With the debut of its second-generation app, Chick-fil-A is giving customers across the chain the ability to place mobile orders—yet those meals won’t be prepared until guests check in at their local restaurant.
Though the chain's pay-ahead customers may still skip the cashier line—the common practice at QSRs that offer mobile ordering—delaying meal prep until they check in via the Chick-fil-A One app helps ensure freshness, Chick-fil-A said in a release.
“We know time is valuable, and we’re excited to offer this new convenience that will empower guests to order what they want, when they want it and exactly how they want it, all from their mobile device,” said Michael Lage, Chick-fil-A’s senior manager of digital experience.
Taco Bell employs a similar delay on mobile orders, while Starbucks’ app gives customers an estimated pickup time once an order's been placed.
Chick-fil-A has made recent efforts to target guests on the go, as the chain modified its service model for the “busy lifestyle” of New York City customers when it opened its first full-scale unit in the Big Apple last fall.
The chain said it began testing mobile ordering in 2013.
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