Ex Chick-Fil-A Employee Reveals Their Darkest Secrets

1. They have strict Christian values

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Chick-fil-A has very religious values which they still impose on their regulations. For example, they are closed every single Sunday due to it being a holy day in the view of Christianity. In fact, if the manager does close down on Sundays, they could terminate the contract.

2. They discriminate against LGBTIQQ in the hiring process

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Chick-fil-A have been called out on various occasions for their controversial views on hiring members of the LGBTIQQ community. This stemmed from the founder having a negative view of the community. But, other's have claimed that many employees are LGBTIQQ.

3. It's a cult!

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There are many claims that Chick-fil-A is actually a kind of cult. In fact one ex employer responded to a comment asking whether Chick-fil-A was a cult and they answered 'yes'. But they stated that they would not give any further details on the matter.

4. They have some questionable views

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Loyalty is huge to Chick-fil-A. And this is understandable as it's hugely important to business. Yet, they seem to promote this to the extreme. An ex-employee claimed that a manager had once told somebody that if you don't intend to be here for life, then you shouldn't even bother applying.

5. Their corporate mission is to glorify God

 

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The founder's religious beliefs would be inconsequential, if it wasn't that they tried to enforce these beliefs upon their company and brand. The corporate mission of Chick-fil-A is to glorify God. And this, comes at the top of their priority list. They expect everybody to also glorify God.

6. Operator's are screened for their Christian values

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Again, the Christian values which are at the core of the business are also used to screen operators. According to ex-employees, some people will not be able to join as an operator of the company if they express that they do not have their own strong Christian values.

7. They prefer married people

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Cathy, who runs Chic-fil-A, prefers to employ married workers. This is because he believes them to be more productive and more loyal. However, it is extremely wrong to employ people based on personal choice or circumstance and the personal details of their life.

8. They pry into people's personal life

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The operator's are interviewed by Cathy. Ex-operators have claimed that during these interviews, they pry deeply into personal life and home details. Which of course, should of course not be relevant to any work interview as it is nobody else's business unless it is to do with something that could affect the person's work.

9. If somebody committed a sin to their family, they could be fired

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Cathy revealed that if he found out that one of his employees had committed a sin against their family, or done something to harm their family - he would strongly consider firing them. Again, this does not work in line with modern rules around disciplining employees, as this would be considered an out of work matter.

10. Chick-fil-A watched it's employees

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According to an ex Chick-fil-A operator, the company watches over you when you are an employee of the company. This person actually stated that 'we are watched very closely by Chick-fil-A', adding, It's very weird'. Chick-fil-A employees don't just feel as though they are watched during working hours, but also outside!

11. They are judgmental

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For example, a Chick-fil-A employee experienced the severe judgment of Chick-fil-A when she found out another other people's experiences whom she worked with. The company wouldn't hire somebody who was a great worker but does something that they consider morally wrong outside of work, for example, such as going to a strip club on the weekend.

12. They funded anti-trans movements

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Chick-Fil-A were found to be funding anti-trans movements. Over the years they were discovered to have given millions of dollars to organisations which promote 'anti-gay and anti-trans thinking, and even things such as 'anti-gay therapy'. They now claim to have stopped this funding, however, it is not certified.

13. They bypass some laws

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Chick-fil-A bypass some laws because their contractors are independent, meaning they are able to dig deeper into personal lives and make personal judgements on hiring, without it being classed as discrimination. Workers, however, do not bypass these laws and so can not be scrutinised in the same way.

14. Chick-Fil-A have been sued 12 times for employment discrimination

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Chick-Fil-A has been sued 12 times for employment discrimination. A manager in Houston of Muslim faith, claims he was fired after he didn't participate in the Christian prayer at a training program. He found to have been fired based purely on his religious beliefs, and therefore sued the company for religious discrimination.

15. Operators are screened with a gruelling process

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Operators have to undergo a gruelling process where they are screened with scrutiny. They have to have multiple interviews, around 15 sometimes, and some of these can be hours long! You may find you have had more than 5 interviews and you still might not get the job at the end.

16. Cathy admitted to being against gay marriage

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COO Dave Cathy admitted to believing in the traditional and biblical view of the family. He further stated that we can't define what a marriage is, only God can. And so, he believes that by redetermining who can get married and be a family, we are going against God's will.

17. They have discriminated against disabled people

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In 2016, somebody claimed that there was a case of discrimination against disabled people. A man with autism reported that the manager had said they were not interested in hiring people with disabilities, and they would not succeed at Chick-fil-A. This is a clear act of discrimination against people with disabilities.

18. So much sodium

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When it comes to the food itself, there are also some dark secrets to know. Chick-fil-A products are actually full of sodium, way over the recommended guidelines. And it's way more than you probably thought. Because, it was massively understated in reports... by up to 650%!

19. They claimed to be healthy

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They have also made some controversial claims and bold statements on their advertisements. They once promoted themselves as healthy, and promoted the fact that they had healthy ideas of living. Understandably, the public and health experts responded badly to these claims which had no scientific founding.

20. They have very high expectations

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Chick-fil-A have high expectations from their employees. For example, the very well know saying of a Chick-fil-A employee is 'my pleasure' which they are expected to say instead 'you're welcome'. But, this is not optional, and if they don't say my pleasure they can get in trouble.

21. They have to deal with abusive customers

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Sadly, it's the reality if many hospitality workers that they have to deal with unreasonable, angry and sometimes abusive customers, on a regular basis. This should not be the case. But an ex employee at Chick-fil-A claimed that she had to deal with angry customers daily who would give her abuse.

22. They had to plead with animal rights activists

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In 2018 there was a huge demonstration outside a variety of Chick-fil-A's. Animal rights activist came together, dressed in costumes of animals which were all covered in blood. They then stood outside the buildings in protest. Chick-fil-A had to plead with them to leave before they called the police.

23. Workers get stereotyped

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One of the sad truth's revealed by ex-employees is that by working there you automatically get stereotyped. People assume that because you are working for Chick-fil-A, that you also embody and stand for the values held by Chick-Fil-A. People may assume that you are anti-gay, something which was experienced by various ex-employees.

24. A woman sued Chick-fil-A for sexism

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One woman sued Chick-Fil-A for discriminating against her because of her sex. She claimed, that Chick-fil-A preferred to hire men, or would sometimes fire women so that they could go and be a good mom and wife in their traditional family - which is a clear act of sexism.

25. Only 41% of executives are women

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This leads on to the shocking fact that only 41% of executives are women, the rest being men. This gap is extremely large, and it could suggest (like the previous point) that Chick-fil-A prefer to hire men due to their outdated beliefs that women should be at home rather than working.

26. There's racism at Chic-fil-a

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One customer experienced racism at one of the branches, when an employee wrote 'China' on his receipt as a racist way to identify him by his race. Also, 59% of workers are white. Which, is a large percentage. Some people suggest that Chic-fil-A should do more to try and make their company more diverse. Other's claim that the foundations and values of the company are based on some racial ideas and stereotypes - however, this has not been proven.

27.  They do not use free range hens

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In 2023, it's widely believed that companies should be promoting animal welfare and using free range hens. But Chick-fil-A use barn hens. However, the standards at Chick-fil-A are better than many fast food chains as they are regulated and do not use cages or antibiotics.

26. It's totally exhausting

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It's completely exhausting to be a Chick-fil-A worker. Ex-employees have discussed that they have to work long hours. And despite the fact that their working conditions are fine and they are usually treated with respect, it's still exhausting. Partly because Chick-fil-A employees are supposed to be known for their cheery persona's which at the end of a long day, and towards rude customers, can be very difficult.

27. People have a huge problem with the company

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When it was proposed that over 20 chains would be opening in Toronto, there were huge petitions taking place. Despite some of Chick-fil-A's controversy's having died down, people are still against it. There are many people who do not forget and will not allow the company to continue discrimination without being questioned.

30. It's not as good as competitors

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One reason ex-employees sometimes do not support the company is because they do not believe that it is as good as competitors who are selling similar fast food. Some believe that the chicken has no taste or flavor in comparison to competitor's. And they suggest the quality is not always as good.