14 Things Chick-Fil-A Employees Want You To Stop Doing

We don't know if you're aware, but people really love Chick-fil-A. The company routinely tops the American Customer Satisfaction Index for being the fast food joint that people love eating at the most, and that's largely due to its excellent service standards and the friendliness of its employees. You may be having a good time when you eat at Chick-fil-A, but there are plenty of occasions when your server is not. Like any fast food restaurant, Chick-fil-A has its fair share of customers who unintentionally cause stress and irritation to the people who work there, and they can do it in the most unassuming ways.

A lot of things that annoy Chick-fil-A employees are fairly common at other fast food places, like not checking the menu before you get to the front of the line or ordering a huge meal in the middle of the lunch rush. However, other things can be a little more specific to the restaurant itself. Getting the breakfast time wrong, vaguely asking for "extra" Chick-fil-A sauce, or requesting a straw when it's already in the takeout bag are classic issues that Chick-fil-A employees face time and time again. Want a peaceful experience when you're out eating your next Chick-fil-A sandwich? Make sure to avoid these common mistakes.

Chick-fil-A breakfast is the stuff of legend, with the Chicken, Egg & Cheese Biscuits and Chick-n-Minis standing out as unique in a crowded fast food market. So it's no wonder that people are keen to order it outside the established times the restaurant designates. Unfortunately, if you do this, you're gonna annoy your server — especially if you lie and say you were already in the store before breakfast service ended. People using this excuse is one of the most irritating things that Chick-fil-A workers have to deal with, as one of them revealed on a Reddit post. Commenters noted that some customers have even turned on the waterworks to try and get their breakfast fix, even though it's clear they hadn't arrived in time.

Unfortunately, Chick-fil-A servers are a little more savvy than that, and a lot of them may not have the power to override company policy and serve breakfast whenever you want. The key is to get there well in advance of 10:30 a.m., which is when the Chick-fil-A breakfast menu ends. If you come after that, you'll have to order from the lunch menu.

Look, we've all been there. We wander into a fast food restaurant, unsure of what we want to eat — and promptly get distracted while we're waiting by something on our phones. Then, before we know it, we're at the front of the queue and we're staring at an irritated employee who's waiting to take our order, with a collection of equally-irritated people behind us who want their meal.

Sound familiar? Well, if it does, you've probably annoyed your Chick-fil-A server. We understand why they'd be annoyed; after all, you've had all of that time to look at the massive menu behind them while you've been waiting (potentially considering Chick-fil-A's returning fall menu), so why are you only now deciding? What annoys Chick-fil-A employees even more is when customers ask them what they sell when they get to the front of the line, when they can clearly see what's on offer from the moment they walk into the restaurant. It's totally natural to take a second or two to confirm your choice when you get to the front — after all, you want to make sure you've made the right call — but try to be decisive about it.

Do you like people being rude to you at your job? No? We thought that might be the case. So why do some people think it's acceptable to be rude to others at their place of work? This is something that many Chick-fil-A employees have to deal with. Apparently, the restaurant's reputation for excellent customer service has led some folks to think they can get away with anything when they're ordering, which leaves the people working there seriously frustrated.

Various employees have flocked to explain their customers' rudeness on message boards online, and honestly, the way people behave is pretty wild. "I am catching myself rolling my eyes because I just can't believe people can be so rude. 'Hi, how can I serve you today?' And they literally don't make eye contact with me, or if they do they just don't say anything," said one employee on Reddit. The employee went on to mention that some customers roll their eyes when they try to clarify their order, while others complained about people openly talking on the phone while they order their food. We get that we're all busy and have loads of stuff to do — but remember that you're ordering from a human being, not a robot.

It's no wonder that people love ordering extra Chick-fil-A sauce: That stuff is pretty sensational, and grabbing the packets is way better than buying the bottled version. When you're ordering it, though, you might want to be a little bit more specific. One uniquely irritating quirk that some customers have is that they ask for "extra" Chick-fil-A sauce without saying exactly how much they want. "I don't know why but when people ask for nuggets with extra Chick-fil-A sauce, it frustrates me, because I have no idea what extra would mean. Why not just give me a number of how many Chick-fil-A sauces you would like?," explains one employee on Reddit, with another commenter affirming that this is probably the most annoying thing they have to deal with.

It may not sound like it's that big of a deal when customers do this, but think about it from your server's perspective. They've likely been working a long shift, thinking about several different things at once, and keeping an eye on various orders coming out of the kitchen. Why make things more difficult for them? Plus, if you only need one or two extra sauces, then asking for "extra" and ending up with half a dozen will just be wasteful. Just specify how many packets you want.

You wanna know the quickest way to make yourself unpopular in a Chick-fil-A? Go in at the height of the lunch rush and put in an order for your whole office. Placing a massive order when the restaurant is at its busiest is a habit that multiple Chick-fil-A employees have named as their pet peeve. What's even worse is when the customer in question gets angry that their order is taking a long time. Well, duh. It's big.

The issue with putting in a huge order in the middle of the lunch rush is that it knocks back everyone else's order, too. As such, your server won't just be having to deal with trying to get your food out in time, but they'll also be having to handle other customers who might be getting irritated that their simple order is taking longer than usual. We totally understand that sometimes, big orders at lunch can't be helped — but if you know you have to get a load of food for people, it's good manners to call the store first to check how busy they are. Alternatively, stay at home and try cooking from the Chick-fil-A cookbook.

Want a straw? No worries, your server's got you covered. Chick-fil-A employees routinely put straws in your takeout bag when you've ordered a drink. Despite this, way too many customers question the fact they've done this, and ask for one anyway — which is a real pet peeve of the people who work there. "When you hand a guest their bag and they ask 'Can I get a straw?'.....it's in your bag. Like I'm not gonna hand you your drink and bag and tell you to have a great day, THEN hand you a straw," one employee said of the main thing that annoys them on Reddit.

The employee went on to say that it's also pretty frustrating when customers ask if a certain sauce or utensil is in the bag, when the person serving them didn't pack the bag themselves. We have a simple way to get around this one, folks. Just check your bag before you leave the store. If the stuff you need isn't in there, go back and ask for it.

Ordering at a Chick-fil-A drive-thru can be pretty confusing, no matter how many times you've done it before. You're unsure about whether the person at the other end can hear you or not, you don't know exactly when to speak, and you're not certain about the volume you should use. Well, we have a tip for you. If you're ordering at Chick-fil-A, a good place to start is by not rushing into your order angrily, and assuming that the person on the other end is ignoring you. To the employee on the headset who's taking your order, this can feel pretty rude — especially if they're working on something else.

@jchughes

Things that annoy Chick-fil-A Employees pt. 2 #fyp #cfa #Chickfila #drivethru #mypleasure

♬ original sound – Carrington Hughes, BSN, RN

This annoyance, which was explained on TikTok by user @jchughes, is made even worse if you then don't actually know what you want. You've rushed them into speaking to you, and now you're making them wait — doesn't sound fun, does it? Instead, just take things slow, and wait for the person on the other end to indicate that they're ready to take your order. You'll all have a better experience.

Ordering your salad item-by-item is something that annoys Chick-fil-A employees, but it could also apply to virtually any other fast food restaurant out there. Way too many Chick-fil-A servers have had to go back-and-forth with their customers, putting in or removing salad items one at a time, instead of the customer just saying everything they want in one go. What's potentially even more annoying is when a customer adds a single item like grilled chicken at the very end of the order, instead of just mentioning it at the beginning.

Look, we understand why people do this. They think it's easier for the server to hear the order one at a time, so they don't have to remember everything. The thing is that they probably do remember everything. People who work in customer service generally have great memories — they have to remember the various things they need to do and orders they need to fulfill. Plus, if they don't remember what you asked for, they'll double-check with you or ask you to repeat it again so they don't get it wrong.

If you're ordering at Chick-fil-A, especially if you're ordering from the drive-thru, you're likely to be asked your name at some point. One of the most annoying things you can do is respond not with what your mama called you, but with your order instead. This is something that is universally irritating to Chick-fil-A servers, who also get pretty exasperated when people respond to the question of whether they're dining in or taking their food out by giving their order instead.

This is annoying for two reasons. The first is that they kinda need your name, or the answer to your question. Without it, they have to rely on remembering your face, and how are they gonna do that if you're ordering from the drive-thru? Plus, if another member of staff is taking over for them, they need your name even more. The second reason, though, is that failing to respond with your name when you've been asked is just kinda rude. Make everyone's lives easier, and tell them what you're called — or give a fake name if you don't want to reveal your true identity. Just remember it when they call it out.

Are you hankering for a Happy Meal? Maybe you're in the market for a Whopper, McNuggets, or some Arby's Sauce instead? Well, if you are, then you'll need to go somewhere that isn't Chick-fil-A. People ordering fast food items that aren't made by Chick-fil-A is a strangely common occurrence. Whether it's people thinking that they're being funny, or folks who genuinely think that you can get whatever you want at a Chick-fil-A, it's a surefire way to make the employees there pretty irritated.

If you want our advice, it always pays to check out the menu before you head into your chosen store. That way, you'll avoid embarrassing yourself, and you'll also make you and your server's life so much easier. Plus, if you know you want something from another fast food restaurant, just go to that one instead — or try and find a Chick-fil-A that's close to other fast food places, so you can make your decision when you get there. Also, don't ask the server if there's anything they sell that's like what you'd get at another fast food joint. That's just annoying.

So here's the thing about people who work at Chick-fil-A: They likely know a little more about how the food should be cooked than you do. Despite this, a lot of people still take it upon themselves to lecture their servers about how the burgers, fries, or biscuits should be prepared — and you can guarantee that it'll make the staff pretty angry. "Earlier today some guy wanted his fries crispier (we can't do well-done at our location)," says one employee on Reddit of a recent experience of this behavior. "So, as I was waiting for a fresh batch to be cooked, he decided that now would be a good time to lecture/mansplain to me how oil works, and why his fries were floppy and why his sandwich wasn't crunchy."

Honestly, how irritating is that? We can understand why some people are a little upset when their fries aren't as crispy as they'd like. However, this is the risk you take when you order from a fast food place, people. Let them do it their way, and if there's a major issue then say something. If not, go and make the fries at home.

As you might expect from the name, "fast food" is fast. It's not just that the food is made quickly, either: Orders are taken speedily, food is usually wolfed down pretty rapidly, and when it's time to pay things move at a lightning pace. However, you can slow it down a lot on that last step by not having your payment ready, and this is a small but intensely annoying quirk of some customers that makes Chick-fil-A employees roll their eyes.

Not having your payment ready isn't the worst thing in the world, but it's definitely avoidable. It'll likely take a while to get to the front of the queue, so just get your card or cash out while you're doing that. Plus, if you do have to root around in your bag for your payment method (which is understandable), the least you can do is acknowledge the person that's waiting for you to pay. A quick apology goes a long way.

If you're grabbing a to-go order, you probably don't want to be waiting around too long. We get that. However, do you know how annoying it is not to park your car while you're waiting? One of the most irritating things they have to deal with on the job, according to a Chick-fil-A employee on Reddit, is "the cars that refuse to park because they are waiting for their triple-well done fries and well done fresh-cooked sandwich with 85 cfa sauces." Instead, these cars idle in the middle of the parking lot.

This is more than just an irritation: It's also a traffic flow issue. If you've left your car in the middle of the parking lot, or someone else is sitting there waiting for you, then you're getting in the way of everybody who's trying to get in and out of the store. If you're not careful, this can cause a blockage of cars and stop people from getting their food — and in the worst case scenario, it can mean that someone's vehicle gets dinged as they try to move around. We know you're in a hurry, but please, just park your car.

Everyone likes to get a bit of money off their order — it's just human nature. However, the cold, hard truth is that not everyone's entitled to a discount all the time. At Chick-fil-A, employees have to deal with more than their fair share of people claiming they're owed a discount when they have no reason for getting one, and it's something that they'd really wish people would stop trying to do.

People claiming discounts is especially common amongst customers who are adjacent to jobs that are entitled to one. For example, if you have a job that would make you a first responder, like being a police officer, fireman, or a member of the EMS, you should be able to get some cash off your meal. However, if you're a security guard or a detention officer, you won't be allowed one. This doesn't stop people still trying to skim money off their orders and getting aggressive toward servers when they get rejected. Don't be that guy.