Chick-fil-A’s warm Southern hospitality and friendly manner make it a top contender in the world of fast food service. The Chick-fil-A in the John Lews Student Center further demonstrates this friendly environment, with long lines and super approachable staff members consisting of fellow Tech students. While many would argue that their menu is the main reason why they excel over other fast food chains, their customer service standards are strongly withheld and are on par with what makes them so successful.
To help strengthen the connection between the student body and Chick-fil-A, the restaurant hosted a trivia night with Chick-fil-A-related prizes on Oct. 3 as part of its “Breakfast for Dinner” promotion.
Deidre Schulte, third-year PHYS, was one of the two co-hosts for the night.
“We have such a community with each other, and we want to reach out to the students and create close connections,” Schulte said.
Schulte, who previously worked at Chick-fil-A in high school, said she stayed at Tech’s location due to the people she could work with. Having a majority student-run location heightens the sense of community and friendliness that the company wants to attain, which has been achieved based on the location’s success. By having a trivia night, the location wants students to take a break from school and relax while having fun with friends and meeting new people.
“It is hard to find a community when you’re so caught up at school, and working together just builds that level of community with the students,” Schulte said.
They also wanted to host the trivia night to encourage a sense of community and working together in Chick-fil-A throughout the student body.
“I feel like trivia night really brings people together, working together, and trying to answer the questions. We’re just excited to see everyone work together,” Schulte said.
A statement that later felt like an understatement as the night continued since not only did students come in friend groups to play, but opposing teams also got closer with friendly banter and side conversations between rounds.
The trivia had a mix of questions about Tech, sports, music, history, and, of course, Chick-fil-A. Due to the high number of students that arrived early for trivia night, the games started fifteen minutes early since everyone was eager to start. With a Chick-fil-A meal in one hand and a pen in the other, students attempted to outwit their opponents.
Even though the actual trivia session was only to start at 7 pm, “Breakfast for Dinner” started at 6 pm which led to a high amount of students sitting down, getting ready for the trivia session starting from 6. Luckily, the two co-hosts, Schulte and Scarlett Harrington, created a wonderful and ecstatic energy from 6, making even waiting for the event to start to seem entertaining due to their colorful personalities.
The night was a mix of fun and chaos as groups battled for bonus points by trying to sing the songs that were the answers for the music section of the night. By the end of the trivia section of the night, the energy was still high, and the students clamored for more.
Due to the event starting fifteen minutes early, the trivia also ended fifteen minutes early, allowing the two co-hosts to host an impromptu mini-trivia for those who wanted to stay. Almost everyone did.
“The trivia session was a fun way to spend dinner time together while also playing trivia games. Even though we didn’t win, we definitely would come back again,” said Akash Patel, second-year PHYS, Vincent Yang, second-year CS, and Kevin Ghobrial, second-year CMPE.
Due to the trivia night’s location, right in front of the Chick-fil-A, students walking around the student center also sat down and joined the game because they saw how fun and engaging the trivia was. This also added to the community aspect that the company was hoping for because some students who previously did not know the event was occurring joined because they saw fellow students participating.
When the night officially ended, the two co-hosts were bombarded with questions about when the next trivia night would be. Since this was the first and currently only one planned, they asked everyone who attended if they would come again for another game night, and they were met with a universal yes.
“If this is successful, it’s definitely something we will look forward to having more of,” Schulte said before the event.
Given the great success, this will likely be the first of many trivia night Chick-fil-A hosts.
To find more information about Trivia Nights and possible Game Nights, look out for signs and posters around the student center. “Breakfast for Dinner” is hosted on the first Thursday of every month.