Chick-Fil-A's Waffle Fries Update Is Already Ruining Customers' Year
Chick-fil-A is no stranger to controversy, but the latest brouhaha to put the restaurant in the news really has customers ticked off. Have you ever heard the phrase, "If it's not broke [sic], don't fix it"? Well, Chick-fil-A did not heed those wise words when it came to its beloved waffle fries. The fast food chicken chain would probably prefer that customers were ringing in 2025 with one of its brand-new Key Lime Frosted Lemonade drinks and thinking happy thoughts, but instead, they're taking to their keyboards to complain about changes to its fries.
On its website, Chick-fil-A dropped the bombshell that it "recently made a slight adjustment to [its] Waffle Potato Fries recipe, which offers the same great taste while also making ... Waffle Potato Fries stay crispier, longer." As part of a statement about allergens, the chain went on to mention that the new fries contain pea starch. Sounds pretty benign, right? Unfortunately, the internet response shows that patrons do not agree about "the same great taste." In fact, they largely feel that the "improved" fries are pretty bad.
Grainy, dry, and flavorless — people really hate the new fries
The first rumbles of discontent regarding Chick-fil-A's fries seem to have bubbled up around November. A Reddit thread had a commenter questioning why "the fries are now crispier, but, like, not in a good way?" Responses poured in, with other Redditors calling the changed fries "dry, almost rocky," and "rubbery and chewy." On TikTok, user @hey_velina dramatically exclaimed, "What did you do to my fries? There was nothing wrong with these fries." The social media blasts and comments go on and on in the same vein.
Interestingly, a post on X, formerly Twitter, made the (unverified) claim that the new fries were something that Chick-fil-A rolled out first at its Little Blue Menu test kitchen location in College Park, Maryland, several months ago. If this is true, it begs the question of how customers there responded to the new fries. Were they okay with the modified taters? Honestly, it sounds like the rest of the country absolutely hates the changed waffle fries. The ball is now in Chick-fil-A's court. Will it respond to the backlash? Only time will tell.