If you've ever waited in a long Chick-fil-A drive-through line, chances are it was the most pleasant traffic jam you've experienced. Efficient, polite, and somehow still warm–even when you're 12 cars deep. But behind that smooth service is something more profound than clever lane design or good manners.
It's continuous improvement in action.
The Wall Street Journal recently shared a fascinating deep dive into Chick-fil-A's evolving approach to drive-through operations — the link below is a free gift link:
Drones and ‘Game Film': Inside Chick-fil-A's Quest to Make Fast Food Faster
Their strategies read like a Lean playbook:
- observe the process,
- identify bottlenecks,
- experiment, and iterate.
They even call it “game film”–a term borrowed from football–that's now being used to break down every step of the customer experience.
On one level, Chick-fil-A is using drones to do it. But improvement is really driven by the people–those who watch the film and those who do the work.
By the way, the technology company KaiNexus uses the phrase (and approach) of “game film” to review key meetings with prospects and customers — not for punishment, but for coaching and improvement.
Studying the Work (From 30,000 Feet and Ground Level)
At a Rockford, Illinois location, franchisee Philip Everett and Chick-fil-A's central team reviewed footage of a record-breaking Friday lunch rush. Cameras in the kitchen and aerial drone views captured exactly where flow broke down–just like a Gemba walk, but with bird's-eye precision.
What did they learn? A single veteran employee was shouldering too much of the work. The Wi-Fi didn't reach far enough to support the outside team members taking orders. These were simple problems–with simple fixes–but invisible until someone studied the system.
“We hadn't understood half of what our different challenges were,” [store operator] Everett said.
You can't solve a problem that you don't know about.
Their approach is classic Plan-Do-Study-Adjust (PDSA). And it's worth emphasizing the “Study” step here. Chick-fil-A didn't just look at the data–they observed and studied the actual process. They didn't blame the workers. They asked why there were barriers to flow and customer service–and then why again.
Respect for People–In the Parking Lot
One of the more striking aspects of the article is how Chick-fil-A treats its frontline workers. When they moved order-taking to the parking lot (long before COVID made that a trend), the company didn't just send people out with iPads and hope for the best.
They designed climate-adapted uniforms, added shading and heating elements, and even partnered with clothing companies to create cooling vests.
This isn't just operational design–it seems like Respect for People, a key pillar of Lean. It's acknowledging that the best service design is meaningless if your people are cold, overheated, or overwhelmed.
Taking better care of the team members leads to lower turnover (and lower costs). It also puts them in a mood to better serve customers with a smile. “My pleasure,” as they almost always say.
But back to the use of video… it's possible to do observation, time study, and improvement work in ways that are engaging and respectful, as I wrote about here:
Do improvement with people, not TO them.
Innovation Without Silver Bullets
There's no “magic bullet” in Chick-fil-A's approach. No AI tool that instantly solves everything. No dashboard that makes improvement automatic. It's small, continuous changes driven by studying the work and empowering local operators.
Some changes are capital-intensive (like a new McDonough, GA site with an overhead kitchen and four drive-through lanes). But others are deceptively small: spreading responsibilities more evenly, adding a side door for food handoff, repositioning a canopy.
I've recently seen one of those doors that drive-through workers exit through–handing the items to you more face-to-face than through a window where you both have to reach.
One might call these “low-hanging fruit.” But that term often undersells the real effort it takes to notice what's hanging in the first place.
What Can We Learn–Beyond Fast Food?
Whether you're running a hospital, a tech company, or a factory, the principles on display here apply:
- Observe the process, don't assume
- Ask why things are the way they are without blame
- Respect your people while improving systems
- Design with customers and employees in mind
You don't need drones (though they help). You just need curiosity, humility, and a commitment to learning.
A Final Thought
Chick-fil-A's story isn't just about speed. It's about using data to make thoughtful decisions. It's about learning from the field. It's about knowing that “fast” isn't just a number–it's the outcome of thousands of small improvements, made by people who care.
What could your organization learn if you watched your own game film?
Related Podcast:
A 2019 podcast with David Reid, an industrial engineer who still plays a key leadership role in these efforts:
I heard about many of these innovations (such as the drive-thru-only locations with the kitchen being above the drive-thru lanes when David gave a keynote talk (and extended breakout session) at the 2024 Healthcare Systems Process Improvement Conference.
As he said, this is all a “triple win” for:
- Customer Satisfaction
- Operator Opportunity
- Business Health
As it should be–win/win/win for all.
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