Categories: Community

Chick-fil-a Has Friday Fundraiser

On Friday, March 9th Gilmer County’s Chick-fil-a restaurant participated in a fundraiser to raise money for the death of nine year old Deborah Carroll. Deborah, a student of Ellijay Elementary, unexpectedly died of appendicitis on Saturday, February 11th. After hearing the news, Chick-fil-a decided to donate 10 percent of its sales to Travis and Jessica Carroll, the parents of Deborah, in a fundraiser on Friday. Chick-fil-a owner and operator Wayne Greer said he first heard of the Carroll family through a customer and then decided to help out with the family’s needs. As of one o’ clock on Friday, Chick-fil-a had around $6,000 in sales; Greer said he expected to end the day at about $12,000.

Chick-fil-a also participates in many other organizations and fundraisers around the community, especially when it comes to the school system. Greer said one of the main things they do for the school system involves a fundraiser called “spirit night”. Greer said that on spirit nights, Chick-fil-a will donate 10 percent of its sales on any specific night around 4 to 10, giving students and teachers an opportunity to come in and raise money for their school.

Greer told FYN that Chick-fil-a has a term it uses called “Operation of Excellence”, meaning Chick-fil-a emphasizes on certain areas when providing customer service such as taste of food, cleanliness of service, and speed of service. In fact, Greer also told FYN that just this past year Gilmer County’s Chick-fil-a ended up with the second highest score out of 1600 locations in a survey where customers rate the staff’s performance on customer service. For having this kind of score, Chick-fil-a received an award for being one of the top ten Chick-fil-a’s in the nation, and also an award for the most improved Chick-fil-a of the year.

Greer said he first started out in the Chick-fil-a business in Atlanta at a South Lake Mall store after working 28 and a half years with Sears. Greer said he then decided to move back to his home in Alabama to run a mall store before operating a free standing store there for ten years. Greer said he then decided to buy a second home in Ellijay before deciding to operate a free standing store here.

All in all, Greer prides himself in his customer service saying he wants his customers to get a total experience when they come to his Chick-fil-as, meaning he wants his customers not just to get good food and be served quickly but to also make sure they are served by friendly and courteous employees in a clean restaurant. When it comes to success, Greer says he realizes the importance of customer service so he puts a lot of emphasis on quality. You may even find at times Chick-fil-a employees providing customer service by doing little things such as asking if they can take your tray at the end of a meal or asking if they can refill your drink, all things Greer find important.