App Critique

For this week's discussion, I chose to review what our family loves to use: the Chic Fil A App. We use this app quite a bit as it is intuitive and well-made. Besides, who does not like their food waiting on them when they get to a restaurant instead of waiting? Mobile apps for restaurants have exploded recently, with places like Mcdonald's, Chic Fil A, and Taco bell using them. Everyone else seems to be trending on the same path. 

Usability

    The app is very user-friendly and easy to use. When you launch the app, you are taken to a login page if you are not logged in. Once logged in, you are greeted with a big welcome and often free rewards such as sandwiches, drinks, or desserts. You then have the choice of dining in or take out. The best part of the app is that we can go in and sit at a table, then order our food and simply put our table number there, and they bring it directly to us. This bypasses the long line that restaurants typically have.

Design

    The app is designed well and laid out for a very easy and quick experience. The app offers multiple tabs at the top and the bottom for various options. They provide news, point redemption, the status of an order, and your rewards at the top. On the bottom, you can access the menu, rewards, scan the QR code for in-store points, account info, and my order tab. The layout provides a simple swipe and clicks system for navigation. The photos are given for a very prominent description of all the items they offer. They also offer nutritional facts on all the items at the restaurant. 

Nutritional Facts for a Meal 

 

Functionality

    The functionality in the app works exceptionally well. It does have some issues regarding crashing occasionally, but overall, it works most of the time. When I use it, if I have issues, usually a quick close and open fixes it. As mentioned above, the app allows you to dine in, pick up in-store, or even order for the drive-through. Meanwhile, you are currently building up reward points for things you can redeem later. My kids like to go through all my points for ice cream, of course, ha! You also are the one creating your order which will lean on the side of no errors. Since you are creating it, you can make it just how you would like it to be done without issues between you and, say, the person taking your order. 

Image of the Reward Point System 

 

Improvement Suggestions

    From a user standpoint, I would like to suggest a way to scan the receipts instead of manually inputting the information for missed rewards. Secondly, I would like to see an estimated time for your order in the app to let you know how long your order may take. Lastly, this may sound silly, but a way to transfer reward points to a different user instead of having to share my login info with someone. Since data security is a big issue, some people may utilize that login info.