When I say Chick-fil-A and I have had a long relationship, I'm not kidding. During college, Chick-fil-A was my second job ever. And over the years, I have been a faithful customer and promoter of their chicken and good manners. At this juncture in my life, though, our relationship may be over. It soured a little this weekend anyway.
Perhaps I've mentioned this already, but when I received the Big News of our move, one of the very first things I did was write Chick-fil-A a very kind letter explaining that their absence in the state of Connecticut was causing much angst in my life. I received a very kind response in which I was informed that the state of Connecticut was not even a scribbled note on their plans for future expansion.
And so the days have passed with no sweet little Chicken Minis for breakfast, no Spicy Chicken Sandwich for lunch. All the while, I have kept my eye on the Chick-fil-A that is closest to my new home. In Paramus, New Jersey. 92.78 miles from here to be exact. But...only 11 miles from the hotel where we spent the beginning of this week.
You can imagine my excitement. The plan was to enjoy a delicious, hot breakfast at my beloved Chick-fil-A, then drive back beyond our hotel to the theater for The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, then head back to Chick-fil-A for lunch. Honestly, I could barely contain my enthusiasm as we got in the car in the early morning hours. But my enthusiasm waned a bit as we drew near because it seemed the GPS was leading us directly to a mall. No, I thought, this can't be. Surely it is a free-standing building we can enter and partake in a sit-down breakfast.
It was indeed in the mall. We went in anyway because people in malls like to eat breakfast, right? Apparently in New Jersey they do like to eat breakfast, just not Chick-fil-A. It was closed for breakfast. I had to eat breakfast at the McDonald's 2 restaurants down from Chick-fil-A.
So we went to the movie and returned. At least it was open for lunch. And I ordered, but here's the real stinker. No one was friendly. Or polite. I mean the guy who served me did give me the obligatory "My pleasure" when I thanked him, but it was clearly not his pleasure as he issued the response with a growl, dare I say, a snarl.
And so it is that I am at this turning point in my relationship with the wonderful franchise with the ridiculously fun and creative cow ads, the yummy nuggets (made with real chicken), and the delicious sweet tea. I know a relationship should not be broken based on one disappointment.
Perhaps I should just avoid New Jersey.
3 comments:
You're from the south, so you can be excused for not knowing, but everybody avoids New Jersey. New Jersey avoids New Jersey. It's just a thing.
Just for you I will eat at the free standing Chick-Fil-A near me. I haven't tried the spicy chicken sandwich yet so I may choose that in your honor. Or... you could come back home! :O)
*sob* How horrible!
I love Arby's response. My brother and his family lived in NJ for a couple of years. They lived near the state line and rarely went anywhere in NJ. So I guess it's true. ;)
Post a Comment