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How Did You Do It, Truett?: A Recipe for Success
How does the man working behind the counter of a mom-and-pop diner for twenty-one years turn a good idea into a restaurant chain worth $2 billion annual sales? S. Truett Cathy, founder and CEO of Chick-fil-A, shares the answers in How Did You Do It, Truett? The inventor of the chicken sandwich and the founder of Chick-fil-A, Truett Cathy also pioneered quick-service food in shopping malls, and is now one of America's most successful and respected businessmen. His restaurants, which are always closed on Sunday, achieve higher sales per unit than others that remain open seven days a week. Forty years after opening the first Chick-fil-A restaurant, the chain now has more than 1,300 units in thirty-eight states. How Did You Do It, Truett? offers countless nuggets of wisdom. The 86-year-old chief executive officer's keen business sense, his commitment to his principles, and his desire to keep the business simple pours off of every page. His lessons apply not only to business, but family and community life as well.
95 pages, Hardcover
First published November 16, 2007
10 people are currently reading
829 people want to read
About the author
S. Truett Cathy
12 books24 followersSamuel Truett Cathy was an American businessman, investor, author, and philanthropist. He founded the fast food restaurant chain Chick-fil-A.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 75 reviews
July 28, 2024
I like to read about how people overcome the 'hurdles' placed in front of them as they race towards their dreams. This book offers much insight into the difference between a 'boss' and a 'leader.' This book really helped me understand how you have to make any business an extension of your beliefs; if you don't employees and customers will see through you.
January 13, 2012
A very short, direct, quick, and most of all insightful book. This should be a must read not just for any average worker, but also their employers, and for a guy in his 80's there is so much knowledge in here for teenagers setting the foundations as they get ready to take the first step of their professional careers.
If you know Chick-fil-A, you know the restaurants are closed on Sunday... this is for religious reasons and there are religious overtones in this book. If that is not your cup of tea (or in this case sweet tea), you may not enjoy it as much. Take it for what it's worth though there is a ton of great business advice in a very short book.
An hour of your time to enjoy this read, may prove dividends for decades to come in your work.
As the book details it really comes down to small things and the person and the people at a job that count, and Mr. Cathy it was my pleasure to get your advice.
If you know Chick-fil-A, you know the restaurants are closed on Sunday... this is for religious reasons and there are religious overtones in this book. If that is not your cup of tea (or in this case sweet tea), you may not enjoy it as much. Take it for what it's worth though there is a ton of great business advice in a very short book.
An hour of your time to enjoy this read, may prove dividends for decades to come in your work.
As the book details it really comes down to small things and the person and the people at a job that count, and Mr. Cathy it was my pleasure to get your advice.
August 4, 2016
A short book that can be read in an hour. I have a tremendous amount of respect for the Cathys and the biblical principles by which they run their business.
April 29, 2025
Essentially an abridged version of Eat Mor Chickin: Inspire More People, so I recommend if you want an easy read for a refresher on Truett's core principles and his favorite stories.
Disclaimer: I am employed by Chick-fil-A, Inc. so the average individual would consider me biased on many, if not all, of the subjects mentioned in the book above.
Disclaimer: I am employed by Chick-fil-A, Inc. so the average individual would consider me biased on many, if not all, of the subjects mentioned in the book above.
September 6, 2025
How would I sum it up? He was kind, had good common sense and a great work ethic. Quick read!
February 22, 2024
Though many of his points in this book were called out or portrayed in his first book, “Eat Mor Chikin: Inspire More People”, Truett Cathy’s story of success give many great steps to follow for businesspeople of all kinds. For the restaurant industry specifically, it’s obvious how his approach to business worked so well. A slow method to growth, attention to customer satisfaction and care, and selecting the right people to deliver your product are among some of the wise tips he gives. Truett Cathy in the end tells us that it wasn’t because of himself or magic formula that made the company succeed. It was because of his consistent principles and the people that he asked to help him along the way.
February 23, 2024
An easy yet refreshing read. Truett even sounds humble in his books he writes. Will prob read “Eat mor chikin inspire more people” bc of this before starting work on Monday.
I also love the chick fil a history 🫣
I also love the chick fil a history 🫣
December 24, 2021
Mr Cathy's mindset on caring for others & giving God the glory is wonderful. I also agree common sense is far more valuable than any degree. Without common sense degrees aren't sort much in life.
August 23, 2025
It was very interesting and I think it should be required to be read by every person that works in any kind of business because the principles can apply anywhere. The formatting at times was weird and as much as I enjoyed the quotes it seemed to interrupt thoughts. Overall a great book!
February 25, 2017
A good book by the founder of Chick-fil-A. I enjoyed reading this work on how he founded the restaurant chain. I wish he had included a little more information on the difficulties on founding the first restaurant.
February 21, 2017
We gradually become a part of those people we associate with, whether good or bad. If you want to be a great preacher, you associate with other great preachers, and something rubs off on you. If you want to be a great businessman, you associate with other great businessmen, and something rubs off on you. For instance, my sons have been associated with me all their lives, and look at them. Both of them are going bald. (S. Truett Cathy, How Did You Do It, Truett?, Page 71.)
The late billionaire S. Truett shares his secrets of success through this book. Also, many of the people who worked with him share some insight into this man. All say good things. There is a chapter at the end of the book that is highly valuable called Eleven Do's and Don'ts of Proven Success.
Common sense and partnering is the key ingredients to S. Truett's success. On a side note, a letter from Warren Buffett is at the beginning of this book. You know if the greatest investor in the world is writing you letters you must have something. However, at the time of this writing Chick-Fil-A is a family company and privately owned and not a public company.
The late billionaire S. Truett shares his secrets of success through this book. Also, many of the people who worked with him share some insight into this man. All say good things. There is a chapter at the end of the book that is highly valuable called Eleven Do's and Don'ts of Proven Success.
Common sense and partnering is the key ingredients to S. Truett's success. On a side note, a letter from Warren Buffett is at the beginning of this book. You know if the greatest investor in the world is writing you letters you must have something. However, at the time of this writing Chick-Fil-A is a family company and privately owned and not a public company.
November 11, 2013
This was a surprisingly good, short book. I really appreciated Truett's business sense and point of view. I don't know how much of it was sugar-coated, but either way, it gave me something to think about and was refreshingly different. What particularly impressed me was Truett's ability to share his religious beliefs without shame or apology. Plus, this book acted as an effective marketing tool, raising my awareness and respect for Chick-Fil-A. Quite impressive for a book that didn't even top 100 pages.
August 27, 2015
A Great Success Story that isn't 300 Pages Long:
Truett Cathy's business philosophy is simple and so is this book that tells the success story of Chick--fil-A. Unlike many business books this is short and straight to the point. It offers great insight into Mr Cathy's way of doing business. I loved the bit about faith and why he keeps his restaurants shut on a Sunday, respecting the Sabbath-day. A very out-of-the-box idea that is bringing great fruits.
The book is also written well and flows nicely, a must read for anyone in business!
Truett Cathy's business philosophy is simple and so is this book that tells the success story of Chick--fil-A. Unlike many business books this is short and straight to the point. It offers great insight into Mr Cathy's way of doing business. I loved the bit about faith and why he keeps his restaurants shut on a Sunday, respecting the Sabbath-day. A very out-of-the-box idea that is bringing great fruits.
The book is also written well and flows nicely, a must read for anyone in business!
June 28, 2012
Truett Cathy is a great model for business entrepreneurs and current owners, as well. This short read details how Chik-fil-a started out and how it got to where it is today. Emphasizing God's blessings, teamwork, and a good attitude, Cathy retells his business story here. He demonstrates great principles of leadership. I like the extra quotes and comments, but I believe the book could use some work to make the writing and story flow better.
September 8, 2011
I had to read this book for one of my marketing courses. At first, I was reluctant to read it. However, part way through I realized how insightful the information truly was to its reader. S. Truett Cathy takes you on a journey on how he built his company from the ground up. Through his writing he shares what worked for his company, and essentially what might help other companies.
November 30, 2012
Truett Cathy came to visit our campus when I was in grad school and I loved listening to his speech. I bought his book and devoured it immediately as it is a very quick read. I later referenced this book again when I used Truett and Chick-fil-A as examples for a paper and presentation in my Paradigms of Leadership class. Loved the book and love Truett's leadership style!
December 14, 2016
Truett Cathy is one of my personal heroes because of his character and the way he built his businesses. How Did You Do It, Truett? reads kind of like you'd expect a conversation to go if you sat down and asked Truett about his career. It's not incredibly in-depth, but it does offer an insight into how he thinks and how that shaped the trajectory of Chic fil A.
August 13, 2012
After all of the excitement in the country about comments made by the CEO of CFA I thought I'd try and learn a little more about the organization. This was a really good book and restores a little faith into a business world where integrity is seriously lacking. Good book, quick and simple!
December 11, 2014
I enjoyed this book. It mostly about how Truett build and developed his restraints through his work ethic, but touched briefly on what's wrong with a large portion of businesses today, and I have to say I have agreed with his thoughts for a while. Easy quick read, and a good motivator.
November 24, 2013
In this book, Truett Cathy includes some golden advice for not only businesses, but also for individuals in everyday life. I feel that this book includes very good principles to live by in daily life, as well as in the workspace.
Read
December 24, 2008He is a great man and mentor without even meeting him in person.
April 28, 2011
The abridged version of the Chick-fil-A story. A true American Hero. Made a fortune, stuck to his Christian values and blessed a ton of people in the process. Simple......but not easy.
August 27, 2011
Good Read!!
October 3, 2011
Interesting, brief story behind founding of Chick-fil-A. Makes you want to eat there even more!
May 12, 2012
Short, to the point. Very helpful in helping me think through my own business strategies.
May 25, 2014
I liked this book. It was well-written and it has an interesting story. It is a short book with tons of quotes in it.
July 5, 2016
I read it in one sitting. A book with several insightful little moral and business gems.
January 15, 2024
"How many of you are straight-A students?" I ask. A group of hands goes up, and I say, "Well, too bad for you. I understand the world is run by C students."
Truett went from flipping burgers and scrambling eggs in a mom-and-pop business called the Dwarf House to being CEO of a nearly $£ billion business.
1967 the first Chick-fil-A restaurant in a shopping mall.
Truett noticed a trend. In 1970 consumption of beef per person dropped 15 percent, while consumption of poultry more than doubled, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. These were the same years that Chick-fil-A experienced tremendous growth, from size restaurants to nine hundred fifty eight! "Truett has an uncanny ability to see things others don't."
Truett doesn't plan long term because he likes to take advantage of unexpected opportunities.
If you are burdened with obligations and debt - you have a family, a mortgage, and a car payment - it may be the wrong time to start thinking about establishing a business.
The earlier in life you start, the better your chance for success. I was 25 and single when I started. I didn't owe any money, I even had a little money in the bank, and because I didn't yet have a family, I could devote myself completely to the success of the business.
The scorecard of any business is the profit it produces. Without profit, we cannot take care of our employees, our families, or contribute to the betterment of our communities.
To succeed we knew we had to start small and grow slowly. This is where so many start-up companies today make their mistake. Dreamers dream big, and they want to reach their goals quickly. There's nothing wrong with big dreams. But my experience tells me that we're more likely to reach our dreams if we climb with care and caution, putting one foot in front of the other. knowing you have positive cashflow, money in the bank
I saved $4,000 cash. Then Ben and I borrowed $6,600 from the bank.
We hired a carpenter on a cost-plus-10 percent arrangement. I bought a lot of used lumber for framing - sturdy wood that would be hidden behind walls of the restaurant. We saved additional money by finding used equipment for the kitchen.
We worked alongside carpenters, plumbers, and electricians to get the Dwarf Grill ready to open. We opened twenty-four hours a day. My brother Ben and I rotated twelve-hour shifts.
I gave away a lot of free food. That was the best way to attract customers to a new restaurant and make friends. Once we got customers in the door, we knew we could keep them with good service and good food. That model - offering free food to get people to try us out - would become our model for building a customer base at Chick-fil-A twenty years later.
Drumsticks. If you didn't cook it right, you might still have a little blood down nex to the bone. Often customers, believing that a bit of blood indicated the chicken wasn't cooked enough, would send it back. So the problem wasn't the chicken, it was the bone.
I contacted the owners of Goode Brothers Poultry, a supplier for Delta Airlines. I asked them for a boneless breast with no skin.
Find out what my customers want and then provide it for them. Today we call it "consumer research." Back then I called it "knowing my customers." So when I tried various ways of preparing the boneless, skinless chicken breasts, I always offered samples to customers and asked for their opinions. Each time I changed the recipe, I asked my customers how they liked it and what they thought I might change to make it better.
Our customers were workers from all three shifts at nearby Ford assembly plant and from Delta Air Lines headquarters. They had to eat quickly and get back to work.
Sliced bread didn't stand up to the chicken, so I tried it on a hamburger bun. And mayonnaise got hot and kind of dissolved away, so I tried butter. Customers told me they wanted just a bit more zest. I tried two dill pickles. My customers loved it. Many years later customers began to ask about the fat and calorie content of their food. I selected peanut oil for cooking our chicken because it was the most desirable product and was low in calories. Today we know that the 100 percent refined peanut oil we have always used in not partially hydrogenated. So our chicken is trans fat free. Pressure fryers (Henny Penny fryer) allowed us to cook a boneless chicken breast in four minutes.
I talked to a lawyer about getting a trademark for the name "Chicken Steak Sandwich," but he said a trademark name had to be unique in some way. If I used common words, I would have to spell it in my own way.
We sold the sandwiches in the Dwarf House restaurant, and my original business plan was to license other restaurants to sell Chick-fil-A Sandwiches, like Coca Cola has its products sold in restaurants. I knew that plenty of restaurant owners would attend the Southeastern Restaurant Trade Association convention, so in 1964 I had a display created for the sandwich and I took some equipment to the show and cooked samples. That one event jump-started my efforts, and before long I had more than fifty restaurants and several hotels selling Chick-fil-A Sandwiches. Even Waffle House, which had about a dozen restaurants at that time, put our sandwich on their menu.
I continued calling on restaurants to get them to sell our product. They bought their chicken from Goode Brothers and the coating and spice mixture from us. Then Goode Brothers paid us what amounted to a royalty for the chicken they sold for sandwiches.
Some of the restaurants selling CHick-fil-A Sandwiches didn't have the same commitment to quality that we did. I knew then that if I wanted our product to be known for quality, we were going to have to cook it ourselves.
Ideas for new products come from Store Operators, staff members, and customer surveys.
One of our Operators suggested smaller chicken pieces that people could eat with a toothpick would be popular for company holiday parties. The first suggestion was to sell the pieces in quantities of five and ten pounds. Our team began its research by contacting people we thought would want to buy small chicken pieces: party planners. They learned that the product was desirable, but customers didn't have any idea how many pounds to order for a party. They would estimate, though, how many pieces they would need per person and buy the right amount. So we decided to sell by the piece instead of by the pound.
Before long customers were telling us they wanted CHick-fil-A Nuggets in single meal amounts in the restaurants. Through more customer trials we learned that they wanted the same amount of chicken we served in the CHick-fil-A Sandwich. We introduced Chick-fil-A Nuggets in meal-size portions, and the product was an instant hit. After still more research, though, we found that some customers were buying two orders - one wasn't quite enough - so we introduced a larger portion size.
We had the best sandwich in the quick-serve category, and we wanted our fries to match that. We went to a couple of companies we were buying shoestring potatoes from and said we needed something innovative, high quality, and different that was more nutritious than traditional fries. One company had just perfected technology for double-cutting the potato, and they offered samples. We took them to hundreds of customers and taste panels with two questions in mind: will we sell more of them, and will they strengthen the Chick-fil-A brand?
If the answer to both was yes, we went to the restaurants and tested the product for the better part of two years.
Several years ago I was in a Ritz CArlton hotel, and when I said "Thank you," the man helping me smiled genuinely and replied, "My pleasure." Too often these days, especially in retail situations, when I say, "Thank you," the response is "No problem." Or worse, just a grunt. It seems the best I can hope for is, "You're welcome." I ask our employees to say, "My pleasure" whenever someone thanked them.
Truett gives a Be Our Guest card to anything that moves. And he always carries a bag filled with CHick-fil-A plush Cows.
Be Our Guest cards create opportunities for us to have personal contact with potential customers and offer them an invitation to visit our restaurants. Nothing is more appealing than a personal invitation. In new markets, the BOG card introduces people to our products and our restaurants.
You don't have to make a strong sales pitch. Just ask a simple question introducing the product: "Would you like to try our freshly squeezed lemonade?"
Operators establish goals for speed, and track order accuracy and customer loyalty, then they encourage their crews with incentives.
A lot of customers size up a restaurant by the cleanliness of its rest room.
I've been told that 20 percent of all sales at other quick-serve chains are generated on Sunday. Closing on Sunday gives us an advantage when we're hiring, because people like to know that they'll be guaranteed a day off every week to rest.
A reporter asked her why she is so loyal. "I've never heard Mr. Cathy raise his voice. I don't remember him arguing with anybody. I've never heard him tell somebody to do something."
He mailed out about four hundred birthday cards with handwritten notes to customers every year. He visited them when they were sick and sent food when there was an illness or death. Customers knew we cared.
The most important decision we make at CHick-fil-A is selecting restaurant Operators who care about others, who can motivate their team, and who understand how to run a business. We currently open fewer than one hundred restaurants each year, and we have thousands of people applying to be Operators. That allows us to be extremely selective. "I want you to help me open restaurants and see that they stay open."
We do not require a large up-front franchise fee. We don't need an Operator's money. The Operator pays monthly 15 percent of gross sales for trademark licensing and other services such as marketing and operations support. After paying the costs of running the restaurant - salaries, food, utilities, etc. - the Operator then pays Chick-fil-A 50 percent of his or her restaurant's profits. We've used this arrangement since we opened our first restaurant in 1967, and it still works.
He wants to tell him how we're doing, and he listens intently. He hears between the lines. We're talking about different aspects of business, and his questions show remarkable insight about where we are and where we're going.
Selecting a good location for a restaurant doesn't guarantee success, but a bad location can put you out of business. Ford Motor Company was building a new assembly plant across the street from that location, giving me the opportunity to build a base of regular customers.
The advantages of a mall location appeared obvious. We wouldn't have to sink a lot of capital into real estate, and we would have thousands of potential customers walking right past our front counter. The mall said it was 384 square feet, but I knew it would be big enough for people to come to the counter and place an order.
First I had to convince the mall developer to let me in. He was afraid of the mess our customers would leave behind and the smell we would generate when we cooked. We showed the Greenbriar developer how we would vent all of the fumes straight out through the ceiling, and we also convinced him that there was almost no food waste from our meals. Within a few months we were already generating more than ten times our base rent. Our early mall restaurants were 1,200, 1,500 square feet, so we had room inside for tables and seats for fifty or sixty customers. We did the cooking out front in plain view of customers in all of our restaurants.
We drew changes on paper then went into our warehouse and built a "restaurant" out of foam core, an Exacto knife, and hot glue. Then we went through all the motions of cooking and serving customers and determined which design would work best. We also had our design people spend a lot of time in the field talking with Operators and seeing how they ran their businesses. experienced Operators know better than anybody how to serve people quickly and efficiently.
We have learned to use messages on bage, boxes, and cups more effectively.
Developers were building fewer malls than they had through the 1970s, and the slowdown in mall development was projected to continue. Our goal at the time was to double our sales over the next five years, so we had to create opportunities beyond the mall environment. At the same time we had a lot of people telling us, "I would eat more frequently with you if it were more convenient." Stand-alone restaurants would cost roughly twice as much to build and open as mall restaurants, but we believed stand-alone locations also had the potential to generate at least twice as much revenue.
With these freestanding units we had to maintain parking lots, heating, and air conditioning, and other systems that had been maintained by mall owners.
The biggest challenge we faced was bringing customers into the restaurant. You see, in a mall, we have thousands of people walking past our restaurant every day - a captive audience. From our first day with our first restaurant, we invited customers in with free samples of our product, "Be Our Guest" cards, and point-of-sale displays with slogans like "Taste It. You'll Love It for Good," all of which generate an almost immediate response. Because most of the people passing our stand-alone restaurants are in cars, it doesn't make as much sense to hand out samples. So we encouraged our Operators to become even more involved in their communities, visiting nearby businesses and giving away even more Be Our Guest cards. Operators also support community schools, churches, and civic organizations.
Example #1 of Be Our Guest card
https://www.reddit.com/media?url=http...
Example #2 of Be Our Guest card
https://imgur.com/rrLrsoK
Truett went from flipping burgers and scrambling eggs in a mom-and-pop business called the Dwarf House to being CEO of a nearly $£ billion business.
1967 the first Chick-fil-A restaurant in a shopping mall.
Truett noticed a trend. In 1970 consumption of beef per person dropped 15 percent, while consumption of poultry more than doubled, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. These were the same years that Chick-fil-A experienced tremendous growth, from size restaurants to nine hundred fifty eight! "Truett has an uncanny ability to see things others don't."
Truett doesn't plan long term because he likes to take advantage of unexpected opportunities.
If you are burdened with obligations and debt - you have a family, a mortgage, and a car payment - it may be the wrong time to start thinking about establishing a business.
The earlier in life you start, the better your chance for success. I was 25 and single when I started. I didn't owe any money, I even had a little money in the bank, and because I didn't yet have a family, I could devote myself completely to the success of the business.
The scorecard of any business is the profit it produces. Without profit, we cannot take care of our employees, our families, or contribute to the betterment of our communities.
To succeed we knew we had to start small and grow slowly. This is where so many start-up companies today make their mistake. Dreamers dream big, and they want to reach their goals quickly. There's nothing wrong with big dreams. But my experience tells me that we're more likely to reach our dreams if we climb with care and caution, putting one foot in front of the other. knowing you have positive cashflow, money in the bank
I saved $4,000 cash. Then Ben and I borrowed $6,600 from the bank.
We hired a carpenter on a cost-plus-10 percent arrangement. I bought a lot of used lumber for framing - sturdy wood that would be hidden behind walls of the restaurant. We saved additional money by finding used equipment for the kitchen.
We worked alongside carpenters, plumbers, and electricians to get the Dwarf Grill ready to open. We opened twenty-four hours a day. My brother Ben and I rotated twelve-hour shifts.
I gave away a lot of free food. That was the best way to attract customers to a new restaurant and make friends. Once we got customers in the door, we knew we could keep them with good service and good food. That model - offering free food to get people to try us out - would become our model for building a customer base at Chick-fil-A twenty years later.
Drumsticks. If you didn't cook it right, you might still have a little blood down nex to the bone. Often customers, believing that a bit of blood indicated the chicken wasn't cooked enough, would send it back. So the problem wasn't the chicken, it was the bone.
I contacted the owners of Goode Brothers Poultry, a supplier for Delta Airlines. I asked them for a boneless breast with no skin.
Find out what my customers want and then provide it for them. Today we call it "consumer research." Back then I called it "knowing my customers." So when I tried various ways of preparing the boneless, skinless chicken breasts, I always offered samples to customers and asked for their opinions. Each time I changed the recipe, I asked my customers how they liked it and what they thought I might change to make it better.
Our customers were workers from all three shifts at nearby Ford assembly plant and from Delta Air Lines headquarters. They had to eat quickly and get back to work.
Sliced bread didn't stand up to the chicken, so I tried it on a hamburger bun. And mayonnaise got hot and kind of dissolved away, so I tried butter. Customers told me they wanted just a bit more zest. I tried two dill pickles. My customers loved it. Many years later customers began to ask about the fat and calorie content of their food. I selected peanut oil for cooking our chicken because it was the most desirable product and was low in calories. Today we know that the 100 percent refined peanut oil we have always used in not partially hydrogenated. So our chicken is trans fat free. Pressure fryers (Henny Penny fryer) allowed us to cook a boneless chicken breast in four minutes.
I talked to a lawyer about getting a trademark for the name "Chicken Steak Sandwich," but he said a trademark name had to be unique in some way. If I used common words, I would have to spell it in my own way.
We sold the sandwiches in the Dwarf House restaurant, and my original business plan was to license other restaurants to sell Chick-fil-A Sandwiches, like Coca Cola has its products sold in restaurants. I knew that plenty of restaurant owners would attend the Southeastern Restaurant Trade Association convention, so in 1964 I had a display created for the sandwich and I took some equipment to the show and cooked samples. That one event jump-started my efforts, and before long I had more than fifty restaurants and several hotels selling Chick-fil-A Sandwiches. Even Waffle House, which had about a dozen restaurants at that time, put our sandwich on their menu.
I continued calling on restaurants to get them to sell our product. They bought their chicken from Goode Brothers and the coating and spice mixture from us. Then Goode Brothers paid us what amounted to a royalty for the chicken they sold for sandwiches.
Some of the restaurants selling CHick-fil-A Sandwiches didn't have the same commitment to quality that we did. I knew then that if I wanted our product to be known for quality, we were going to have to cook it ourselves.
Ideas for new products come from Store Operators, staff members, and customer surveys.
One of our Operators suggested smaller chicken pieces that people could eat with a toothpick would be popular for company holiday parties. The first suggestion was to sell the pieces in quantities of five and ten pounds. Our team began its research by contacting people we thought would want to buy small chicken pieces: party planners. They learned that the product was desirable, but customers didn't have any idea how many pounds to order for a party. They would estimate, though, how many pieces they would need per person and buy the right amount. So we decided to sell by the piece instead of by the pound.
Before long customers were telling us they wanted CHick-fil-A Nuggets in single meal amounts in the restaurants. Through more customer trials we learned that they wanted the same amount of chicken we served in the CHick-fil-A Sandwich. We introduced Chick-fil-A Nuggets in meal-size portions, and the product was an instant hit. After still more research, though, we found that some customers were buying two orders - one wasn't quite enough - so we introduced a larger portion size.
We had the best sandwich in the quick-serve category, and we wanted our fries to match that. We went to a couple of companies we were buying shoestring potatoes from and said we needed something innovative, high quality, and different that was more nutritious than traditional fries. One company had just perfected technology for double-cutting the potato, and they offered samples. We took them to hundreds of customers and taste panels with two questions in mind: will we sell more of them, and will they strengthen the Chick-fil-A brand?
If the answer to both was yes, we went to the restaurants and tested the product for the better part of two years.
Several years ago I was in a Ritz CArlton hotel, and when I said "Thank you," the man helping me smiled genuinely and replied, "My pleasure." Too often these days, especially in retail situations, when I say, "Thank you," the response is "No problem." Or worse, just a grunt. It seems the best I can hope for is, "You're welcome." I ask our employees to say, "My pleasure" whenever someone thanked them.
Truett gives a Be Our Guest card to anything that moves. And he always carries a bag filled with CHick-fil-A plush Cows.
Be Our Guest cards create opportunities for us to have personal contact with potential customers and offer them an invitation to visit our restaurants. Nothing is more appealing than a personal invitation. In new markets, the BOG card introduces people to our products and our restaurants.
You don't have to make a strong sales pitch. Just ask a simple question introducing the product: "Would you like to try our freshly squeezed lemonade?"
Operators establish goals for speed, and track order accuracy and customer loyalty, then they encourage their crews with incentives.
A lot of customers size up a restaurant by the cleanliness of its rest room.
I've been told that 20 percent of all sales at other quick-serve chains are generated on Sunday. Closing on Sunday gives us an advantage when we're hiring, because people like to know that they'll be guaranteed a day off every week to rest.
A reporter asked her why she is so loyal. "I've never heard Mr. Cathy raise his voice. I don't remember him arguing with anybody. I've never heard him tell somebody to do something."
He mailed out about four hundred birthday cards with handwritten notes to customers every year. He visited them when they were sick and sent food when there was an illness or death. Customers knew we cared.
The most important decision we make at CHick-fil-A is selecting restaurant Operators who care about others, who can motivate their team, and who understand how to run a business. We currently open fewer than one hundred restaurants each year, and we have thousands of people applying to be Operators. That allows us to be extremely selective. "I want you to help me open restaurants and see that they stay open."
We do not require a large up-front franchise fee. We don't need an Operator's money. The Operator pays monthly 15 percent of gross sales for trademark licensing and other services such as marketing and operations support. After paying the costs of running the restaurant - salaries, food, utilities, etc. - the Operator then pays Chick-fil-A 50 percent of his or her restaurant's profits. We've used this arrangement since we opened our first restaurant in 1967, and it still works.
He wants to tell him how we're doing, and he listens intently. He hears between the lines. We're talking about different aspects of business, and his questions show remarkable insight about where we are and where we're going.
Selecting a good location for a restaurant doesn't guarantee success, but a bad location can put you out of business. Ford Motor Company was building a new assembly plant across the street from that location, giving me the opportunity to build a base of regular customers.
The advantages of a mall location appeared obvious. We wouldn't have to sink a lot of capital into real estate, and we would have thousands of potential customers walking right past our front counter. The mall said it was 384 square feet, but I knew it would be big enough for people to come to the counter and place an order.
First I had to convince the mall developer to let me in. He was afraid of the mess our customers would leave behind and the smell we would generate when we cooked. We showed the Greenbriar developer how we would vent all of the fumes straight out through the ceiling, and we also convinced him that there was almost no food waste from our meals. Within a few months we were already generating more than ten times our base rent. Our early mall restaurants were 1,200, 1,500 square feet, so we had room inside for tables and seats for fifty or sixty customers. We did the cooking out front in plain view of customers in all of our restaurants.
We drew changes on paper then went into our warehouse and built a "restaurant" out of foam core, an Exacto knife, and hot glue. Then we went through all the motions of cooking and serving customers and determined which design would work best. We also had our design people spend a lot of time in the field talking with Operators and seeing how they ran their businesses. experienced Operators know better than anybody how to serve people quickly and efficiently.
We have learned to use messages on bage, boxes, and cups more effectively.
Developers were building fewer malls than they had through the 1970s, and the slowdown in mall development was projected to continue. Our goal at the time was to double our sales over the next five years, so we had to create opportunities beyond the mall environment. At the same time we had a lot of people telling us, "I would eat more frequently with you if it were more convenient." Stand-alone restaurants would cost roughly twice as much to build and open as mall restaurants, but we believed stand-alone locations also had the potential to generate at least twice as much revenue.
With these freestanding units we had to maintain parking lots, heating, and air conditioning, and other systems that had been maintained by mall owners.
The biggest challenge we faced was bringing customers into the restaurant. You see, in a mall, we have thousands of people walking past our restaurant every day - a captive audience. From our first day with our first restaurant, we invited customers in with free samples of our product, "Be Our Guest" cards, and point-of-sale displays with slogans like "Taste It. You'll Love It for Good," all of which generate an almost immediate response. Because most of the people passing our stand-alone restaurants are in cars, it doesn't make as much sense to hand out samples. So we encouraged our Operators to become even more involved in their communities, visiting nearby businesses and giving away even more Be Our Guest cards. Operators also support community schools, churches, and civic organizations.
Example #1 of Be Our Guest card
https://www.reddit.com/media?url=http...
Example #2 of Be Our Guest card
https://imgur.com/rrLrsoK
February 23, 2024
A short, quick read. This shares insight into S. Truett Cathy's journey into creating Chick-Fil-A. The book is simple that details the journey toward "a simply concept - a boneless, skinless breast of checkin on a toasted buttered bun with two pickles."
I particularly enjoyed the chapter, "Right Location" as it gave a pseudo-history lesson of the rise of the American mall coinciding with the rise of Chick-Fil-A. The book does a nice job articulating the core values of Chick-Fil-A in terms of service and courtesy, and it does well tying business practices and being a good person to those around us.
One of the things I didn't enjoy is that the book is riddled with quotations from various family members and employees or little anecdotes that seem distracting, especially when the specific line doesn't address what is discussed on the page. These little snippets in the book tries to reinforce the narrative, but it seems like the book is trying to be boastful at times. The quotations and anecdotes became too numerous that after the first couple of pages, I ignored them altogether.
Overall, it's an okay book, and I'd recommend it for Chick-Fil-A fans.
I particularly enjoyed the chapter, "Right Location" as it gave a pseudo-history lesson of the rise of the American mall coinciding with the rise of Chick-Fil-A. The book does a nice job articulating the core values of Chick-Fil-A in terms of service and courtesy, and it does well tying business practices and being a good person to those around us.
One of the things I didn't enjoy is that the book is riddled with quotations from various family members and employees or little anecdotes that seem distracting, especially when the specific line doesn't address what is discussed on the page. These little snippets in the book tries to reinforce the narrative, but it seems like the book is trying to be boastful at times. The quotations and anecdotes became too numerous that after the first couple of pages, I ignored them altogether.
Overall, it's an okay book, and I'd recommend it for Chick-Fil-A fans.
October 23, 2018
Liked Truett's 'Eleven Do's and Don'ts of Proven Success':
1. Don't be burdened with personal debt: car payment, house payment, establish a nest egg, live simple.
2. Start early as a teenager. Concentrate on what brings your happiness in your career. Have a tremendous "want to" - determination.
3. Sacrifice material things. Reward yourself later.
4. Shortcut to success: Observe what is working in the lives of others. Teenagers, observe mature individuals.
5. Don't try to please all people.
6. Set priorities in the proper order.
7. Expand cautiously. Grow your business cautiously.
8. Franchising may or may not be good for your particular business. Use it cautiously.
9. Be prepared for disappointments. Many successful individuals experience failure.
10. Be find to people. Courtesy is very cheap but brings great dividends.
11. Invite God to be involved in every decision. God gives us a brain to use - common sense. You can do it if you want to. God has given each of us a talent. Maybe yours is yet to be discovered. We honor God with our success. He designed us to be winners.
1. Don't be burdened with personal debt: car payment, house payment, establish a nest egg, live simple.
2. Start early as a teenager. Concentrate on what brings your happiness in your career. Have a tremendous "want to" - determination.
3. Sacrifice material things. Reward yourself later.
4. Shortcut to success: Observe what is working in the lives of others. Teenagers, observe mature individuals.
5. Don't try to please all people.
6. Set priorities in the proper order.
7. Expand cautiously. Grow your business cautiously.
8. Franchising may or may not be good for your particular business. Use it cautiously.
9. Be prepared for disappointments. Many successful individuals experience failure.
10. Be find to people. Courtesy is very cheap but brings great dividends.
11. Invite God to be involved in every decision. God gives us a brain to use - common sense. You can do it if you want to. God has given each of us a talent. Maybe yours is yet to be discovered. We honor God with our success. He designed us to be winners.
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