I worked at Chick-fil-a for over three years when I was in high school. It was a great way to learn about customer service, perceived and actual value, economics, and how companies can be about more than making money. And the fact that I’m still willing to eat the food (something a lot of people I know who worked at other food joints won’t do) is at least small testament to their non-gross-factor behind the counter. Simply put, they do a lot of things right. But what happened today drives the point home they simply “get it” when it comes to doing business better.

My wife is out of town. I have plans that are going to keep me from going home immediately after work. One thing leads to another, huh? Anyway. . .that means I needed to go let the dog out at lunch. So I planned my route to take care of essentials as fast as possible at lunch: drive home, pick up food on the way, eat, walk the dog, get back to work. The most convenient, best fast food on the way is Chick-fil-a. But having been through a few lunch-time drive-throughs in my life, I was prepared for that to take the most time and I had a good CD ready for the wait.

As I said, I like the food anyway and I would have gone there on any average day that I was going to eat fast food, so that part isn’t that remarkable. What was remarkable was that when I pulled into the drive-through lane, the line was much shorter than normal for a weekday at 12:15. And there were two employees, clipboards in-hand, talking to the cars in line ahead of me. Before I even stopped behind them, the cars were moving along and one of the employees came toward me as the other went to the car behind me. She was bright and smiley when she asked how I was doing and if I knew what I wanted. I did (but she had a paper menu waiting had I not). I ordered a nugget meal. She told me the total (without a calculator, cash register or abacus), and sent me on my way. My car hardly stopped rolling. And it didn’t at any other time before I got to the window. My food was waiting—again with a smile. The exchange of cash was so fast I hardly had time to ask if this was planned or if their intercom system was broken, but being in marketing I had to. The employee at the window said, “no—they had just found this was faster and more personal.” I told her I liked it, and I was on my way home faster than I ever expected.

Today, what I enjoyed most about my Chick-fil-a experience is that they found a way to make my life easier. That’s thinking beyond the core—good food fast—to how to endear yourself to the consumer. And they did it in a way that stands in stark contrast to McDonald’s idea of outsourcing their drive-thru attendants in an effort to improve speed and accuracy.

How are you thinking beyond the core?