AUSTIN SACK & TYLER MERCHANT
Tyler Merchant and I both work at Chick-fil-A, except he works at the one off of University and I work at the one in Town Center. Although we both work for the same company, we have very different experiences while working. One experience that we both share is being the cow. Below you will find two stories, one written by me and the other written by Tyler. So enjoy your inside look about what it’s like to be the Chick-fil-A cow.
Austin:
The Chick-fil-A cow is a fun symbol for the company that tells people to eat mor chikin. As a kid I always wondered what it was like to be a mascot, but little did I know I would get the chance to be one of the most beloved mascots there ever was.
My story of joining the Chick-fil-A family starts with my aunt informing 15-year-old Austin that there was a brand new Chick-fil-A opening in Highlands Ranch Town Center. I immediately jumped on the opportunity to be apart of an amazing team and shortly after my interview I had the job!
My first couple of weeks at Chick-fil-a were pretty hectic because of a new store opening. I had to do a lot of training and finally found my favorite position, front counter.
Then one day as I was working my favorite position, I heard some chatter from my managers about bringing the cow out. I thought it would be really fun and volunteered myself for the big responsibility of being that beloved mascot.
Little do most people know there is a process to put on the cow suit. It begins with a bathroom break and some hydration. Then finally you are ready to put on the suit. The bottom layer under the suit was an ice vest, even though it was super cold in the store I grew a deep love for this vest as soon as I stepped into the hot summer sun. After the vest you put on the body of the cow, which is basically just a big onesie. After putting on the big onesie you are able to put on the cow head. The frustrating thing about the cow’s head is that it gets really hot in there. So they have a little fan at the top to help ventilate the head, but unfortunately it almost never worked and if it did it only went one mph. And if having your head sweat isn’t bad enough, you have to try and look out of a little hole in the cow’s neck which is really hard to see out of. You are technically looking through the cow’s neck which is covered with some sort of netting, but finally you are ready to head outside.
Unfortunately I didn’t know we were allowed to listen to music so dancing on the street corner was kinda awkward because you are dancing to your own beat. It also feels like you are out there forever. Plus on a hot day the other employees are only supposed to leave you out there for 15 minutes and then bring you back in, but I have been forgotten multiple times.
All in all being the cow was a fun experience that I am glad I got the chance be apart of. Now if they ask me to be the cow again I will probably be hesitant and offer to only be inside when I am in the cow.
Tyler:
The cow: Chick-fil-A’s beloved mascot and friend. The cow has been a symbol of Chick-fil-A for years and has contributed to many smiling and happy customers. Well I’m about to let you in on a little secret: the cow is actually a person.
Yes, as shocking as it may seem the cow is actually not a cow at all, but rather a sweaty human.
As it happens the cow is probably the farthest job down on the totem pole for Chick-fil-A, and I started nowhere else than the very bottom.
Fortunately, I am not the only person who has been trapped in this meat locker of a suit. My story kicks off shortly after my 14th birthday. Eager little Tyler was finally of age and was looking to make some money, the first option I had was none other than Chick-fil-A as my two older siblings had worked there prior, making it relatively easy to land a job as a 14-year-old.
I worked the as cow consistently for about a year and I can tell you that it is not a position that you want to find yourself in.
In the winter it was actually kind of fun. Dancing around to your own music, not caring what people think because they don’t know it’s you, wearing a big suit for a jacket, making little kids cry. I was basically living the dream. Then summer came around.
That summer had to have been the worst one of my life. I’d wake up early in the morning to run with the school, then proceed to melt into a puddle under the hot sun in what was basically the equivalent of wearing a ski jacket and ski pants in the middle of summer.
The worst part about it was the fan. The little computer fan that sat high up in the head of the cow, just taunting you. It never worked. Not a single day.
Actually maybe that wasn’t the worst part. The worst part was probably that I came in to work just after another kid finished his shift as the cow, leaving me to have to put on an already sweaty cow costume.
Anyways the cow was awful and I would never recommend that anyone suffer the same pain that I felt in it, but it also taught me a lot. I learned how to manage on the brink of heat exhaustion. I learned the importance of being hydrated. I learned the different pattern of alternating between dance moves and waving to keep from sweating myself into oblivion. I learned how it would be like to see with absolutely no peripheral vision. And, probably the most impressive, I learned how to keep time solely on the amount of songs I’ve listened to.
So thanks Chick-fil-A for the fun times and the sweaty times of the cow; I won’t miss it.
