Chickfila "reopening guide"

storewanderer
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Chickfila "reopening guide"

Post by storewanderer »

https://www.msn.com/en-us/foodanddrink/ ... ailsignout

https://thechickenwire.chick-fil-a.com/ ... -standards



So, customer is required to swipe their own credit card for payment. That is how it always should have been in the first place... I guess at drive through that wasn't happening but it should have been. In other countries like Canada, UK, etc. at drive throughs they hold the pinpad out the window and you insert or tap your card, the employee does not touch it for security purposes. US Starbucks drive throughs have the pinpads in a heavy duty pouch and are supposed to hand it out (but rarely do).

No more drink refills, well, that will make things more efficient for the location, cut a few cents of costs (both for drink and labor of the refill), and reduce risk of contamination when a cup that left behind the counter goes back behind the counter again for a drink refill. All Chickfilas seem to have employee serve drinks.

All eat-in orders will be given in to-go bags. Funny, I already did it that way because I never wanted to touch the trays. But for customers who use the trays to eat on they may want to provide the paper tray liner as a table liner in absence of the trays.

A lot of this seems like common sense sanitation stuff that should have been happening anyway before the pandemic.
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Re: Chickfila "reopening guide"

Post by klkla »

storewanderer wrote: May 30th, 2020, 1:17 pmSo, customer is required to swipe their own credit card for payment. That is how it always should have been in the first place..
It is strange that it has taken this long. I remember being in Brazil 15 years ago and they would bring the portable machine to your table and your credit card never left your eyesight (because Brazilians didn't and still don't trust waiters or anyone else for that matter with the credit cards).

So it's not like this is a new technology. It's been around for years.
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Re: Chickfila "reopening guide"

Post by storewanderer »

klkla wrote: May 30th, 2020, 9:04 pm
storewanderer wrote: May 30th, 2020, 1:17 pmSo, customer is required to swipe their own credit card for payment. That is how it always should have been in the first place..
It is strange that it has taken this long. I remember being in Brazil 15 years ago and they would bring the portable machine to your table and your credit card never left your eyesight (because Brazilians didn't and still don't trust waiters or anyone else for that matter with the credit cards).

So it's not like this is a new technology. It's been around for years.
A very select few US Chains have used that pay at table technology at restaurants. When EMV came out, Ruths Chris started to do pay at table. They bought all of the equipment. They quickly stopped as customers complained and didn't like it. The other outfit that I believe still does pay at table with those same devices is airport restaurants operated by SSP America. It is just like the other countries- a wireless terminal is taken to your table and the server inputs the amount or recalls your check number in the system depending on the set up then hands it to you and you insert your card, enter the tip amount (if that country has tipping going on that is), and then you complete payment and the receipt prints out you take it and leave the terminal there on the table for the server to collect later. No pen. No check holder. No waiting for the server to bring back your card. Easy, fast, efficient.

Also there are those Ziosk things at the lower end chain restaurants that have games and you can run card payments through. I have used them at Chili's and Red Robin (wish we had just gone to El Pollo Loco instead...). I understand Olive Garden and Outback and associated brands all have those as well but have not been to them since that happened.
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Re: Chickfila "reopening guide"

Post by babs »

storewanderer wrote: May 30th, 2020, 1:17 pm https://www.msn.com/en-us/foodanddrink/ ... ailsignout

https://thechickenwire.chick-fil-a.com/ ... -standards



So, customer is required to swipe their own credit card for payment. That is how it always should have been in the first place... I guess at drive through that wasn't happening but it should have been. In other countries like Canada, UK, etc. at drive throughs they hold the pinpad out the window and you insert or tap your card, the employee does not touch it for security purposes. US Starbucks drive throughs have the pinpads in a heavy duty pouch and are supposed to hand it out (but rarely do).

No more drink refills, well, that will make things more efficient for the location, cut a few cents of costs (both for drink and labor of the refill), and reduce risk of contamination when a cup that left behind the counter goes back behind the counter again for a drink refill. All Chickfilas seem to have employee serve drinks.

All eat-in orders will be given in to-go bags. Funny, I already did it that way because I never wanted to touch the trays. But for customers who use the trays to eat on they may want to provide the paper tray liner as a table liner in absence of the trays.

A lot of this seems like common sense sanitation stuff that should have been happening anyway before the pandemic.
Fast food restaurants should let you tap to pay at the order board. Would speed things up at drive-thrus with only one window. Drive thurs should be the model of efficiency. But at most joints, it just isn't. As I sit there I can think of dozens of way to make it better.
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Re: Chickfila "reopening guide"

Post by storewanderer »

babs wrote: May 30th, 2020, 10:40 pm

Fast food restaurants should let you tap to pay at the order board. Would speed things up at drive-thrus with only one window. Drive thurs should be the model of efficiency. But at most joints, it just isn't. As I sit there I can think of dozens of way to make it better.
Now that we can finally tap to pay at most places... finally...

It took way longer than it should have. And you have outfits like Kroger, Wal Mart, Home Depot, Wendy's, and Lowe's that still can't get on board and make the clean safe Contactless tap payment happen. And in the case of Kroger, Wal Mart, and Wendy's they are very able as the software they use does process tap elsewhere.
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Re: Chickfila "reopening guide"

Post by mjhale »

storewanderer wrote: May 30th, 2020, 11:05 pm Now that we can finally tap to pay at most places... finally...

It took way longer than it should have. And you have outfits like Kroger, Wal Mart, Home Depot, Wendy's, and Lowe's that still can't get on board and make the clean safe Contactless tap payment happen. And in the case of Kroger, Wal Mart, and Wendy's they are very able as the software they use does process tap elsewhere.
I'm glad to see tap to pay so much more widely accepted. I have always felt that the large chain retailers who are holdouts are more interested in data mining sales as opposed to participating in a standard like tap to pay. Imagine the data that a place like Walmart gets from its Walmart Pay users. Now with more people interested in touch free payment the treasure trove will be even greater. At least Walmart Pay is working faster and more reliably than it did in the past. And as you said in another post the register system is running everything as credit even with a debit card so you don't have to interact with the touch pad at all.
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Re: Chickfila "reopening guide"

Post by bryceleinan »

We just got a brand new location in Carson City, NV and it’s just curbside / drive-through for the time being - and from what I’m hearing, will be for a while. I’m guessing they probably won’t open their dining rooms (at least in Nevada) until after May 1st. I saw Oregon and California were following the same restrictions (even stricter than state requirements in some instances) and I’m guessing they’ll be the last major chain for indoor dining, at least on the west coast.
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Re: Chickfila "reopening guide"

Post by storewanderer »

bryceleinan wrote: February 24th, 2021, 8:41 pm We just got a brand new location in Carson City, NV and it’s just curbside / drive-through for the time being - and from what I’m hearing, will be for a while. I’m guessing they probably won’t open their dining rooms (at least in Nevada) until after May 1st. I saw Oregon and California were following the same restrictions (even stricter than state requirements in some instances) and I’m guessing they’ll be the last major chain for indoor dining, at least on the west coast.
They were the first to go drive through only back when COVID hit too.

The Sparks Chickfila is interesting- you can walk up to the door and they will come out and take your order outside and then take your payment inside. Then they will bring your order out. This seems to result in very, very fast service. This is also really good if you are not there via a car and on foot or bike.

The Auburn one is the worst- everything is drive through. No curbside ordering even, so if you use their app, you have to go through the drive through. The drive through moves fast though so there is that.
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Re: Chickfila "reopening guide"

Post by Brian Lutz »

One that puzzles me a bit is that the local Sonic here closed their order kiosks after the last round of Covid restrictions went in place back in December, requiring all customers to go through the Drive Thru to order and pay. So instead of using the kiosks to order and swipe your cards to pay, you instead have to hand your card to someone at the drive thru. I guess there's less labor involved by not needing carhops, but it seems like there would be more exposure that way.

As for fast food places around here, McDonald's and Taco Bell seem to be the best for taking contactless payments (although I have seen some Taco Bells that don't have functioning card readers at the drive thru, and have to take your card and run it at the counter.) Wendy's doesn't take contactless payments, but do have card readers at the counter when they are open inside. I've been able to use Samsung Pay at Wendy's without too much trouble, but others won't work. Haven't been to a Chick-fil-A recently, but I do know the one closest to here opened only a few months ago, and has never opened the interior as far as I know. They do seem to be very efficient with their drive thru operations though. During busy times they have order takers go through the line and take orders at your car, and can run your card on the spot. Often they will bring orders out to your car as well, which leaves an unusual bottleneck where you have your food, but you're stuck behind the car at the window until they have their order.
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Re: Chickfila "reopening guide"

Post by storewanderer »

Chickfila in Rancho Cordova, CA on Sunrise has its front counter inside open for to-go orders. They don't have any designated "curbside" parking spaces out front but they do offer curbside as well. When I commented on it being open inside I was told it was their operator's decision to have the inside open and they have been open all along inside.

This appears to be the only Chickfila for hundreds of miles that continues to allow its inside to be open for to-go orders.

Dine-in was not allowed in any form.
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