Chick-fil-A — Restaurant in Bothell

I had an extremely disappointing experience at this Chick-fil-A location yesterday. My wife placed a mobile order for breakfast, and I arrived to pick it up at 10:20 AM. The process was frustrating from start to finish.

Despite being in line well before the breakfast-to-lunch cutoff at 10:30, the drive-thru attendant was slow and seemed unaware of the time sensitivity for breakfast orders. By the time she finished with the previous car at 10:28, she walked away from my vehicle to reset her position instead of promptly taking my order. This delay caused my order to fall beyond the 10:30 cutoff.

When I finally got to the attendant, she radioed inside, only to inform me I needed to speak with the manager at the window. She did not explain what was wrong or attempt to take my lunch order. Once I reached the manager, I learned my mobile order had been canceled because it wasn’t processed before the cutoff. This was incredibly frustrating, as our order was placed in advance.

I then had to call my wife to get everyone’s lunch order—disappointing my family, who had been looking forward to breakfast—and wait again while the new order was prepared. This experience could have been avoided with better policies and clearer communication.

This isn’t the first time we’ve had issues at this location. Over the years, we’ve experienced missing items in both drive-thru and delivery orders but chose to give them another chance. After this incident, we will no longer be returning. Chick-fil-A is known for its excellent service, but this location has consistently failed to meet that standard.

Suggestions for Improvement

To avoid situations like this in the future, here are a few recommendations:

Increase Staffing During Peak Times: Assign multiple outside attendants during the breakfast-to-lunch transition to ensure orders are captured quickly and accurately.

Dedicated Breakfast Lane: Implement a separate lane or prioritization system for breakfast orders near the cutoff time. This could reduce delays and ensure customers picking up breakfast aren’t penalized by longer lunch lines.

App Warning System: Update the mobile app to include a clear warning that orders must be accepted by the attendant before the cutoff time to ensure they’re fulfilled. This would help customers plan better and avoid disappointment.

Proactive and Clear Communication: When things go wrong, staff should communicate the issue as early and clearly as possible. In my case, being informed of the problem earlier would have allowed me to place an alternative order without additional delays.

Customer-First Processes: Rethink operational flows to prioritize customer needs, especially during time-sensitive transitions. Policies and procedures should be designed to minimize frustration and accommodate reasonable customer expectations.

These improvements could make a significant difference in ensuring a better experience for...

I will preface this review by saying that I love Chick-fil-A. It has been one of my go-to restaurants since the Alderwood one first opened up several years back.

This location, however, constantly has issues. We've had several situations which included: (1) Received an incorrect order but were already home and couldn't get it corrected. (2) Waited over 10 minutes for a pickup order and upon receiving, the order was incorrect (then tried to scrape off the topping to trick us instead of remaking, which added more time). (3) Being ignored by staff or scoffed at for requesting our order be corrected. This included the franchise owner who walked right past us!

The most recent time(s) has been sub-par chicken minis (which are usually DELICIOUS). These are over $5 for a 4-count, and the last two times have been very disappointing. Overdone bread, poor excuses for chicken, and messy right out of the box (see photo). The honey butter glaze is the best part and you couldn't even tell it was on there (if it was at all). Soooo not worth over $5.

We've complained to this location for many instances but we've been met with a refusal to acknowledge issues and to offer solutions. The Lynnwood and Totem Lake locations are FAR SUPERIOR in customer service and management, offering some sort of deal/promo as an apology for the issue. No such thing from Bothell.

We no longer trust to-go orders from this location and will either triple check everything or just eat there so issues can be resolved. The standards for Chick-fil-A are higher than this. Whenever possible, we choose the Alderwood and Totem Lake locations...

I started with a good experience dining with my toddler eating kids meal and playing in their indoor playground. The staff name Christian was friendly and helpful. The food is always great. My picky child enjoyed their little nugget and their waffle fries. Love it that they have a sticker mat for their table and individual hand sanitizer for the kids.

We played a little bit and then my child wanted to have an ice cream. So I’m thinking I’ll try their app because we want to stay seated so I can be with my child and they can just bring the foods to us. So I download the app and order the ice cream cone. Waited for 20 minutes but the order didn’t come. I had to go to the cashier and asked them. Three people didn’t know about my order although it was also confirmed in the email that it went through and placed 20 minutes earlier. They finally found the order and gave me the ice cream with no apology. There’s so many staff in there. I can’t believe they missed it I was there at the restaurant all of those times. I’m disappointed. Waiting for 20 minutes entertaining a toddler who’s done with the playground is a lot of effort and work. I thought the order is going to be there 2-6 minutes as what the app said. But it wasn’t. I don’t know how long it would take if I don’t even go there to ask. For now, I don’t recommend the app. I don’t know if it’s actually worth downloading...