The Luxury Hotel That Inspired Chick-Fil-A's Iconic Phrase

Linking a five-star hotel with Chick-fil-A may not be an immediate association, but for restaurant founder Truett Cathy, one of the company's most recognizable traits wouldn't exist without a firsthand luxury travel experience. While visiting a Ritz-Carlton, Cathy was impressed by the staff responding to his requests and gratitude with "my pleasure" instead of the more typical phrase "you're welcome." Cathy saw that the gesture wasn't simply about being polite but was meant to convey a practiced warmth and intentionality of service. When Cathy set out to build his own brand, he carried the words with him. To this day, "my pleasure" has become a brand asset to Chick-fil-A. The saying became mandatory company-wide in 2003.

Though managers were initially hesitant to say "my pleasure" to customers, once Cathy's son (who was promoted to CEO) began using the phrase, the practice caught on. But it wasn't just language that Cathy took back as inspiration from the hotel. The service philosophy of the luxury experience — where every opportunity to create memorable moments for guests was prioritized — struck a chord with Cathy. 

Chick-fil-A consulted the Ritz-Carlton's CEO and hired him to teach customer service to employees. As a result of the work, core values were identified, including eye contact and specific ways of speaking. This prioritization of customer service became a part of Chick-fil-A's training curriculum, as Cathy was adamant that quality of food and service should be held at a "Grade A" standard that fully represented the company's name. 

Cathy kept Chick-fil-A as a family-owned entity, and his grandson remains the current CEO. This has meant that decisions could be based on set values, not simply earnings and financial stats. The Sunday closure policy, one of Cathy's longstanding legacies, reflects some of these beliefs. Though Cathy passed in 2014, many of his contributions live on, and the phrase Cathy brought back from the Ritz-Carlton has remained embedded in Chick-fil-A's culture and expectations of employees. Even if borrowing a phrase from a luxury hotel is not well-known, the underlying principles remain baked into business.