Chick-Fil-A Creates ‘Mom’s Valet’ To Make Dining Out With Children Easier

If you have ever taken a child out to eat at a restaurant, you probably know how hard it can be to keep that child entertained while you attempt to order your food. The kids are running in circles, knocking over items and screaming at the top of their lungs. Not a good situation by any means. Now, Chick-fil-A has come up with one of the most creative solutions to this everyday problem — a “Mom’s Valet.”

So, what exactly is a “Mom’s Valet” and how does it work? Well, it’s actually quite easy, and will make your dining out experience much less hectic. When a mother, or father, enters the drive-thru, they can request “Mom’s Valet.” After they do so, the Chick-fil-A staff jumps into action. Not only do they take your order, they find and set a table, put out the desired amount of condiments, fill the drinks, and place the appropriate amount of high chairs at the table.

Scott Brickhouse, the owner of two Chick-fil-A restaurants in Lakewood, Florida, conceived the idea four years ago, according to Today. He came up with it while remembering the struggles he faced when eating out with his four boys when he was caring for them by himself. While the program is not currently implemented by corporate, the idea has been implemented at over 100 other Chick-fil-A restaurants, and there are another 125-150 restaurants that are interested in implementing the program.

@ChickfilA is upping their game by adding a new service called Mom’s Valet for mothers with children. Check it out! https://t.co/D5fm5ZY0ng

— Frisco-Online.com (@Frisco_OnLine) January 6, 2016

“It is an immediate success with moms,” Brickhouse said of “Mom’s Valet.” “It’s really fun to be a part of something that I helped design. It feels great.”

Marise Brennan and her 2-year-old daughter frequently visit Chick-fil-A, and while the restaurants near her don’t currently have “Mom’s Valet,” she told Today that she thinks it is an awesome idea.

“It is hard to balance getting a drink and not spilling things and getting a table and carrying your tray,” Brennan, who lives in Etters, Pennsylvania, said. “We would go in and spend time there and possibly spend more money if it was an easier process.”

“It’s extremely convenient,” Sarah Cornett, who lives near Orlando, Florida, said about the “Mom’s Valet” near her. “To have someone kind of serve you, to be willing to do something for you, to be doing a little bit of extra assistance — it’s an extremely nice service.”

Not only has Chick-fil-A been trying to take the stress out of dining with children, they also did something surprising after customers complained after they announced they would be doing away with coleslaw as one of their menu items. They decided to share the recipe with their customers so they could continue enjoying the coleslaw in the comfort of their own homes.

“Removing Cole Slaw from the menu was a difficult decision,” the company wrote in a Facebook post. “We know many of our customers loved our Cole Slaw, yet we have also heard from our customers that they are looking for new tastes and healthier ways to eat in our restaurants. It is important to us to provide a wide variety of menu options and this will occasionally mean we have to remove one menu item to make room for another. We will be announcing some new items soon, and hope everyone will be as excited about them as we are. We will also provide our recipe for Cole Slaw via our social media channels so our customers may make the dish at home.”

[Photo by Mike Stewart/Associated Press]