Chick-Fil-A Employees Can't Stand These 11 Customer Habits

Working at a fast food restaurant isn't easy, especially when it comes to a restaurant chain that can be as hectic and fast-paced as Chick-fil-A. Front-of-house jobs at Chick-fil-A often involve long hours, a lot of customer interaction, and low pay. So, when you go to the fast food joint to order food, you don't want to make the employees' jobs more difficult than they already are. Some customer habits — even ones you may think of as totally innocuous — can be a source of stress and aggravation for the workers at your local Chick-fil-A.

We all want to ensure that we're being considerate of the service workers we encounter, which is why we've dug into some Chick-fil-A employee complaints to get a better sense of the behaviors they can't stand. These workers have taken to Reddit to detail some of the customer actions they've found most irritating while working at the fast food chicken chain. By avoiding these behaviors when you eat there, you can make a Chick-fil-A worker's day a little better and better ensure you get better service at the restaurant. You can then make sure to check out these things Chick-fil-A employees know that customers don't.

Out of all the fast food menus out there, Chick-fil-A's menu is arguably one of the most limited. There are definitely some heavy hitters on the menu, but the selection isn't as wide-ranging as you'll find at some other spots. Perhaps this is why so many Chick-fil-A menu hacks require you to ask for a salad bowl on the side. These large bowls allow you to mix different menu items into one dish, letting you create bowls with bases of fries, mac and cheese, and even off-menu salads. However, according to one employee, it's annoying when customers ask for that separate empty salad bowl.

This worker says that they know the salad bowl comes in handy when you want to mix different dishes together, but it's a pain for workers to deal with because the back-of-house staff always complains about it. They even apologized for being annoyed with the request, probably because it seems somewhat reasonable. If you do decide to ask for an extra salad bowl — particularly when it's busy — just accept the fact that the staff might be mildly annoyed with you. If you want to avoid that interaction, you can always bring your own container from home, especially if you plan on eating in the car anyway.

At a fast food restaurant, it's reasonable to expect that you should get your food relatively fast. But that assumption should go out the window when you're rolling up to a Chick-fil-A with a huge group of people without warning. No, we're not talking about you and a few of your friends — we're talking about busloads of people. One Chick-fil-A employee on Reddit said that they work at a mall location, and they've had instances where hundreds of people would descend on the restaurant all at once. Then, when their food took a long time to come out (since it takes a lot of time to make that much food), they'd complain about the wait. Well, what can you expect when you show up with that many people?

That doesn't mean you shouldn't go to Chick-fil-A because you're with a large group. However, it does mean that you should call ahead and inform the staff of how many people you'll be showing up with. That way, the store can be prepared for the mass of orders they'll have to make, and they won't be left scrambling at the last minute. If you neglect to make that call ahead of time, you should expect to wait for a while before you receive your food. In the meantime, don't complain to the front-of-house staff about the wait time — they're likely doing their best to keep up with a big order.

One thing we love about Chick-fil-A? It has some of the best dipping sauces in the game. From the iconic Chick-fil-A sauce (which is an absolute must-try for any Chick-fil-A first-timers) to the Polynesian sauce to the tangy buffalo, there's something for everyone. But if you're going to be ordering sauces with your meal, you should know what you want ahead of time and specify which sauce or sauces you want in your bag. A Chick-fil-A employee posted to a Reddit thread about how they'll sometimes ask some customers if they want sauce. The customer will respond that they do, in fact, want sauce, but won't tell the employee what kind they'd like. This leaves the employee hanging and requires them to ask yet another question when they probably have other customers to get to, so the annoyance makes sense.

Of course, if you have any questions about the available sauces at Chick-fil-A, you should feel free to ask about them. But then, make up your mind, and tell the employee exactly what you want. Making your order as efficient as possible saves everyone time, which means you'll get your food that much faster.

Once upon a time, fast food was known for just how cheap it was. When you were looking for a quick and easy meal that tasted good and wouldn't set you too far back in your budget, fast food seemed like an excellent option. These days, though, fast food prices are on the rise, and Chick-fil-A isn't an exception. We totally understand the feeling of going through the drive-thru and getting sticker shock once you see how much a chicken sandwich costs.

However, that doesn't mean you have to express your displeasure with your meal out loud. A Redditor who worked at Chick-fil-A says that it annoys them when customers comment on how expensive the food is. The employee says that they know the food there is on the pricier side. At the same time, though, they're not the ones setting the prices. How are they even supposed to respond to that kind of comment? It's not like they're going to be able to give customers a discount right then and there.

If the price of your meal is truly higher than you expected, you can politely cancel your order and move on. But if you're going to buy the meal anyway, it doesn't help anyone to complain about the price, and it might bother the Chick-fil-A worker who's helping you in the process.

At some fast food restaurants, you might simply order your meal on a screen, never even talking to anyone who works there until you actually go pick up your food from the counter. But at Chick-fil-A, you're going to be ordering with a real person, and you should treat them as such. What does that mean? Well, for one, it means responding to their basic greetings instead of launching directly into your order.

A Chick-fil-A employee posted to a Reddit thread about some of the customer habits that they couldn't stand, and one of the first things they mentioned is when they start by asking the customer how they are, and the customer immediately starts to order. No "hello," or "good, how are you?" — just straight to "I'll take a spicy chicken biscuit." Is your attempt to keep things efficient and keep the line moving admirable? Sure. But it doesn't feel very good when you're trying to greet someone with the most basic of niceties, and they can't even be bothered to respond back politely.

The next time you're at Chick-fil-A, remember to greet the worker in front of you like they're an actual person. Your order can wait those five seconds it takes to be kind.

There are times when you might be at your local Chick-fil-A, it's particularly busy, and you don't hear the worker calling your name when it's time to come pick up your order. We've all been there before. But if you don't want to annoy the employees who are working at the Chick-fil-A you're at, you should be listening for your name so you can go grab your food right away.

According to one Chick-fil-A worker on Reddit, though, it's really common for customers to totally ignore the worker calling their name. "I [for real] walk up to the car saying, 'Hi, is it for Stephanie?' And she looks at me. But doesn't say anything. Her eyes are distantly smiling. But not really," says the Chick-fil-A employee. Even after repeating the customer's name, the worker says, some people still stare at them with no reaction. "I hand her the food cuz she's the only silver SUV around and she takes it, says thanks, and drives away," says the worker, adding that this happens "like every day."

Don't be a Stephanie. Listen for your name to be called, and be ready to grab your order once you hear it.

It's always fun trying a new fast food restaurant for the first time. And when it's your first time trying Chick-fil-A, you know you're in for a treat. But just because you're not familiar with a fast food menu doesn't mean that you should expect a Chick-fil-A worker to explain all of the restaurant's offerings to you. Unfortunately, per a Chick-fil-A employee and Reddit user, this is not a totally unheard of occurrence. They say that sometimes, customers will divulge that they've never been to Chick-fil-A and ask what the restaurant has. All the while, the menu is right up on the wall behind them.

Now that most of us have pretty stable access to the internet, you can always look up a fast food restaurant's menu ahead of time to get a better sense of what's on the menu. That way, you'll be prepared to order when you arrive. But even if you don't want to do some research ahead of time, you should at least look at the printed menu at the restaurant before approaching the drive-thru or counter to place an order. If you have specific questions, go ahead and ask them, but don't expect a staff member to give you a whole verbal rundown of the menu when you could just look at it and read it yourself.

If you've spent enough time at Chick-fil-A, then you've probably noticed that the workers there all wear name tags. It can be nice to take note of the person's name, even mention it once when you're thanking them for helping you out. But if you keep repeating their name over and over during the interaction, you might end up bothering them. A Redditor who's worked at Chick-fil-A says that sometimes, they'll have a customer — usually older people — who says the employee's name in every part of the interaction. They say that this behavior creeps them out, even if they're not totally sure why.

Apparently, though, there are other Chick-fil-A employees who have experienced that kind of interaction. Another poster also recognized this customer habit and said it was quite weird. It's nice to be friendly, of course, but it's not a good idea to be too personal with someone you don't really know, whether they're taking your order at a fast food restaurant or not — you don't know what's going to make them feel uncomfortable. And whatever you do, it goes without saying that you shouldn't flirt with the workers at Chick-fil-A. They're there to do their job, and you can put them in an awkward position when you act inappropriately toward them at their place of work.

You may have noticed that when you start ordering at Chick-fil-A, an employee will generally ask for a name for the order. This can better help them keep track of each individual order to ensure that they don't get mixed up and that you get everything you ordered. But, apparently, not every customer wants to give their name when they're placing an order at Chick-fil-A. One Chick-fil-A employee says that they'll sometimes ask a customer for the name they want to use for the order, but they just start ordering instead. However, the employee needs their name to move forward with the order, so they're forced to ask over and over again.

When you're placing your order at Chick-fil-A, try your best to listen to what the employee is saying so you can give them the info they need to get you your food faster. This will prevent you from annoying the people who work there, and it'll better ensure order accuracy for you.

If you've never worked a cash register before, then you might not totally understand why it would bother a Chick-fil-A employee if a customer tried to pay them with a $100 bill. But if you have, then you know that breaking a $100 leaves you with very few of the smaller bills you need to balance your drawer during a shift. Breaking your huge bills with a small purchase means that the employee is going to have to give you back a ton of their smaller denomination bills and be left with a large bill that they can't make any change with.

This is why one Chick-fil-A employee says that they're annoyed when customers try to pay with a $100 bill. Of course, this doesn't count if you're actually buying $80 of food — in that case, it's totally appropriate to pair with a larger bill. However, if your whole meal comes in at under $20 and you try to break a $100, it's almost guaranteed that whoever works the cash register will be annoyed.

You're going to Chick-fil-A with a group of your friends, but you're all on a tight budget. Nobody wants to foot the bill for the entire group, so you all just decide to pay for your own meals. It might seem like it makes sense to just go up to the counter one by one to order your meals, with everyone paying separately, but that actually makes Chick-fil-A's employees' lives a lot more difficult. They'll have to punch in everyone's orders one by one, then have them pay separately, instead of being able to take the entire order at once. It only makes sense that a Chick-fil-A employee and Reddit user would find this customer habit bothersome.

So, what's the solution? Well, the easiest way to handle this kind of order is to have someone pay with their card, then have everyone else send them the exact amount of money they owe for their portion of the order via a personal payment app. Of course, this isn't always possible, and you may end up having to split an order up at times. If you do go this route, though, it pays to be extra polite to the staff member who's getting all of those orders in for you.