Chick-fil-A // Mobile App

PROJECT/

When Chick-fil-A wanted to build a mobile ordering app, back in 2011, their software vendor offered them a me-too, off the shelf solution at a good price.  But what is the price of an app that doesn’t deliver a remarkable experience?

So they called on Thing Tank to help them develop digitally enabled experiences would delight their customers, and build their bottom line.  First we benchmarked existing food ordering apps.  The most actionable finding was that existing mobile ordering experiences were dropping the ball at pick up.  You order on your phone, but have to get into line anyway!

We presented the findings in a workshop for internal stakeholders to build consensus around their goals and capabilities. Based on that, we collaborated with their hospitality and IT teams on a series of experience prototypes.   These storyboards are examples of the experiences we imagined.

Why would order on an app and then get in line?  Solving the pick up problems gave the app a reason to exist.  By focusing on experience, not just software, we made sure to prioritize what’s desirable, not just what’s feasible.

RESULT/

The app based on these concepts has been available since 2013. Customers can order at their convenience, arrive whenever they want and have their meal delivered to their table or car without having to touch their wallet.  And the groundbreaking work we did on the store and service design made delivering food this way operationally feasible. By focusing on experience, not just software, we made sure to prioritize what’s desirable, not just what’s feasible.  Now every customer’s phone becomes a frictionless point of sale.

We expect that today, but it 2011 it was positively groundbreaking.