Maryland Chick-fil-A Promises Woman Free Mac And Cheese After Forgetting It. Then She Sees Her Receipt—It’s Not What She Thinks: ‘Apparently I’m A Red Flag’

Chick-fil-A is known for its top-tier customer service and “my pleasure” adieu. In terms of service received,  Chick-fil-A is typically a delightful experience. So being labeled a red flag by some of the nicest people in the industry would be alarming.

TikToker Ash (@mommma_ash) says that’s what happened to her. But it’s not what she thinks.

In a viral video, she recounted her experience at a Severn, Maryland, Chick-fil-A.

She says she ordered her food, returned home, and realized the macaroni and cheese was missing.

Without hesitation, she says she called the restaurant to report the error. The manager, she says, let her know she could come back and get the missing item. Ash says she declined because she was already “all the way home.”

So the manager took her details, added it to a book, and told her she could come back to get a complimentary mac and cheese at any time, she shares.

Two weeks later, she says she returned.

“I went there today for my free mac and cheese, and apparently I’m a red flag,” she says.

Displayed in the video, the receipt shows an itemized breakdown of the order. On it, there is a line item that reads: “1 Red Flag.” There is also a line item for “1 Promo Free.”

During the exchange, she says the manager asked if she had her previous receipt; Ash says she did not. From the instruction given, all she needed to do was tell them her name when she returned.

“She [the manager] said she will go ahead and do me this favor this one time because my name was not in the book,” she says.

What’s A Red Flag At Chick-Fil-A?

However, the employees were likely not calling Ash a red flag, despite what the customer may think. A red flag on a Chick-fil-A receipt simply means the order contains a special request or has an unconventional item. Cashiers use this catch-all code to alert the kitchen staff to pay extra attention when processing the transaction.

“Whenever I ask for a side of pickles my receipt says red flag,” one commenter pointed out.

Drawing from experience, another commenter agreed.

“Red flag must mean something to chick fil a because my order sticker said that once but I thought it was because I had red hair at the time… thought it was funny. But now I’m curious what it means,” another said.

Why Is The Term ‘Red Flag’ So Triggering?

Given the connotation of what the term “red flag” means culturally, it is no shock that people feel personally attacked by the notation.

One patron said they felt stereotyped by the term. Their receipt had the red flag label accompanied by the text “100 bill.” The team member pulled her to the front of the line. She was then told she could not be tendered through the drive-thru.

“I work at cfa! the red flag button ensures that all screens will see it and will be ready to take your payment with correct change,” one commenter educated.

Naturally, patrons take the term at face value. Many are borderline offended that Chick-fil-A would blatantly label them a red flag.

Another poster was very concerned, acknowledging she can be complicated, but in this instance, she was not trying to be. She posted a video asking her followers, “Ya’ll I know I can be difficult sometimes, but what does 1 Red Flag mean? Am I flagged as a complicated orderer?”

Chick-fil-A Red Flag: What Else Can It Mean?

Interestingly, in none of the online instances did any of the customers ask the attendee what the term was there for or what it meant. Instead, they posted their concerns in videos asking the same questions containing similar anxieties: What does it mean?

The red flag can be used to notate an allergy, someone paying with a large bill, or simply a customer who asks for more sauce. Anything that does not have a standard button on the register will get tagged as a red flag.

From Ash’s video, it can be deduced she felt targeted, like she was being labeled as trying to get one over on Chick-fil-A. To add insult to injury, apparently, upon opening the macaroni and cheese, there was hair in it. She ended her caption with the hashtag #DoBetterChickfilA.

BroBible reached out to (@mommma_ash) and Chick-fil-A for comment.