BRINGING SOUTHERN HOSPITALITY UP NORTH...REALLY?

 

     I will never forget my first orientation with Chick Fil-A Port Jefferson, my first Chick Fil-A job. Our owner/ operator Stan met with our entire team in the restaurant on a Saturday and he made a comment that always stuck with me. He said, "We want to bring Southern Hospitality up North to Long Island." I thought to myself 2 thoughts. The first one was "Seriously?" The second one was "Good luck with that one!" The goal was to show people how we can spread kindness in a chicken restaurant on Long Island in a place where "kindness" was foreign to many. If you live on Long Island and maybe go to a McDonalds or another fast-food place, you will probably not hear "My pleasure" or "Thank you" very often. I would have to guess not at all! I will never forget guests at Chick Fil-A asking me if I was from the south being that I was so kind to them. When I told them I was born and raised in the Northeast, they were shocked! All they kept saying was, "But you are all so nice here!"

     When we opened Chick Fil-A Port Jefferson, I was amazed how the trainers, who were sent to us from all over the country had patience, understanding and didn't let people get to them. I will never forget a gentleman screaming at one of the trainers about how they incorrectly made his salad. This man went on and on complaining. You would have thought someone in the kitchen purposely made his salad wrong to just annoy him.  I was shocked when this one trainer just smiled and told this gentleman he was sorry, and they would make his order right for him. WHAT? If I had the nerve, I would have told this man "Dude, just chill out. It's a mistake. People make mistakes. Stop acting like you are 10 years old. You are a grown man for crying out loud! Get over it! Why do you feel the need to yell!" Seriously, when you are dealing with the general public, you are not encouraged to use words like "Can't, "Won't" and "Never." But as a Chick il-A Team Member, you are encouraged to show Southern Hospitality 24/7. But in New York? Can it be done?

     So, what exactly is this thing we call "Southern Hospitality/" Chick Fil-A does have one thing they teach that I find very fascinating. It is called the "Core 4." There are 4 things they require from every employee whether you work in the Front of House or Back of House. The core 4 is this:

1. Share a smile

2. Speak enthusiastically

3. listen attentively

4 Give good eye contact  

     Being trained at Chick Fil-A, it was ingrained in all of us as team members to practice The Core 4 on a daily basis and yes, even to our fellow New Yorkers. Was it easy? Absolutely not! One thing I did find is many New Yorkers came to Chick Fil-A not only for the food, but because they wanted to be treated well. They wanted to experience Southern Hospitality in New York. I will say in my 9 years working at 2 Chick Fil-A'a in New York, every team member, manager, assistant director and directors certainly did their best to see to it that we did in fact show Southern Hospitality to our fellow New Yorkers. It did not come easy, but we did all we could to see it happen! So, can it be done? Yes, but it certainly did not come easy!

HAVE A BLESSED WEEK! THANK YOU FOR READING MY BLOG!!