Someone gave me a couple of $10 gift cards for Chick-fil-a. There are no Chick-fil-as where I live, so I stuck them in my purse. Then yesterday (Halloween), I passed through Belleville, Illinois, and saw a sign for Chick-fil-a and remembered my gift cards. I was hungry and decided to go for a free lunch. I hadn't had Chick-fil-a for about thirty years, but I recalled it was good food. I found the outlet, and planned to go inside because I needed to use the ladies' room, but when I entered the parking lot, the first bank of parking spaces were blocked off with traffic cones, so I circled around and realized they were ALL blocked off. I bypassed the drive-through line but eventually was stuck because there were two lanes of people waiting for their to-go orders to be brought out. The only way around was through the parking spaces, and they opened them up one at a time for each car when they got their order. So I waited for four cars to be served, then drove out and parked in the Lowe's parking lot.
The only door to Chick-fil-a was on the opposite side, and there's no sidewalk, so I walked down the drive-through lane to get in. I was relieved to use the bathroom.
I ordered eight nuggets and a small order of fries. Pulled out my gift card and ran it through the machine, which said "card reader error." Three times. So I pulled out the other card, and the same thing happened. The clerk just looked at me, waiting for me to pay. I should have canceled the order, but I was tired and really hungry by then, and I'd already sunk about a half hour into this stop, so I paid $7.55 in cash. I was not happy about it, since it really took the wind out of my free meal idea. A McChicken and fries would have cost me about $3. Those tiny nuggets were really tasty, but not worth 55 cents each.
The gift cards are still in my purse. I wonder if it would be possible to test them at another outlet before I order on my next road trip. After all, somebody paid for them at some point. If they had been used up, would it ignite a card reader error? I honestly doubt that's the case, because it's a pretty sorry move to give someone used-up gift cards.
You can call or email Chick-Fil-A to find out the balance on your gift cards. See https://www.chick-fil-a.com/customer-support/ordering-and-payment/gift-cards/how-can-i-find-out-the-balance-or-account-history-on-my-gift-card for instuctions.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.chick-fil-a.com/customer-support/ordering-and-payment/gift-cards/how-can-i-find-out-the-balance-or-account-history-on-my-gift-card
ReplyDeleteMany gift or cash cards start charging against the balance after a period of time. So perhaps they have simply self-expired. A complete scam, and something to be aware of if you ever gift cards to people.
ReplyDeleteMy local CFA will honor any gift card and if it does not work they will give you $5 toward your order. They have two drive thru lines that move very quickly. I have found that a good manager makes all the difference. Happy customer is a return customer.
ReplyDeleteMore than likely the Chik-Fil-A corporation will pay attention to your problem because you have a popular (well, popular for me, that's for sure) blog and thus your opinion has clout. But consider all the other people who have no ready amplification for their complaints about shoddy service and rip-offs, how many voiceless people have been conned like this?
ReplyDeleteWhy would you even want to eat Hate Chicken? Fuck those creeps.
ReplyDeleteA Chik-Fil-A recently opened in my area of Wisconsin; so far, from what I hear, it's drive-thru only, and every time I've driven pst the lines have literally extended all the way back out onto the street. Maybe their chicken IS that good (personally, I doubt it – chicken is chicken, after all)... but I think it's just it's still new around here and the novelty factor hasn't worn off yet.
ReplyDelete-"BB"-