Leave your mobile phone alone and you get free ice cream.
Chick-fil-A offers, in all of its 150 or so stores, the “Cell Phone Coop,” a box where dining families and friends can leave their phones and gadgets while they wolf down their chicken nuggets and waffle fries.
The coop was the brainchild of Chick-fil-A operator Brad Williams of Suwanee, Georgia, who wanted “a sense of community” and quality time for their customers.
“But as we all know, technology increasingly demands more of our time and be a big distraction, even while we’re eating. This got me thinking about what we could do to reduce this distraction during meals,” he says.
How does the coop work? Everyone at the table should turn their phone to silent and place them inside the box. Guests who successfully complete the challenge of keeping their cell phones untouched in the coop during their meal will receive a Chick-a-fil-A Icedream on the house.
Williams shared that the challenge has totally taken off, with those with an unsuccessful first attempt returning to stores to give it another try.
“We even have people asking to take the boxes home with them!” he recalls.
And perhaps it’s high time for innovative ways to ditch one’s phone. According to 2015 Informate Mobile Intelligence research, Americans now devote an average of 4.7 hours per day using their phone.
While mobile communication is originally designed to bring people closer, the opposite might be happening: restaurant diners’ eyes are often plastered on phone screens, with the good ol’ art of conversation lost throughout the meal.
Chefs and restaurant owners, however, seem divided on the issue of cell phone use in establishments. A 2014 USA Today survey reflected both support and disdain for the phenomenon.
“These people are paying me and doing social media for me,” a manager said. A chef, on the other hand, asserts that they are “not an Apple superstore” and dubs tabletop cell phone use as among the “worst dining trends ever.”
A Chicago restaurant already offers a phone “check-in” that one can liken to a coat check, while a number of eateries provide perks and discounts to diners who can put down their phones during lunch or dinner.
Photo: Mike Mozart | Flickr
