The 9 Biggest Complaints Customers Have About Chick-Fil-A

Chick-fil-A might be one of the fast food chains that customers trust most for quality, but that doesn't mean it's perfect in every way. In fact, there's a lot that customers don't like about Chick-fil-A, even if they keep returning for their favorite menu items, from the iconic chicken sandwich to the various side dishes the chain offers. We've decided to take a closer look at the biggest complaints that customers have with Chick-fil-A. Some of these complaints are about the food itself, while others criticize the stance that Chick-fil-A has taken on political issues. Still others are concerned about the supposed healthiness (or lack thereof) of the food, while others complain about the labor conditions Chick-fil-A employees must contend with.

If you're a Chick-fil-A goer who sometimes gets frustrated with the brand, you might find yourself agreeing with a lot of these points. Perhaps you'll even learn some new facts about the fast food restaurant that make you question whether it's still worth it to eat there or not. Regardless, knowing about the top complaints customers have about this brand can give you more context about what to try, what to avoid, and maybe when to skip your Chick-fil-A run altogether.

Perhaps the No. 1 complaint customers have about Chick-fil-A is the fact that the entire restaurant chain is closed on Sundays. No, you can't just drive to the next-closest location and get your chicken sandwich craving met on a whim on a Sunday, because it's actually a company-wide policy to close on Sundays. In fact, this policy has been in place since the first restaurant opened in 1946. Chick-fil-A's founder, S. Truett Cathy, had worked in restaurants that were open 24/7, and he believed that his employees needed a day to rest and rejuvenate — and also to worship, if they so pleased — once a week. Thus, Chick-fil-A has always been closed on Sunday and likely will be for the foreseeable future.

Of course, Chick-fil-A fans generally don't love this policy, as it means there's one day a week they can't get their chicken fix. And if you've ever found yourself craving Chick-fil-A on a Sunday, then you know how annoying it is to know that you won't be able to get it until the following day. However, we have to admit that the fact that this fast food company still upholds this value after being on the fast food scene for so long is admirable. Considering that in 2019, it was estimated that the chain loses out on about $1 billion in sales every year because of this policy, we respect that Chick-fil-A still gives its employees one day off every week.

Chick-fil-A has faced its fair share of controversies, but supporting charities that had problematic stances on LGBTQ+ issues is one of the biggest. The chain has donated to organizations like the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) and the Salvation Army, both of which have communicated arguably anti-gay stances. In 2012, then-CEO Dan Cathy said that the company was "guilty" of donating to these organizations, and the response from the public was not good. A poll even indicated that customer perception of the brand had dropped 20 points in response to the admission from Cathy.

In 2019, the company announced that it would stop donating to these charities, but the company still faces criticism for its problematic stance on such a polarizing issue, including calls to boycott the company. The company has also been accused of LGBTQ+ discrimination, indicating that its political viewpoints might have bled over into actual treatment of employees. Even now, there are still people who have decided not to eat at Chick-fil-A specifically because of these policies.

Fast food prices — like seemingly everything else — are on the rise, which means that a lot of customers are paying closer attention to the value they feel like they're getting when they go out to eat. After all, if you're paying a premium for your food, you want to make sure that you're actually getting your money's worth. However, at Chick-fil-A, a lot of customers feel like they're not exactly getting what they're paying for. There are multiple posts from Redditors who claim that the chicken sandwiches at the chain are getting smaller. Customers view this as shrinkflation, and some have said that they stopped going to Chick-fil-A specifically because of this problem.

It seems like it's not just the fact that sandwich sizes are smaller at Chick-fil-A that is upsetting customers. It's also the suggestion that Chick-fil-A may be trying to make this change covertly, which seems sort of secretive and dishonest. If customers order a sandwich thinking that they're going to get a certain amount of food, only to discover that their sandwich is actually a lot smaller, they're going to be disappointed. While it's not clear if Chick-fil-A is actually serving smaller sandwiches or not, enough people online are complaining about their size that we really have to wonder whether shrinkflation is happening at this fast food chain or not.

It's not a secret that a lot of fast food workers face labor rights violations. Working in a fast food restaurant can be grueling work, and wages tend to be quite low. It shouldn't come as a big surprise to learn, then, that some Chick-fil-A employees say that they haven't been treated well by the company. On Indeed, some employees complain about the way they're treated by management, and others have taken to Reddit to recount their negative experiences working for the restaurant. 

One commenter claimed to have worked in a back-of-the-house position at Chick-fil-A and claimed it was the worst treatment they've endured. Another said that the treatment can be really hit or miss, depending on which location you're working at, and that they'd had both positive and negative experiences working at Chick-fil-A. Of course, Chick-fil-A works under a franchise model, so employee experience almost certainly varies between stores.

In May 2026, an employee sued a Chick-fil-A franchisee for forcing them to work during the Sabbath. The employee had disclosed their religious affiliation during their interview, but was still forced to work on Saturdays. You'd think that an organization that gives employees Sundays off would be willing to extend similar grace to various faiths, but that's allegedly not always the case.

If you're a fan of Chick-fil-A, then you likely already believe that the chain can make a solid chicken sandwich. However, these chicken sandwiches are not known for piling on a ton of different ingredients. On the most basic version that the chain sells, the only topping you're getting is pickles. Admittedly, the combo of plain chicken and pickles is one that we actually really love, but after you've eaten it several times, it can probably get boring for some customers. When you want to make things a bit more interesting, you might order the deluxe version of the sandwich, which gives you lettuce, tomato, and American cheese in addition to those pickle chips. Still, though, these are pretty simple toppings.

Maybe that's why some Redditors have taken to the platform to opine that the restaurant should actually add your sauces to the sandwich for you. Although you can get plenty of sauces on the side, they don't actually come on the sandwich when you order it. Others have asked the internet what toppings they wish Chick-fil-A had for their sandwiches, and commenters had a ton of suggestions, ranging from banana peppers and jalapenos to garlic aioli and onion.

Depending on your local Chick-fil-A, wait times at the drive-thru might be quite long. This is especially true during particularly busy times of the day and week — you might have noticed this if you've ever tried to go through the drive-thru there on a sunny Saturday. But obviously, when people have to wait a long time for their food, they're generally not going to be very happy about it. Some customers on Reddit have questioned the logic behind Chick-fil-A's apparent drive-thru policy: Why are there people out there taking your order instead of just allowing you to order at the display sign as you do at most other fast food restaurants?

This policy is perhaps why other Redditors have taken to the platform to complain about how long they've waited in the drive-thru line at Chick-fil-A, with one poster stating that they sometimes wait over 30 minutes, even late into the evening, although it's not clear what they ordered. Another Redditor claimed that they often wait over 10 minutes for an order as simple as a sandwich and fries. Hopefully, your local Chick-fil-A doesn't have long wait times at the drive-thru, but we totally understand your complaints if you're sitting around waiting for your food to come out for too long.

Listen, we love it when a fast food restaurant attempts to put apparently healthier options on its menu. And considering the kale craze of the 2010s, we're not too surprised that kale eventually made it onto the menu at Chick-fil-A in the form of its Kale Crunch salad. This salad is as basic as it gets: It's just a bunch of kale, some roasted almonds, and a vinaigrette on top. It's not exactly the most exciting side dish we've ever seen, but in theory, it shouldn't be bad. Right?

Well, according to some Chick-fil-A customers, this salad is not one of the tastier items on the menu. One Redditor questioned who was even buying this salad, especially when they consider the side salad to be so much better. Another commenter who claims to be a former employee said that at their location, they sold a lot more side salads than Kale Crunches.

On another Reddit thread, a poster said that anybody who's ever recommended a Kale Crunch salad to them needs to apologize because they disliked it that much. They said that it was difficult to chew and ultimately "tasted like [two] packs of buttcheeks." We've also tasted the Kale Crunch salad, and sadly, we can confirm this claim.

At one point in Chick-fil-A's history, the company pledged not to use chickens that had been treated with antibiotics. The reason was simple: It didn't want to contribute to growing levels of antibiotic resistance that stem from the overreliance on antibiotics in factory farming. With this pledge, the company assured customers that it wouldn't use any chickens that had been given antibiotics that were "important to human medicine." However, in March 2024, the chain decided to roll back this policy because of sourcing issues.

Many customers did not react well to the news, viewing it as another sign that Chick-fil-A was sacrificing quality for concern about its bottom line. Redditors took to the platform to complain about the decision, with the OP on a post commenting, "It's a shame to see them prioritizing profit over what's best for people and the planet." Another commenter brought up the concern about sandwich sizes getting smaller over time, writing, "Their shrinking sandwiches with increasing prices have had me convinced they're prioritizing profits for a while now." Ultimately, it shouldn't come as a surprise that customers aren't going to be happy when it appears as if a company is giving them a worse-quality product but charging the same or more for it.

Chick-fil-A probably isn't the first place you think of going when you're in need of some fast food coffee, but when you're ordering breakfast there anyway, it only makes sense to grab a cup of joe while you're there. But if you're like a lot of Chick-fil-A customers, you might not be particularly happy with what you get. One customer took to Reddit to question why their Chick-fil-A coffee tasted like it had been filtered with cardboard. Another commenter replied that they shouldn't expect great coffee from a chicken restaurant anyway.

In another Reddit thread, a customer wondered why the chain's iced coffee specifically was so bad, saying that it tasted downright disgusting. Considering that iced coffee seems like a pretty easy drink to pull off, that's a pretty significant complaint. Someone replied to them saying that all of Chick-fil-A's coffee is awful anyway. And still another poster — on the Chick-fil-A subreddit itself — claimed that they had a controversial opinion, then said that the coffee at the chain was disgusting. Many Redditors agreed with that sentiment, which reveals that it's probably not all that controversial an opinion at all.