Perhaps you doubt the validity of the impact of redemptive entrepreneurship. I know I definitely question the scope of benefits of redemptive entrepreneurship. Sure, it has the power to transform communities in third-world communities (such as tegu), but how does it affect people in the US? The skeptic in me wonders just how powerful a company founded on redemptive principles can be.
Can redemptive entrepreneurship truly transform an entire culture?
And while I continue asking these questions, a first-hand experience with the power of redemptive entrepreneurship settled many of my doubts. True to fashion, the company to assuage my skepticism was none other than Chick Fil A. Their business model – designed to sell chicken with a smile – continues to be an example for the redemptive entrepreneurship world. For me – an aspiring business professional – they showed me from the perspective of a customer how a simple act can have massive impact.
One Tuesday evening – during that very stressful few weeks before Easter break – my friend and I hopped in her car and headed off to Cranberry, PA. With waffle fries and chicken sandwiches on our minds, we spent most of the car ride debriefing the week. Both of us were frustrated and more than a little stressed, dealing with the mounting schoolwork load and administrative issues.
It’s safe to say that we both were one good push away from losing our fragile composure. Our trip to get Chick Fil A was an attempt to escape the pressures of schoolwork and such by getting off campus and eating good food.
We arrived at Chick Fil A and pulled into those efficient drive-thru lines (seriously, their setup is incredible). I had a gift card, so my friend and I ordered separately. However, when I handed over my gift card, there seemed to be some kind of problem. The employee scanned it multiple times, but it wasn’t working.
I was disappointed, to be sure, but I had cash on me and prepared to pay up. It wasn’t the end of the world, and I didn’t put up a fuss about having to pay despite having a gift card. In fact, I didn’t say anything at all.
However, the Chick Fil A employee handed back the gift card and said, “Your gift card isn’t working today, but don’t worry about it. Your meal is on the house.” Then, the employee proceeded to gift my friend her meal as well.
I was absolutely stunned.
There was nothing special about us that warranted a free meal – just a couple of exhausted college students looking for an off-campus meal. Outside of my gift card not working, the employee really didn’t a have a special reason to gift us our meal. However, the timing of that simple act of kindness was absolutely incredible. Both of us desperately needed a boost, and that free meal meant more to us than that employee would every know. It was a breath of fresh air amidst a difficult semester.
And the “my pleasure” when we thanked her was just icing on the cake.
Chick Fil A models redemptive entrepreneurship in a unique way by giving their employees the opportunity to bless customers as they see fit. In fact, this is even encouraged. In this way, the Holy Spirit can move even through non-Christian employees and bring light those who need it. For them, it’s worth the cost to make someone’s day, and it builds loyalty. It shines a light in a dog-eat-dog business world. In this simple, small way, Chick Fil A’s redemptive model makes this world a better place and takes steps to redeem this culture in desperate need of Christ.
Another example of how wonderful Chick-fil-A is as a business and as a redemptive company! Even though there was no reason to give away a free meal and no benefits for the business, the employees are so surrounded by a Christ-oriented culture that it’s almost natural for them to be kind towards others! I love this story!
It truly is incredible how something so small can make such a big difference in your day. In a time where most business and people are focused on profits and what is best for them, it is neat to see Chick-fil-A caring about their customers. Stories like this, I believe, are some of the reasons why people continue to keep going back. After I had my wisdom teeth removed, my mom took me to get a milkshake from there and the gave it to us because they saw I had just had surgery. I can only imagine the impact and curiosity that something like this would create in non-believers.
I really liked the last part of your post. The idea that non-Christian staff are able to bless those they come into contact with, sounds amazing to me. By blessing another person over, and over again, and recognizing the owners of this business must just not care about that money, would have an impact on a person. This might open a door for the owner to share Christ with that employee.
Great example of how a company’s culture and customer service is vital to success. Even if a few dollars are lost by good deeds, Chick-fil-A doing the right thing is for sure noticed by the customers. As a result, the customers will continue their loyalty to a business that is clearly placing people ahead of profits.
I think as a former employee of CFA, it is fantastic hearing stories of team members going what appears to be above and beyond, yet its “just second mile service” something we are trained to do. I personally wouldn’t consider CFA to be a redemptive entrepreneurship company, ethical and doing social good yes, but it doing things like Christ is more of a personal decision not the store’s decision, but that might just have been my experience.