The Age of Chipotle Is Over. The Era of Chick-fil-A Has Begun.
Boycott Chipotle. Eat at Chick-fil-A.
Recently I had the unfortunate experience of attempting to eat at a Chipotle. Keep in mind, along with many other Americans, this used to be my favorite fast-food restaurant in the world, until it fell. At my last Chipotle excursion, even though the restaurant was open at lunchtime, the doors were locked, and the only way to enter was for another customer to open the door for you. The employees were mocking those peering in through the glass and scowling at whoever made it in. Somehow, they still didn’t have steak or guac.
This gave me a bad taste for several months. Then one night I decided to try it again. I ventured to a local Chipotle two hours before closing time; of course, there was no meat left but chicken, and when I asked if there was a wait time for food, the employee looked at me as if I had just asked him to explain how an implosion works.
At another two locations, the situation was even more dire. The lines spilled out the door, with three employees seemingly staffing the entire restaurant. The food tubs were characteristically emaciated, with meat scraps bloodying the steel counter and flies circling about. I didn’t even attempt to order.
I stewed in my car. Suddenly, like a revelation, it hit me: Chick-fil-A was still open. Though it was but 45 minutes before their closing time, I knew their stores of food would be unvanquished, that their brave employees would be holding the line. And I was right. Soon after arriving in their drive-through, a young male attendant floated over to me. “What may I get you sir,” he said, his gentle voice like that of an aristocratic youth, his eyes gentle upturned towards the sky. After thanking him for taking my order, he sang after me: “My pleasure.”
Even though the line was long, it moved in an efficient manner, and my chicken sandwiches were hot and delicious. This was the America I knew—a place where quality food could be ordered from restaurants employing well-mannered youth and managers. Not an extension of urban decay where nothing is managed right, food is always out of stock, and the employees act offended that you’re even there.
Now, before you accuse me of shaming the employees, I actually sympathize with them. Working at Chipotle is no doubt one of the hardest jobs in America: under harsh lights and unrelenting pressure, employees are expected to roll impossibly-sized burritos while obnoxious customers gawk at their orders through the glass, bellowing out corrections or deploying their latest piggish Chipotle “hack,” all the while making sure a complex set of dishes are kept fresh and meats are sizzling on the grill. Yet for all their efforts, the average full-time Chipotle employee salary is approximately $27,000—far lower than the official $35,000 poverty line for a two-child family in America.
This contrast between the two franchises perfectly encapsulates the cultural crossroads that our country stands at. On one side, you have a San Francisco burrito-selling corporation that once set a gold standard, but is now rapidly deteriorating, paying lip service to social justice while exploiting its employees and taking customers for granted.
On the other side, you have a family-owned business with some of the best customer service in America, that for all its “controversy” (like donating to the Salvation Army), takes good care of its workers—Chick-fil-A is known for paying a competitive wage and offering benefits like health insurance, gym memberships, and scholarship funds—all the while giving the entire company a day off on Sunday. They also require owners of each franchise to work at the location full-time, ensuring that they forge a bond with the community. As the fast-food chain that earns the most per restaurant in America, their values exemplify Protestant-practiced capitalism, and their mission statement says that they exist "to glorify God by being a faithful steward of all that is entrusted to us.”
We don’t have to accept our beloved fast-food outlets becoming Chipotle. Let’s promote American renewalism. Let’s promote restaurants where the owners are actually present. Let’s put our dollars where our mouths are, literally.
Boycott Chipotle. Eat at Chick-fil-A.
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