revolutionary version of the chicken sandwich, but it was new to the company then. Fellow restaurant chain Chipotle^® introduced their own mobile payment function in 2011, but Chick-fil-A^® hasn’t released any version of their own just yet because they simply haven’t been ready to: "We don't look to the rest of the industry to see what to do next," said Khalilah Cooper, leader of ordering strategy at Chick-fil-A^® in response to questions on why the chain waited this long. "For us, it's about trying to get that guest experience right."

Today, in 2016, Chick-fil-A^® is ready. For the past few months, the chain has been testing their newly-published version of mobile ordering and payment in more than 130 Chick–fil–A^® restaurants in the test markets of Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Orlando and Washington, D.C., and it’s worked tremendously.

How it Works

Chick-fil-A^® patrons can now order and pay for their food literally wherever in the world they are. The app now contains nearly the full Chick-fil-A^® menu and even includes options for special sandwiches/salads/nuggets that go above and beyond the standard items on the menu; i.e. a classic Chick-fil-A^® chicken sandwich comes with pickles, and guests can order their sandwich without them. A chicken sandwich deluxe comes with lettuce, tomato, and the guest’s choice of American, Colby jack, pepper jack, or no cheese at all. Within the app are all of these options and more for guests to completely personalize their menu items however they please, and once they’ve personalized their food, they can save the order for quick access in the future.

Once the order has been saved, the guest pays for it within the app and is offered the option to save credit card information for one-click payment in the future. The order is then stored in the app until a guest reaches their most convenient Chick-fil-A^® location, at which point they will check in on the app, sending the order information to the restaurant’s computer system and thus notifying the team at that particular restaurant to begin assembling the order for the guest. There is no need for the guest to bother with a transaction at the register as the food has already been paid for within the app. The guest lists their preferred method of pickup—dine-in, carry out, curbside pickup, or drive-thru—and the team at the Chick-fil-A^® where they are will deliver it to them in such method.

Why the App is the Answer

At first glance, the only problem this seems to have solved is the continued and constantly increasing demand for convenience from guests of Chick-fil-A^® by giving them the incredibly simple option for ordering and payment that the app provides, but in fact, it provides much more for the company. Because the guests have both ordered and paid within the app, there is no need for those particular guests to interact with a front counter team member to do the same function, thus giving Chick-fil-A^® two major benefits that don’t stand out immediately: first, clearing up traffic in Chick-fil-A^® lobbies by removing guests who stand in line waiting to order, and second, providing each independent Chick-fil-A^® location the option to hire, train, and schedule less front counter team members, all three functions with too good a potential to cost an insane amount of money.

The App in the Future

With Chick-fil-A^®’s new mobile payment function rolling out in full-force nationwide this year comes multiple opportunities for progress post-rollout. Chick-fil-A^® is currently in the process of working with Apple^® to integrate Apple^®’s newly-announced Apple Pay™ technology into the app. There has also been talk of a potential delivery service as well, although this has been strictly random speculation as Chick-fil-A^®, Inc. has not provided any manifestation of this information in any way. Chick-fil-A^® is also using the app to test their new awards program, “Chick-fil-A^® One,” in the St. Louis market. This program gives guests the ability to check-in to the restaurant each time they visit, keep a record of their purchase history, and eventually award them with free food and/or coupons for discounts. This program is slated to roll out this summer.

Conclusion

The new Chick-fil-A^® mobile pay function in its currently-existing mobile application (available on both the iTunes store and Google Play) serves to offer guests increasingly convenient methods of ordering and paying for their food, ease flow of guests within Chick-fil-A^® restaurants, and save money—and possibly bring in more—due to the hiring, training, and scheduling of fewer front counter team members than the company currently does. The Chick-fil-A mobile ordering and payment function is revolutionary for the company and will see wonderful results to all of these ends in the coming months and years.