Chick-Fil-A Working to Solve their Big Issue of Long Drive Thru Lines
Chick-Fil-A is very much beloved in East Texas. What's not so loved is the long line that leads into the drive thru. It can extend beyond the restaurant parking lot into a busy street. It can be very frustrating especially if you're just trying to get where your going with as little of a headache as possible. The company IS working to alleviate that problem which will make many East Texans happy if it works out.
There are two major problem spots for Chick-Fil-A's in East Texas, South Broadway in Tyler in front of Broadway Crossing shopping center and Loop 281 and 4th Street in Longview. During the weekly lunch rush and any Saturday, the lines to get into the drive thru will back up into the roadway. If you're just driving through the area, it's best to move into the center or left lane to avoid being stopped for a while.
It can be super frustrating if you do get stuck in that line especially if its during your lunch break and you just want to get back to work.
There's a big drive-off factor: We estimate about 30% of the people are ... driving away, because the lines are so long.
Chick-Fil-A chairman, Dan Cathy, told Atlanta Business Chronicle, "There's a big drive-off factor: We estimate about 30% of the people are ... driving away, because the lines are so long." The company is working on a solution called The Express Lane. The idea is to make your order through the Chick-Fil-A app and instead of going through the drive thru, go to a designated spot to pick up that order.
Sounds great in theory.
Some people do express concern that those that order through the app simply won't follow instructions when they arrive at the restaurant and go through the drive thru anyway. Makes sense. People are not the best at simply following instructions.
We've seen employees outside with tablets that will take our order at our car, pay for it right there with our card, get our condiments then move through to pick up our order at the window. The Chick-Fil-A on South Broadway in Tyler even added a covered area outside of the two designated drive thru lanes to make a third lane. It does help somewhat.
The bottom line is Chick-Fil-A is aware of its drive thru issue and is trying it's best to remedy the problem. Until then, we'll just have to grin and bear it as we move through that long line.