Some Customers Have Alleged A Disappointing Trend With Chick-Fil-A Sandwiches

There is a loyal following of people who swear by Chick-fil-A's tender, juicy chicken, unique breading, and namesake signature sauce. That loyalty has brought the fast food franchise a lot of love over the years, but since the 2020s, some consumers seem to be losing devotion toward the chicken chain. Chick-fil-A earned a spot in a round-up of fast food restaurants receiving customer complaints about skrinkflation, due to allegations that its waffle fries appeared to shrink in the carton within minutes of purchase. Now, customers are turning their criticism to Chick-fil-A's top-ranked menu item — the chicken sandwich — and claim it's becoming smaller.

"What happened to Chick-fil-A?" a Reddit user asked, initiating a discussion at r/ChickFilA. The user posted two sandwich photos, which they alleged were taken five years apart. The older sandwich was visibly thicker, with the lettuce and breaded cutlet overflowing from the bun. The size of the more recent sandwich paled in comparison. "Oof, that looks BAD," one commenter said.

"The sandwich is definitely getting smaller," echoed a Redditor in another r/ChickFilA thread. "Just had the grilled club, and it was about as thin as a Big Mac patty. The d*mn thing wasn't super wide to compensate for it being smashed down either."

In response to customers' concerns about the dwindling size of the chicken sandwiches, Chick-fil-A employees hopped on Reddit to defend the franchise and offer an explanation. "The weight is standardized (3.3+ ounces) and hasn't change[d] in decades," read one comment, which also noted, "They now use filet rollers, which makes the filets thinner, but the mass is the same as it [has] always been."

A discussion at r/ChickFilAWorkers appeared to confirm the employee's claim, featuring a photo of an industrial restaurant rolling machine and the text, "New filet roller coming soon to all stores, who's excited?" The employees were told the flattening process would help to make the filets more uniform and consistent, and avoid the risk of thicker filets being raw or undercooked in the middle.

Prior to the introduction of this industrial machinery, employees reported pressing the filets by hand in accordance with a specific, rigorous process. In a 2018 video shared by Southern Living, an employee demonstrated the manual process inside the Chick-fil-A kitchen. "We say that you want to lift your heels off the floor," she said, placing raw filets into a bin of seasoned flour, covering them, then pushing down hard on each one while noting, "You're using some calf muscles." These apparent employee fitness requirements and the chicken roller's existence seem like good additions to the list of things you probably didn't know about Chick-fil-A.