Starbucks vs. Chik-fil-A - And the winner is...

So a few weeks ago me and my fam went on vacation back to Texas. We visited friends and family, took in a Cowboy game (Go Cowboys! - that's for you, honey), and even got to take part in the Fall Fest at the church we attended when we lived in Tyler.

We stayed with my in-laws for a few days. My mom-in-law doesn't even email. My dad-in-law emails and surfs the web, etc., but he uses a cellular card to do it. I didn't want to mess with trying to install the drivers for his card or take up his laptop (after all, I brought mine with me), so I drove a couple of miles down the road to Starbucks. I even blogged about it.

I don't have AT&T Wireless, which is what Starbucks offered, so I ponied up $4 to use wireless for 2 hours. Oh, and I also bought a $4 coffee.

I thought the pricing was reasonable. It was simple, easy to get connected, and I didn't mind paying for it. I didn't even mind buying the coffee. I like Starbucks coffee. I just considered it part of the cost of having a comfortable place to sit, sip my coffee, and have access to the world wide web.

I enjoyed it so much, that two days later I went back. However, the second time I went, things were a little different.

I bought my coffee (even though it was getting a little late, I always feel like I should spend a little at a place that allows me the use of their facilities), paid my $4 to AT&T and got connected. I had been checking email, etc. for about 20 minutes when one of the young gentlemen employed by Starbucks came around to everyone and said, "We'll be closing in 5 minutes."

Hang on a second. I looked at the clock: 5 minutes until 10:00 PM. I could have sworn that the hours of service lasted until 10:30. I didn't want to waste my precious last few minutes going to the door to check so I just kept on doing what I was doing.

About 4 minutes later they turned off the lights. I decided that was my hint to leave. I packed up and headed out. As I was going out the door, the same young gentleman came right behind me to lock the door. I glanced at the glass as I came though: closing hours on Sunday? 10:30 PM.

I mentioned it to the young man.

"The posted hours are incorrect," was his only explanation. No "sorry", or "we'll get that changed".

I mentioned to him that if I had known that the store was closing 25 minutes after I had arrived I wouldn't have purchased a coffee (that I didn't really want that late) and paid for 2 hours of wi-fi when I was going to only be able to use less than a quarter of that.

He just said, "Goodnight," and closed the door.

I have to admit I was more than a little disgruntled.

Looking back, I think they just closed early on me. There was a REALLY bad thunderstorm blowing in from the west, and only about 3 customers in the store. I think they just decided to close.

And in the other corner: Chik-fil-A

Today I went to Chik-fil-A, got some breakfast (can't eat there any other time - allergic to poultry), and connected my laptop to their FREE wi-fi.

I was asked not once, not twice, but 4 times if I would like to have my "beverage refreshed", which was promptly taken care of and brought back to my table with a smile. Oh yeah, each time they asked if I wanted more ice and told me it was their pleasure whenever I thanked them for the refill.

Wow! What a difference.

So here I am, listening to All-Star United, blogging away, drinking a free refill of Dr. Pepper and appreciating Chik-fil-A.

This is the same Chik-fil-A that my wife and 3 year-old came to a few weeks ago. My son has decided that he now wants to order for himself. He ordered some chicken minis and an airplane. The gentleman behind the counter took his order with a smile.

When he brought them their food, there on the tray, was a paper airplane. My son, and probably even more so, my wife were extremely appreciative.

I really appreciate good customer service. Jesus came to serve, you know...

The Big City

So, for 13+ years, we lived in Tyler, Texas. Tyler is what I call a big town/small city. Last I heard, the population was slightly over 100,000. It's a great place to live, and we still have lots of friends there.

For the past 2.83 years, we've lived in the Marietta area, just northwest of Atlanta. It's actually a lot like Tyler. Similar weather, similar mixture of commercial/residential real estate, both near a large metro area. Like I've already said, Marietta is just northwest of Atlanta, and Tyler is near the Dallas/Ft. Worth metroplex.

In fact, one of the things that I always told people when extolling the virtues of Tyler was that it was just 90 minutes from Dallas. Culture, music, fine dining, all close enough to take in during a day trip. The only problem? We never did.

Okay, not never. We took a mini-vacation one time and hit the Dallas Aquarium and the West End. We went to two Ranger games and I took Cheryl to see some figure skating. But for the 13 years, we probably averaged 1 "cultural experience" every 3 years.

Now, after less than 3 years in Marietta/Atlanta, we've been to a Thrasher's games (pro hockey), to the Georgia Aquarium (twice for me, 3 times for Cheryl), the World of Coke, Underground Atlanta, seen two musicals at the Fox Theater, and a half dozen Braves games.

(We've also made a half dozen trips to Stone Mountain and a trip up to the mountains to go apple picking, but those places aren't in Atlanta, per se.)

So what's the difference? Do we have more disposable income? I don't think so. More time on our hands? That's funny. Maybe it's just a matter of accessibility.

So, to sum up:

Living near the big city is awesome, because there's a lot of cool things to do.

Thanks for reading. I think my next post will be called "Atlanta Traffic or a Root Canal...Which Would You Rather Have?"