Today, Chick-fil-A is lending its support to the tea party protesters by providing a “free medium iced tea with any purchase.” Twitter user hayley842 posts this picture of a sign observed outside a Chick-fil-A restaurant:
All Chick-fil-A restaurants are independently owned and operated. What Mr. (or Ms.) Shakir is attributing to the entire chain is the promotion one particular operator held. There may have been more than one location across the chain that held such a program, but it was not a corporate program (in my area there was an entirely different “Tax Relief” program sponsored by one or two local operators, but most held no promotion at all). So you can boycott an entire chain because you disagree with some independent owner halfway across the country if you like, but it seems a bit reactionary to me.

1) hanshiro the antlion Says:
Who would eat this crap?!??
The 19 worst drive-thru foods in America
Fast food is easy on the wallet, but it’s no bargain in terms of your health
Worst ‘Salad’
Chick-fil-A Chick-n-Strips Salad with Buttermilk Ranch Dressing
800 calories
60 g fat (12 g saturated fat)
1,745 mg sodium
With 17 more grams of fat than Taco Bell’s Fiesta Taco Salad, this is the worst salad from any drive-thru. The dressing alone sets you back 42.5 grams of fat. Take a look at our list of the worst salads in America and see how this one compares.

This is an ironic case of cherry picking… Chick-fil-A received highest rating of any restaurant in the book cited, “Eat This, Not That”…one of only four restaurants that received an A-. Even more telling is the omission by ‘hanshiro’ of the next statement:
Eat This Instead!
Chick-fil-A Southwest Chargrilled Salad with Fat-Free Honey Mustard Dressing
360 calories
8 g fat (3.5 g saturated fat)
1,170 mg sodium
So while there are some menu items that don’t fit into a diet and fitness regimen, overall Chick-fil-A has better ratings than almost any other restaurant you’d care to name.
2) SKdeAnt Says:
I never heard of this restaurant before, they must have one lousy marketing director!

I’d have to think that “SKdeAnt” (is this another alias for “hanshiro the antlion? There are certainly a lot of ‘ant’ and ‘ant-related’ creatures on here… perhaps that explains all the antagonism. ) is not an authority on marketing. The official mascot of Chick-fil-A, the “Eat More Chicken” Cow is one of the most beloved icons in advertising. The annual Cow Calendar is the top-selling calendar in the world, outselling the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Calendar. The Chick-fil-A Cow was inducted into the Madison Avenue Advertising Walk of Fame with the likes of Tony the Tiger and the Pillsbury Dough Boy in 2007.

That’s not the only company mandate. Chick-fil-A’s corporate mission, as stated on a plaque at company headquarters (and by Cathy), is to “glorify God.” It is the only national fast-food chain that closes on Sunday so operators can go to church and spend time with their families; franchisees who don’t go along with the rule risk having their contracts terminated.

If you look up the Chick-fil-A Corporate Purpose Statement, you’ll find that it is: “To glorify God by being a faithful steward of all that is entrusted to us and to have a positive influence on all who come in contact with Chick-fil-A”. Now unless everyone involved in “Think Progress” is not only atheistic, but anti-theistic I fail to see a problem. It strikes me as admirable to have a purpose loftier than “be bigger and richer than anyone else in the marketplace”. That Chick-fil-A was founded by a Christian man who decided to operate on what he saw as sound biblical principles shouldn’t be considered subversive. They are the same principles that America was founded on 233 years ago, what our judicial system was based on. If you believe Steven Covey’s first premise from “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People”, it is also the same foundation of almost all ‘Success literature’ published prior to the Second World War According to Covey, it was after this time that success publications changed from ‘character-based’ to more of the “How To Win Friends and Influence People”,’ art of manipulating others to achieve your goals’ focus. Again, I’ll look at the former as being more worthy of emulation.
Chick-fil-A, the corporate parent, has been sued at least 12 times since 1988 on charges of employment discrimination, according to records in U.S. District Courts. Aziz Latif, a former Chick-fil-A restaurant manager in Houston, sued the company in 2002 after Latif, a Muslim, says he was fired a day after he didn’t participate in a group prayer to Jesus Christ at a company training program in 2000. The suit was settled on undisclosed terms.

I’ll only ask this: ‘Name one major corporation who has not had a proportionate number of employment discrimination lawsuits’. Unfortunately, this is the state of our litigious society… everyone is looking for the big free payday. Reminds me of a lawsuit against one of their competitors where the plaintiff spilled coffee in her lap and sued the restaurant because- get ready for this- their coffee was hot! Yep, now when you buy coffee all of the cups, lids, stirrers etc. are labeled “Caution: Contents may be HOT!”

tomcat27834 Says:
“Chick-fil-a FOUNDERS” my ass…….the founder is dead! The family is in the INHERITANCE business.
INHERITANCE…. Now you see what Chick-fil-a and John McCain have so much in common…thanks Cindy!

S. Truett Cathy, founder of Chick-fil-A will no doubt be disappointed to hear that, as he is a very active part of the company well into his eighties. His son Dan took over as President some 8 years ago and the business has flourished under his leadership, doubling from $1 billion in annual sales in 2000 to $2 billion in 2006. Additionally, a quick bit of research on the chick-fil-a.com site shows that the company has earned several awards from industry publications, including Fast Company’s inaugural “Customer First” award, QSR magazine’s “Best Drive-Thru In America award and was J.D. Power’s Highest Rated Quick-Service Chain in the South, all under his leadership. Yes, he ‘inherited’ the reins of Chick-fil-A from his father, but he has proved to be a great leader in his own right.
barfly Says:
And the Cathys [sic]also have leadership seminars, that do some mighty stange [sic] things, like taking their top managers on canned hunts, to shoot game that are brought in specifically for that purpose.
Alright, ‘barfly’ makes a pretty provocative charge about ‘leadership seminars’ supposedly held by the Cathy family. I had to ask the longtime Owner/Operator of my favorite Chick-fil-A to check on this one (the rest was mostly quick online research (look it up) done is my copious free time), and was able to determine to my satisfaction that ‘barfly’ has no clue as to what he is talking about. This is apparently a complete fabrication with no basis in reality. I invite ‘barfly’ to site any evidence that he (she?) has to corroborate this story. I’m sure someone they know told them about it.

Well, that’s about all the time I’m willing to spend doing other people’s research for them. Take these attacks against Chick-fil-A for what they’re worth.
I’m sure with the feathers I’ve ruffled here there will be personal attacks of the same sort that were directed at Chick-fil-A… go ahead, I won’t be wasting any more time reading this petty garbage after this. Like I said at the beginning, I only stumbled over this malignant site by accident… not one I intend to repeat.

Shalom

Chick-fil-A is in business to do what. Make money.

You’d think that, but there are a number of businesses which still put their owner’s politics ahead of the long term best interest of their company. Some on the left as well. It happens. Over time, such businesses tend to cease to exist, but new imbeciles pop up spontaneously.

It drives me crazy but, well,I might complain to the company; that makes sense. But I’m not sure that I would go so far as to boycott it. Why? Because at some point we won’t have any more companies to really boycott; we’ll have boycotted them all. I may not like Wal-Mart’s treatment of employees (I Used to work there) and other craziness but, hell, the prices are good and for the first time in my life I can actually find nice clothes for my fat self.

Boycotts do have there place but it really should be for more important reasons than a company’s bias. Particularly this company; it’s not worth. Besides, how often do any of us really go to a Chik-Fil-A?

Oh and by the way, for those of you who find liberal boycott of this company to be hypocritical, I agree. O’Reilly and other Republican boycotts of French products were totally idiotic. I love France. (YES! I admit it! I love the French! Now you know my evil socialist ties! Muahahaha!)

If the promotion was a bit more offensive–maybe a “Fight Against Burger Fascism, Vote More Chicken!” with Obama’s face on the Burger King’s body–and statewide or nationwide, then I’d see a reason to revolt against them. This is just the chain in one area trying to use their surroundings to make a buck.

Besides, while their chicken is expensive, their waffle fries are pretty darn good with BBQ sauce.

Maybe we should call it “Church Feel Ay!?”

‘-b

Terrible, cold food, never had one hot; never go back.

60: Tim43 Says:
GIVE ME A BREAK. You left wing extremests are protesting a company for standing with the tax payers for its constitutional rights?

Umm, chucklehead, what is this protest really about? The right of the government to collect taxes is written into the Constitution. They help pay for those great socialist institutions of the US Military, Public Schools, roads, Social Security, Medicare, etc.

Tim43 Says:

GIVE ME A BREAK. You left wing extremests are protesting a company for standing with the tax payers for its constitutional rights?

Well I’m not a “left wing” anything. I’m an independent.

And the 50 chuckleheads standing around in the rain in downtown DC this morning do not constitute the “Taxpayers”.

In fact, they’re complaining about paying taxes, which makes them “anti-tax payers”.

The MAJORITY of Americans, support the President.

:|

Oh yea, and extremests is spelled “extremists”.

I eat there all the time.

But now I Waynebro, hereby declare before all witnesses present, that I will never eat there again.

April 15th, 2009 at 1:33 pm
____________

No, I’m boycotting a company for being run by whacko Jesus freaks. While they are certainly entitled to the liberty and freedom to support the causes they want, they are not entitled to receive a dime from me.

Speaking of jokes, you obviously haven’t looked in a mirror lately.