Chick-fil-A Is Giving Away Free Ice Cream to Customers Who Can Pass This ‘Impossible’ Test

Select restaurants are bringing back a small box that asks customers to put away their phones, offering a free treat if they can do it.

BY LEILA SHERIDAN, NEWS WRITER

Illustration: Inc; Photo: Chick-fil-A, Getty Images

Chick-fil-A is once again asking customers to do something increasingly rare: sit through a meal without looking at their phones.

It’s a notable ask at a moment when screen time is reaching record highs. According to a recent study, Americans now spend an average of five hours and one minute per day on their smartphones, with some estimates suggesting people check their devices as often as every five minutes, adding up to nearly 83 days per year spent on screens. 

At select locations, the chain is reviving its “cell phone coop,” a small box placed on tables that invites diners to stash their devices for the duration of their meal. If customers can successfully finish a meal without their phones, they’re rewarded with a free small ice cream cone, ABC reported. 

The concept, first introduced nearly a decade ago by Georgia-based operator Brad Williams, was born out of a moment that felt all too familiar. After watching a parent spend an entire meal on her phone instead of engaging with her children, Williams began thinking about how a restaurant might gently intervene, according to ABC. 

How Anthropic's Claude AI Became a Co-Founder

“It just got me thinking how to get people to disconnect in order to connect and to take a technology timeout,” Williams told Good Morning America. “Be present where your feet are.”

The idea taps into a growing body of research suggesting that phone use during social interactions actively undermines connection. A 2023 study published in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology found that people with access to their phones during in-person interactions reported worse social experiences and engaged less with others compared to those without their devices.

What started as a local experiment has quietly scaled. Since relaunching the initiative in 2016, Williams said more than 10,000 coops have been produced, with nearly 200 independently operated Chick-fil-A locations adopting the idea.

© Inc.com