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The Cairn Chick-fil-A Culture

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“Oh great, it’s Cairn students,” I heard my manager say as she took off her glasses to wipe her tired eyes. How often I have heard that reaction reiterated throughout my work experience at Chick-fil-A. After working there for the past two years, I watched many Cairn students saunter into the restaurant. I have also seen the less than optimistic reactions of my fellow staff while they serve the students.

You may say that they are being overly cynical. That their unenthusiastic demeanor throughout your order experience is uncalled for.

But then again, maybe the problem is you.

As both a Cairn student and a Chick-fil-A employee, I experience both sides of this relationship.photo-1426869981800-95ebf51ce900

The way Cairn sees Chick-fil-A is as an extension of campus. It’s a great, cheap place to go when the cafeteria is serving something less than appetizing. You can go there with all of your friends after a night class and laugh and make memories over discounted fries and milkshakes.

Which is fine. No one at Chick-fil-A wants to put a damper on your college experiences and memories. It is our job to serve you, but my co-workers don’t always uphold with this perception.

After asking around, my fellow employees at Chick-fil-A see Cairn students as “snobby, spoiled brats” that always try to get more out of their discount than is offered to them. They come in late at night in large groups and leave the dining space a mess.

Well, there seems to be a little bit of an issue here.

By the time you reach this point of the article, you may be a little upset. Mad even. You might claim that you are just having a good time and anyone who says otherwise is just a bitter minimum wage employee.

But here is where I say again that maybe the problem is you.

photo-1441122456239-401e92b73c65Are you unhappy with your Cairn discount? Do you feel that you should have any entree you want instead of the limited options that they offer?

Well, according to my staff, it’s time for you to have an attitude change.

To make it clear: Chick-fil-A is extending kindness to you when they give you the discount you have. Do not take advantage of their offer. It is not be manipulated and you are not entitled to get 3 dollars off of a different entree just because you are a Cairn student. They also do not need your business. They are happy to have you and offer you a cheap meal, but as one of the top selling stores in the country, your $3.97 is not crucial to their survival.

Some of the staff will even go as far as to say that the Cairn special should be non-existent because of the abuse that it has weathered from students.

my fellow employees at Chick-fil-A see Cairn students as ‘snobby, spoiled brats’

So, what do we do now?

We change.

This change is not just conforming so the employees like us.

It is so they see our Creator in us.

Wait, but this is Chick-fil-A. It’s a Christian resturant. And we’re Christians. They close on Sundays, so surely they must know that our lives as believers are more than just wanting a discounted chicken sandwich.

Take note: Out of all the staff that I work alongside with, I can count on my hands all the Christians.photo-1414358154612-ae3d3c120004

We have 180 employees.

Many of my co-workers are unchurched and their only exposure to Christ is the Christian college students that come in.

So ask yourself the most important question, “How are my actions within the restaurant exemplifying Christ to these unbelievers?”

Chick-fil-A is my mission field. I have spent two years building relationships with these people trying my best to give them an accurate representation of what it means to love Jesus.

While your interaction with them could be helping my cause, it is instead ruining it. It’s not too late; you can change the way that you act there and the message you are sending.

After all, this is not about what they think of you or even Cairn as an institution.

It is about what you are making them think about Christ.

 

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9 Comments

  1. Tim
    October 22, 2015 at 6:49 am —

    WELL SAID. I hope this article sparks conviction and change in the hearts of those representing Cairn AND most importantly Christ at the local Chick-fil-A’s!

  2. Cairn student
    October 22, 2015 at 10:42 pm —

    I’ve never seen so much ignorance in my life, not only are you labeling the entire cairn student body as spoiled brats. I have never done any of those things mentioned in the article and neither has any group I was with. Although I do feel convicted about the time I took a few extra mints. Also to say that we ruined your chance at evangelizing to your employees is ridiculous, if everyone judged an entire group of people over a few bad experiences, well then we wouldn’t like anyone. In all seriousness, Cairn students please pick up your straw wrappers, let’s all be a light of Christ

    • Cairn Student & Chik-fil-a worker
      October 28, 2015 at 2:15 pm —

      The writer isn’t being ignorant. After two years of working there she see’s how the workers react when students come in advertising Cairn.

      She’s not labeling the entire Cairn body as spoiled brats, but the non-christian workers there are. They workers tend to get uneasy when they see Cairn students.

      She accurately portrayed how SOME Chik-fil-a workers feel about Cairn students, as well as other big groups of messy people or someone with lots of tiny children.

  3. Andrew Allers
    October 31, 2015 at 3:00 pm —

    Well-written, enlightening article. While I want to immediately disagree with you for the sake of my pride, I can’t. I’m sure you’re right, unfortunately.

    Having said that, I wanted to address this section of your piece:

    “To make it clear: Chick-fil-A is extending kindness to you when they give you the discount you have. Do not take advantage of their offer. It is not be manipulated and you are not entitled to get 3 dollars off of a different entree just because you are a Cairn student. They also do not need your business. They are happy to have you and offer you a cheap meal, but as one of the top selling stores in the country, your $3.97 is not crucial to their survival.”

    While you may have a better perspective of Chick Fil A’s motives as one of their employees, I have to disagree with you here. Chick Fil A is not offering this deal solely in the interest of Cairn Students. They are offering this deal to make money… and they make a lot of it from Cairn Students.

    You mentioned that students should not manipulate or take advantage of this deal, and I agree with you. However, Cairn students are absolutely entitled to $3 off of our meals. When businesses offer coupons, specials, or deals, they are entitling the customer to that reduced price. I assume you mean to use entitled in a different sense here, but despite this, try to see my bigger point.

    While I agree with you that Chick Fil A does not necessarily need our business, I’m also hesitant to believe that they would be willing to give up our business. Without the discount, my guess is that Cairn Students would attend than a quarter as often as they do.

    My aim is not to nitpick your word choice or even rebut your overall argument. My aim is to enlighten you to the fact that it is not a one-way deal: Chick Fil A is not simply giving away meals out of the kindness of their hearts. It is an exchange; both are giving, and both are receiving. And Chick Fil A is receiving a heck-of-a lot of business and money from Cairn Students.

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