All "cooped" up in a Chick-fil-A?

Brad Williams of Suwanee, GA, near Atlanta, has four kids. Sometimes he calls them "screenagers," since they like to spend family mealtime texting friends and scrolling the Internet. To encourage better dinner conversations, he made a rule, "no cell phones at the dinner table." But the problem extended beyond his kids. He owns a Chick-fil-A franchise, and noticed many families eating in silence as they checked their email. So he made an offer some could not refuse.

He put an empty box on each table called a "Cell Phone Coop." If diners silence their phones, put them in the coop and leave them untouched for an entire meal, they are rewarded with a free Chick-fil-A Icedream. And here's the best part. His challenge has been so well received that over 350 Chick-fil-A restaurants across the country have requested Cell Phone Coops! Williams never dreamed his challenge would go national. He never publicized it beyond his restaurant. He explained, "I just want to see if we can play a small part helping the families in our community reconnect."