Kentucky Fried Chicken is an institution in America and has spread throughout the world. It is in China, for example. But there is a scandal now on YouTube about what was going on in China.
It has been written up in the
press in a way
that might create bad publicity, which no fast food chain needs during a recession. But citizen journalists, even in the position of a deliveryman can be helpful in exposing problems.
This evening we went to a KFC restaurant in our town of Natchitoches. My husband and I are both seniors and since we try to avoid gravies and sweet drinks, we never go for the meal but buy isolated items. After we made our purchase, we noticed that we weren’t given the senior citizen rate and asked the cashier about it. The response: no need, the young woman said; it’s only a dollar. We asked for the manager who promptly redid the order and gave us the change.
The KFC restaurant was empty, and we remained the only customers during the 45 minutes we were there. Right next door McDonalds was doing a healthy business. So the KFC cashier didn’t understand the importance of customer service. Apparently the information hasn’t been passed along from the corporate office because in China there is a scandal growing that can hurt business in China if this fast food chain doesn’t practice good service and quality, clean food there.
One deliveryman has done public service by filming young food workers in China tossing food into the garbage as they prepare to close and then gathering it back up and giving it to customers when they come in. He filmed this on his cell phone and loaded it up to YouTube. .
Given how much the Chinese enjoy Kentucky Fried Chicken and the recession going on that is making them circumspect about spending their money, it would seem this video will create concern. Nor is it likely that bad attitudes will be good for service anywhere, whether in China or in the United States especially during the recession.
So the message appears to be that retail stores and food chains need to be prepared to do a good job with their customers and serve them courteously and fairly for someone may be watching with a camera and during hard times hard times might be harder for those who don’t do the right thing.
