The Chick-fil-A Effect

sunset-cliffs

The Set-Up

I’ve been busy lately. Between traveling a lot and catching up from traveling a lot I’ve missed many important details.

On Tuesday afternoon guys from my high school small group started texting me, “What are we doing tomorrow night?” Then I got text from my co-leaders, “What are we doing tomorrow night?

I kept thinking to myself, “What are they talking about? We’re going to meet at the church, play some volleyball, eat dinner, and have small groups.

So I looked at my texts from Brian and it turns out that, and I still don’t know why, last night our small groups did outings instead of the normal routine.

Cool. So I need a plan. And I’ve got no plan.

And now they wanted to know what the plan was.

So I played it off the same way I play it off any time I miss details. “I dunno, what do you wanna do?”  About 5 texts later I realized that I was the one whom they were looking to for a plan. So I went with Plan B, tossing out a plan and making sure everyone was cool with it.

Let’s go to Chick-fil-A for dinner then sunset cliffs to play soccer.” No one resisted.

In fairness, this wasn’t really a new idea. It’s kind of our families go-to plan for what we do when we don’t know what to do on a Sunday night.

Still, no one resisted.

You’ve Never Been to Chick-fil-A?

c-chick-fil-a-logo-primary5 guys got in my minivan last night. They all had the same question…

Dude in back of van:Why Chick-fil-A?

Me:Because Chick-fil-A is awesome. Duh.

Another dude:What is it? I’ve never been there. Just heard of it.

Me:It’s chicken sandwiches, sweet tea, and crazy dipping sauces. It’s basically just a fast food place but just a little bit better. If you live in the South, you think of Chick-fil-A the same way we think of In-n-Out.”

First dude:But isn’t that the place that’s hates gay people?

Me:Well, last year there was a big thing in the news about that. Let’s talk about that over some delicious chicken.”

First dude: “I’m not sure I feel good about eating at a place that hates gay people.” 

Mark, my co-leader: “There it is.”

Me:Wow. Really? I don’t think every person who goes to Chick-fil-A or works there automatically hates gay people. I’d imagine most people just think it’s a good place to eat chicken and the people who work there… well, I don’t think a person working the counter at a fast food place really care about what the owners say.

First dude: “I still feel weird about it.” 

Me: “Well, I didn’t feel weird about it until now. Geez, thanks. Let’s talk about this over some chicken.”

[awkward silence. turn on radio]

Me: (changing subject voice) “So after we eat our gay-hating-chicken, we’re headed to Sunset Cliffs Park. Anyone been there?

The Chick-fil-A Effect

This post isn’t about what Chick-fil-A does or doesn’t stand for. I could really care less about that.

The point is that impressions that there is a story about you and your organization that is being told. You can’t control it. And you might not even know what it is unless you and your organization are really intently listening.

Because if all a car full of high school guys knows about your organization is a sound byte from a couple years ago which may or may not be true…

Well, they’ll never care about your chicken or sweet tea or dipping sauce.

Question: Do you know what the sound byte impression of people in your community is about your organization?


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5 responses to “The Chick-fil-A Effect”

  1. Erin Desautels Avatar
    Erin Desautels

    Good point! Makes me wonder what the community thinks about the elementary school at which I work. I have no idea how to gather that data or if I’ll ever actually follow through, but it is duly noted. We do have a program at our school that works toward connecting the community and the school, so I am hopeful!

  2. KJ Avatar
    KJ

    Great Post! We can’t control the fact that people have perceptions…but we can (and do, often unknowingly) help shape what those perceptions are.

    P.S. I freaking love me some Chick-fil-a.

  3. youthleadergina Avatar

    We have a Chick-fil-A down the street from our church and my husband and I invite youth there for milk shake Mondays. Not a single one has yet to mention the stand Chick-Fil-A corporate owners have in support of traditional marriage. Our Chick-fil-a (on Olympic Parkway in Chula Vista) has done SO MUCH to bless our community and stepped up to plate when one of the youth group teens passed away in March. They catered the memorial service (for FREE!) and offered meal delivery to the family. They support our church, our schools, our community in so many ways through out the year. They do a great job in shaping a positive perception within our community. You are right on target though…perception (for better or worse) is truth. We LOVE their chocolate chip cookies. The BEST freakin cookie I’ve ever had. That is TRUTH! Ha! I disguised a bunch of their cookies by hiding them inside an empty Panera bakery bag to serve youth workers for a meeting @Panera ! Sorry Panera!

  4. […] Adam McLane: The Chick-fil-A effect – Adam published an interesting post a couple of days ago that looked at how his small group guys […]

  5. Allison Avatar
    Allison

    My youth Bible Study group goes to Chick-Fil-A every Wednesday after our study at church. We have become regulars with our own tables. We play board games for an hour and continue discussions from Bible Study. All of the staff know us by name and comment when we miss a Wednesday. This welcoming attitude is how I think of Chick-Fil-A.

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