The Surprising Way Chick-Fil-A Helped A Vaccination Clinic
Sometimes the very best person for a job is not the first one that comes to mind. When trouble brewed recently at a Mount Pleasant, South Carolina COVID-19 vaccination clinic, the town's mayor knew just who to call for help — the manager of the local Chick-fil-A (via KMBC News).
Mount Pleasant's drive-through clinic had only been open since January 22 when the clinic experienced a major hiccup while distributing their first round of vaccines. As cars lined up in a Mount Pleasant parking lot for the drive-through clinic, a computer glitch in the registration system caused things to ground to a halt. As hundreds of people waited in line, traffic at the clinic grew into an hours-long jam.
Mount Pleasant Mayor Will Haynie quickly called the local drive-through expert, Chick-fil-A manager Jerry Walkowiak (via CNN). Instead of just giving instructions over the phone, Walkowiak came over, assessed the situation, and helped reorganize the drive-through's flow so there were more people helping with check-ins. His efforts reduced wait times from several hours to just 15 minutes.
Chick-fil-A manager Jerry Walkowiak helped get things moving
According to KMBC News, Mayor Haynie explained, "Jerry got a phone call and dropped everything because he knows getting this vaccine out is a game changer. This is what the light at the end of the long COVID tunnel looks like." More than 1,000 people received their first round of the vaccine that day. When it comes time to administer the second dose of the vaccine in a few weeks, the Chick-fil-A manager plans to lend a hand once more.
Chick-fil-A is well known in the fast-food industry for mastering the art of the drive-through process. The restaurant pioneered innovations in the drive-through process including face-to-face ordering, the use of tablets with card readers, and double-drive through lanes. The chain also consistently ranks high for customer satisfaction. According to Walkowiak, "At Chick-fil-A, we're about being the most caring company in the world."
Not to mention they make a great chicken sandwich.