I don’t know if this varies from franchise to franchise, but I’ve noticed the same thing. There are always plenty of staff ready to take your order, and they are practically Stepford-like in how pleasant and polite they are. That’s not the reason I go, but it does separate them from other fast food places.
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They are universally staffed with friendly servers/order takers. It’s really nice to have a pleasant exchange, even when all you’re doing is ordering a 4 pc. #4 with sweet tea.
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The fried chicken has a very specific flavor from the breading. I live in the heart of Chick-fil-A land (South Carolina, in my case, just outside Charlotte), and I’ve eaten a LOT of fried chicken here. KFC, Church’s, Popeye’s, Bojangles all offer some form of competition to Chick-fil-A, but there simply is no comparison. And the fact that the taste isn’t masqueraded with various condiments is a plus.
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The food in general is good. I particularly love the chicken salad sandwich, served on whole wheat. I regularly eat the strips (breaded fried tenders). They have good salads, too. I’ve never had a BAD Chick-fil-A meal since coming to this area 9 years ago. Can’t say that about any other fast food joint.
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Waffle fries. They do them quite well. They are the first thing I eat in a meal, always.
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Good sweet tea. Yes, I’m a convert.
It’s the Jesus Sauce™.
It’s real, too. Every Chick-Fil-A has an actual Jesus in the kitchen pumping out the Jesus Sauce™ as fast as he can to keep up with demand.
I do miss that sandwich. 
That might be the biggest thing for me. Well, the politeness, too, but the chicken itself is just so damned tasty. (But I do love dill and pickle flavors–though I’m not entirely sure that’s in the chicken itself or just from the pickles they use on the sandwich. More research is needed.)
The only time I’ve eaten one of their sandwiches was in an airport. I needed lunch, saw that there was a location of this chain there and decided to try it. (And then I once flew through Philadelphia and went looking for a cheesesteak restaurant in the airport. I asked a greeter and she was unable to suggest one. I think every airport should endeavor to make sure that the local specialty is available at the airport.)
At this point in my life, between their politics and my personal experiences, I’d rather go hungry than eat there, but the only thing I really miss is the waffle fries. From memory back in college, the fried chicken was greasy and heavy, and the sandwiches are mayo and pickle sandwiches with a slab of greasy soggy chicken slid into the middle.
And the servers are unfailingly pleasant and polite for two reasons; 1) because they are often hired through local church youth groups and know they’ll embarrass their church home if they aren’t up to snuff, and 2) because there are very high corporate standards and corporate “secret shoppers” that come through regularly and unannounced and if the staff is not performing to standard, the franchise-runner gets fined, and if they don’t bring things up to snuff fast enough they can even lose their franchise. Employees get fired quick if they don’t keep their noses clean. Coldstone Creamery has a similar standard, and their employees also tend to be very well vetted and not given any slack.
I guess what’s confounding me is really more like “Why are people willing to wait in 25 car lines to get Chick Fil A when several other places nearby (Taco Cabana, In-N-Out, Taco Bell, Sonic, Steak and Shake and some other local places) have no lines or waits?”
I mean, I might actually get CFA if the line was short to non-existent, but faced with a 15-20 car line (2 lanes), I’d sooner get something else that doesn’t involve queuing up for it.
Well, it’s not a same-sex attraction…
I find their sandwiches to be too salty. It creeps up on me, and later I’m dying for water. I don’t eat there, based on both the high homophobia and high sodium.
It’s not even forgetting, really. A lot of people were never swayed by all that in the first place.
That’s the Olive Garden/Cheesecake Factory effect.
People see that it’s popular and well-regarded, and that lots of other people are eating there, and they subconsciously think (or not so subconsciously) “Oh, there’s a really good thing over there! I should make sure I don’t miss out!”
The lots are often designed purposefully so that the parking is limited (and therefore always looks full) and the drive-thru queue is prominent and visible from the road, and they’re designed to “look” really busy and full, but to still cycle people through very quickly.
A better way to gauge is to look into the dining area and see how many free tables there are.
It’s all perception and market psychology.
No mayo on the standard sandwich. It’s literally just bun, chicken, pickles. Don’t know about the others.
Oh, yeah, definitely not worth that much of a wait. No drive thru is. What I don’t understand is why people don’t get off their asses and walk into the damned place when the line is that long. My limit is about 4 cars deep before I do that or go somewhere else.
Ahh, then it was straight grease I was tasting then. That’s better. :eek: 
Waffle fries.
Also the chicken sandwich is pretty good. It’s not to die for fast food chicken (that’s Popeye’s, but they don’t make a chicken sandwich anyways), but it’s tasty. Also the service is always good, which tends to help matters.
And as many others have said, it’s a chain dedicated to chicken sandwiches rather than burgers, so that draws some folks.
Good food - I particularly like their chicken biscuit, chicken minis, chicken salad sandwich, and seasonal chicken tortilla soup (so good). I like the variety of dipping sauces and hot sauce. The coffee, iced coffee, and lemonade are good.
Excellent service - Always important, was most important when I was juggling twin toddlers. They would always bring the food to our table and bring us napkins, condiments, etc. A server looked pained when I once began to ask if I could have a plain bagel instead of the elaborate bagel sandwich. She stopped me, held up her hand, and said, “You can have anything you want. Anything you want.”
The play area is clean and inviting. It is a nice place for preschool play dates.
Good corporate citizens - They support our schools, library, and church. Our local CFA does fun family nights like pictures with Santa.
They’re homophobes!
Yeah, what’s up with that? I mean, they do have a po boy on the menu, so there is a sandwich, but I live right by two Popeyes and am always disappointed they don’t have a normal chicken sandwich. Didn’t they used to have a spicy chicken sandwich at some time? I have some memory of them having this, but maybe I’m just thinking of a KFC Zinger, or whatever they called it from years ago.
There was a local Chick Fil A that had an employee arrested for selling heroin.
[QUOTE=WECT Wilmington, NC]
According to Sgt. Jerry Brewer with the New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office, authorities saw Jarvon Andre Everett, an employee of the Chick-fil-a at Market Street and New Centre Drive, selling heroin out the back door of the restaurant.
[/QUOTE]
That’ll keep your customers coming back.
…excepting Alice?