My daughter and I love Chick fil-A and end up going there a couple of times a month as a treat for the both of us. Now, no matter what time I go there, it always seems busy! This has been true in restaurants that I’ve gone to in both California and Colorado. In fact, when I managed a community in Colorado we knew that if we didn’t get to our local Chick Fil-A by 11:15 am, we were going to be stuck in a long line.
Besides the food, I love the level of service that they provide, which is unlike most other fast food restaurants. Let me give you an example: at my local restaurant in Huntington Beach, California associates frequently check on all the diners and ask how things are going and if we’d like them to “refresh” our beverage. Notice, they don’t ask if you want a “refill?”
If you say “thank you” they will always respond with “my pleasure!” Not, “no problem.” Not even, “you’re welcome.” Always, “my pleasure.”
When the lines start to get long and they open up a new register I will often hear, “It’s my pleasure to help you, here.” instead of, “Next in line.”
Little Things Mean a Lot
Isn’t it interesting how subtle the difference between “my pleasure” and “no problem” is-yet doesn’t it make a huge difference? I have been told by a friend of mine who works for Chick fil-A that phrases like “my pleasure” are known as “elevated language” within the company and is drilled into associates as part of their training program. They believe that a fast food restaurant shouldn’t feel like one, so they make sure that all of their associates are trained and encouraged to use elevated language with customers.
I believe that you can use the principle of elevated language in your communities as well. When I managed a community, I created a sheet for my office associates that listed “do not say these” phrases and the alternate phrase that just sounded nicer.
Here are some suggestions on phrases to use and avoid …
| Instead of this | Say this |
| No problem | My pleasure |
| (On the phone) This is Taylor | My name is Taylor |
| I’ll send one of the guys over | One of our technicians will be there shortly |
| You were denied | We were not able to get an approval for your application |
| It looks like you have bad credit | Your application information falls outside of our approval guidelines |
| Yeah, I can do that for you | I’d be happy to help you with that |
| Can I help you? | What can I help you with today? |
| Can I get you water or coffee? | Would you like something to drink? We have coffee or water!
Would you like some refreshments? We have coffee, water and cookies! |
| No | I’m so sorry, I’m not able to do that |
When I started asking the associates that I managed to start changing their verbiage over, they looked at me a little cross-eyed at first-and understandably so! But, when they noticed that they got better reactions from customers and residents they started to buy into it a lot more.
The same thing can happen for you!
What are some of your elevated language phrases? Please share with everyone!
