The 10 Biggest Chick-Fil-A Customer Complaints That Never Seem To Go Away

Despite Chick-fil-A being dethroned as America's top-rated fast food chain after 11 years in 2026, it is still one of the country's most beloved restaurants. The chain has more than 3,000 locations around the world — offering customers its signature hospitality and world-renowned chicken — and has continued to expand its presence in the U.K., Asia, and Canada.

However, even with the fame and growth, it occasionally misses the mark, something customers had no issue pointing out. Whether it was missing items, declining quality, or rising prices, diners have found plenty of things to complain about. It wasn't just the food and cost people took issue with; there were also Chick-fil-A's charitable giving decisions as well as its treatment of workers. But even those don't encapsulate all the critiques, which is why we decided to compile a list of the 10 biggest grievances we saw reviewers consistently raise with the chain.

Chick-fil-A is growing its footprint, and people online have detailed witnessing the chain's number of locations in their area grow exponentially in a short period of time. Now, most might think that having increased access to a restaurant would be a good thing. However, some believe that a decline in food quality has followed this growth.

"[Chick-fil-A] is on its way to being trash after what seems to be a major spree on franchise sales," a poster on Reddit said, having seen the number of locations in their area jump from three to six within 18 months. "That's too much growth too fast," they added. Others claim that the chain is adopting a similar approach to fast food as McDonald's or Popeyes. "Now the chicken tastes like it's one of those McDonald's processed chicken filets," one user wrote on Reddit.

Another Redditor shared that they visited what they believe is an unnecessary new location and were served chicken that was overcooked to the point that it was "overcooked, chewy and inedible." This appears to be a common complaint as of late, as someone else described the protein as tasting increasingly gamey and dry as Chick-fil-A expands. An apparent former employee explained that the slip in standards isn't shocking to them. "They literally tell us quantity over quality because of how many people eat at Chick-fil-A now," they alleged. "They don't care about anything but profit now."

Trying to order from Chick-fil-A on a Sunday would be a mistake because, as most people know, the chain has closed on Sundays since its predecessor, The Dwarf Grill, opened in 1946. The decision to close on Sunday was made by founder S. Truett Cathy in order to give employees one day to rest, spend time with family, and worship if they so choose. Even with that reasoning, some customers can't understand why the chain voluntarily closes on Sunday, noting Chick-fil-A would make a lot of money from people who went out the night before.

Some theorize that while the weekly closure may have started for altruistic reasons, it has turned into more of a sales tactic. "Chick-fil-A gets a sales 'bump' because people know they can't get it on Sunday," one customer wrote on Reddit. "People talk about Chick-fil-A just because they are closed on Sunday. Like we are doing now... Free advertising." The closure also allows the chain to be more selective with hiring, makes restaurant maintenance easier, and increases sales on Mondays (which are typically slow for fast food eateries), according to a former employee.

There is nothing more disappointing than going through a restaurant's drive-thru, picking up the food you've been craving, and getting home only to realize that one of the items you ordered is missing. Unfortunately, this seems to be a fairly consistent experience that customers have at Chick-fil-A.

"I eat Chick-fil-A 1-2 times a week, always using the app. About 40% of the time my order is missing the sauce or [plasticware], wrong, or one time even had a piece of hard black plastic in it (the wrap)," a poster on Reddit shared. While not everyone has had quite such bad luck, others have had similar experiences with Chick-fil-A messing up drive-thru orders.

Some of the most commonly missed items seem to be drinks and fries. On top of the forgotten items, a reviewer claimed that each time they are missing a part of their order, it can take anywhere from 10 to 15 minutes to rectify the situation.

We've all had a bad customer service experience at a restaurant at least once, whether it was a rude employee, lengthy wait times, or an unsatisfactory resolution to a problem. With the emphasis that Chick-fil-A puts on providing exceptional hospitality, you don't necessarily expect to ever have that happen there. However, many eaters have detailed less-than-stellar interactions with the chain's workers.

The list of customer service complaints is wide and varied. One customer was made to wait 25 minutes for an ice cream cone after being checked on twice by different employees. Another reviewer claimed that workers told him he was wrong when he told them they had given him the wrong soup, then proceeded to serve him the incorrect one again. In fact, employees arguing with customers appeared to be common, as others described being told they were wrong when stating they were given the wrong size drink, type of drink, or food item.

Meanwhile, another Redditor emphasized how embarrassed they were when being accused of lying about not receiving their drink when going through the drive-thru. Unfortunately, the experience wasn't a one-off, as others claim to have been challenged when stating that their sandwiches, somehow, came without the chicken, which commenters noted would be an odd thing to lie about.

Chick-fil-A has a variety of coffees on its menu, including a cream cold brew, iced coffee, hot coffee, and frosted coffee. For those who like their coffee a little sweeter, there are both seasonal and regular flavors available as well. Georgia-based Thrive Farmers has supplied Chick-fil-A's coffee in the U.S. since 2014, when its menu development leader decided to make a change. Alas, even with the options, the coffee is not overwhelmingly popular with all of the restaurant's customers.

In general, common complaints about Chick-fil-A's coffee include the fact that it's bitter and even stale-tasting. The vanilla iced coffee, in particular, has been described as tasting like chemicals, which puts people off. "Does Chick-fil-A just make nasty coffee on purpose?" a user on Facebook questioned. "I swear I've tried it so many times and it always ends up in the trash." Even people using their own additions to the coffee didn't improve it enough for them to be able to enjoy it. Commenters claimed that the coffee's flavor is due to at least the iced coffee and cold brew just being syrup mixed with water. As one alleged on Reddit, "They know it sucks but it apparently has a loyal following so no reason to change it. And it's cheap."

There is sometimes nothing more frustrating than sitting in a drive-thru line that's taking forever just waiting to get your food, especially if you've had a long day. According to eaters on Reddit, that is a common occurrence for them at Chick-fil-A. "[Chick-fil-A] has a lot of customers, like, all the time. Especially in [the] drive-thru. It's definitely the longest drive-thru everywhere you go," a poster stated. One person shared that occasionally they'll even end up waiting 30 minutes when it's a weeknight and not too long before close. Commenters agreed that kind of wait is common, saying they do their best to avoid locations with that slow of a drive-thru

In addition to customers' experiences, a 2025 Intouch Insight study conducted in partnership with QSR analyzed 13 different chains and found that Chick-fil-A has the slowest drive-thru. The chicken chain's fastest total time that patrons spent in the drive-thru was 7 minutes and 6 seconds, compared to Taco Bell's 4 minutes and 16 seconds and the study's average of 5 minutes and 35 seconds.

In the past, Chick-fil-A has made donations to organizations that have voiced anti-LGBTQ+ sentiments, including Salvation Army and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, through its charitable foundation. It announced in 2019 that it would no longer be giving to the two organizations.

Despite that, some customers have shared that they have continued to boycott, and will continue to, due to the owners still making contributions to the anti-LGBTQ+ entities. "They're still problematic. They promised to stop donating to anti-LGBTQ+ organizations during the pandemic. And then the CEO raised his own income and donated more money individually to such groups," one Reddit user wrote. "They posted months ago during pride about how they don't need to support every cause and they're definitely not supporting a cause they don't agree with (pride)." While some pointed out that a company donating to those organizations and an owner giving to them are different things, others aren't quite as accepting.

Some feel so passionately about the matter that they have questioned how people who are part of the LGBTQ+ community can still eat at Chick-fil-A. "I always assume it's privilege. So many people ignore homophobia, homophobic people and homophobic places because those things aren't coming up to them and harming them by force," a commenter wrote on Reddit. "If they don't feel the effects of the bigotry themselves then they don't think it's an issue."

Prices have been on the rise lately, particularly at restaurants. Federal data released in October 2026 showed food-away-from-home prices increased by 3.5% between September 2025 and September 2026, while food-at-home costs rose by a full percentage point less at 2.5%, according to Nation's Restaurant News. The publication added that data firm Revenue Management Solutions reported that traffic at quick-service restaurants dropped by 2.6% over those same 12 months.

As is to be expected from that data, eaters have noticed a jump in prices at Chick-fil-A and have taken particular issue with it due to a simultaneous decline in quality. "I can't think of anything that would have had a falloff comparable to the [Chick-fil-A] chicken sandwich. Everyone else is raising their prices, but at least the food is still edible," a customer wrote on Reddit. Others have shared their shock with the prices on the Chick-fil-A menu. In particular, customers expressed outrage at having to pay $19 for a 12-count of grilled nuggets with a large fruit cup and $35 for two meals, which were a chicken sandwich and an 8-count nugget.

Meanwhile, a Facebook user claimed that the chain steadily increased the price of a chicken sandwich from $3.70 in 2020 to $6.50 in 2026, stating each time that the jumps were temporary and were due to supply chain issues. "The supply chains recovered. The prices never did," they wrote. "They just kept the higher prices and moved on like nothing happened." Their assertion seems to be true, as 24/7 Wall St. reported in 2025 that the chain's menu prices went up by 21% between 2023 and 2025.

A lot of fast food restaurants have fallen victim to shrinkflation, including Chick-fil-A. Alongside the chain's drop in quality and rise in price, customers have noticed that menu items' portion sizes have been dwindling.

The main subject of eaters' complaints was the chicken sandwich, which they noted was smaller, with the protein in particular highlighted as not being as thick as it used to be. A Redditor actually weighed the filet that came on their sandwich to prove its diminutive size. On top of that, another person shared pictures showing the Chick-fil-A Deluxe Sandwich's difference in size in 2021 versus now. The piece of chicken was noticeably thinner, and the bun also looked as though it had been changed.

The chicken sandwich wasn't the only item leaving people upset. "I stopped going to Chick-fil-A when they replaced their large milkshakes with kiddie-sized ones," a reviewer said on Reddit. "I gave up all fast food two years ago because of the greedy ways these companies have been treating their customers." Patrons also reported being given portions of fries and mac and cheese that didn't even fill the container they came in. "They need to make the container bigger if they aren't going to fill them up," a Reddit commenter emphasized. "Pretty much paying for a medium size in a large container."

It isn't only customers who have issues with the chain; some employees aren't happy with the working conditions they face at Chick-fil-A either. Of course, because the chain has franchises that are run by different operators, workers' experiences will inevitably differ depending on their location. Their day-to-day can also rely on the people they work with, as is the case at any workplace. However, the chain as a whole does have strict rules for employees and has previously fired someone for revealing menu hacks on TikTok.

The one thing that employees on Reddit and Indeed seem to agree on is that they aren't paid enough for the amount they are asked to do and the crowds Chick-fil-A can attract. There were also complaints from workers about favoritism and micromanagement. Additionally, there were claims of unfair treatment by management, with one person even alleging that their pay was cut by $2 for being inconsistent at work while sick with the flu, and another emphasizing that their managers weren't particularly understanding about time off or mental health struggles and fired people at a moment's notice.