A new, fast food restaurant is slowly winning the hearts of chicken lovers all over the nation. In fact, most reviewers are sharing that it may be the biggest competitor of America’s favorite brand, Chick-fil-A. Call it a hype but the newly converted customers are calling it the PDQ experience.
What is PDQ?
The acronym can stand by itself as it means “People Dedicated to Quality”. From this phrase alone, customers will feel at ease to know that the restaurant has a goal of making the best quality meals they can think of or produce. What more, with barely a year in the business, restaurant magazines are clearly impressed as they have been calling this new restaurant “the #1 fastest growing fast food chain in the United States”.
Opening its doors to the public last 2013 in Oakland Park, Florida, PDQ initially meant “pretty darn quick”. Later on, founder Nick Reader, the same brain used to form Outback Steakhouse, realized its best to a place powerful meaning to the seemingly simple letters.
What’s on The Menu?
For a simple chicken place, PDQ does offer a lot of options to its customers. Starting with the chicken tenders, which comes in with the unique tasting blueberry coleslaw, up to the crowd’s favorite chicken sandwiches, which can be grilled, spicy buffalo, or crispy, most customers swear that the food is worth trying for.
Nuggets, homemade sauces, shakes, cookies, and salads sum up the menu and if a customer wish to know if she’ll get an allergic reaction from any of the meals, the restaurant has an allergen guide they can download off the website. Furthermore, they also offer catering services for any occasion to help spread their joyous meals.
What sets it apart from its competitors?
Besides the food, menu and the freshness of the ingredients PDQ use, the ambiance and customer service are two of the defining factors that customers love to see.
With a homey and cozy interior, stepping inside a PDQ restaurant is like having a meal inside a close friend’s or a relative’s house. It has an open and inviting ambiance that will make customers feel at home. The kitchen and service prep area are open and visible to the public, making them comfortable that what they are eating is freshly made everyday.
The service of the crew, staff, and waiters is something that cannot be duplicated anywhere else. They are well-trained and well-groomed to begin with that customers will grow affectionately attached to them. What more, each meals are delivered on time on every tables every time.
Furthermore, there is no other chicken places that offer their own sauces which are made fresh daily. There are a total of eight sauces in all and these are bleu cheese, creamy garlic, buffalo bleu, chipotle BBQ, honey mustard, sweet sriracha, and ranch. These sauces work well with almost all of their menu items, making it even a better experience for customers who love to mix and match their dressing.
Another added feature that customers will probably not see in most chicken restaurants is the presence of Coca-Cola freestyle machines. If you haven’t heard of these little babies then it’s probably the best time to head over a PDQ restaurant and give it a whirl. These devices allow anyone who loves Coke to play and mix flavor tweaks to the original soda, such as vanilla, lime, and cherry.
“Hi [state your name], what are you having today?”
Staying true to their home hospitality and mind setting, each customer is asked of his name when placing an order. Once prepared, the manager will say “[State your name], your fresh meal is ready” on a pedestal and hand the meal to the customer himself. It was like being invited to someone’s home where the host is nothing but kind and hospitable.
And like any other American home, customers can easily identify who they can approach if they need any help. There’s no fancy shamcy uniforms, only black, green, and a white Chef’s coat. In the same friendly manner, courtesy and language are also a big deal in this restaurant.
As if these are not easy enough, the wash station are conveniently placed in corners to support families with little kids. No more crowded bathrooms just for washing up and no more sloppy slip ups for kids.
Lastly, PDQ offers several promos on a daily basis that customers will have a hard time not coming back everyday. Shakes and all kinds of beverages are 50 percent discounted everyday from three to five in the afternoon. If you are a loyal customer, why not buy a shirt and receive a complimentary milkshake on your next visit?
If these are not good reasons enough to consider why PDQ is worth the hype, then you are probably a high maintenance customer that is hard to please.
