Kentucky Fried Chicken

cjd
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Kentucky Fried Chicken

Post by cjd »

KFC isn't a restaurant I usually visit. But a few years ago I had started going again once in a while. Yet the last time I went the management just seemed poor and unprofessional and the chicken didn't taste right at all. So I haven't been back. The location also doesn't seem to do much business and also has some maintenance issues. The exterior paint has faded and the air vents inside always look dusty. The store just seemed to where you wonder how sanitary it is and if they use any training.

It seems this is an unfortunately more widespread issue with this chain from what I'm hearing.
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Re: Kentucky Fried Chicken

Post by Super S »

They are a chain that is hit or miss. I have been to some which are well-run, and some which look like they haven't received any upkeep or cleaning in years, and where they constantly screw up orders. A large chunk of them seem to fall somewhere in between, including the one closest to me (a combo unit with A&W). I used to go there somewhat regularly, but the last few times the store has been dirty and wait times were long. I haven't been there in several months now.

They also seem to be a chain where many franchisees will run a store design into the ground and simply close down instead of doing any remodeling. This causes their store count to swing back and forth considerably in some areas. Their restaurants can be hard to find

I never quite understood though how they determined where to place KFC buffet restaurants. Vancouver, WA had one in the Orchards area which had a buffet, but this was not offered at other locations ran by the same franchisee who has since sold out and several locations ended up closing. The Orchards location is still open but I am unsure if they still have the buffet.
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Re: Kentucky Fried Chicken

Post by wnetmacman »

cjd wrote: January 30th, 2019, 4:08 pm KFC isn't a restaurant I usually visit. But a few years ago I had started going again once in a while. Yet the last time I went the management just seemed poor and unprofessional and the chicken didn't taste right at all. So I haven't been back. The location also doesn't seem to do much business and also has some maintenance issues. The exterior paint has faded and the air vents inside always look dusty. The store just seemed to where you wonder how sanitary it is and if they use any training.

It seems this is an unfortunately more widespread issue with this chain from what I'm hearing.
On the contrary, KFC is actually trying to make a resurgence. Where I am in South Louisiana, they had all but left us. In the last 6 months, 3 new locations have opened. While they are nice, they are extremely small, like 30 seats inside. But they are clean, fast and friendly.

I do believe if there are issues, it is on a Franchisee by Franchisee basis, and it isn't chainwide.
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Re: Kentucky Fried Chicken

Post by storewanderer »

KFC in my immediate market seems to be pretty stable. The locations had been looking very shabby, but the past few months they've been doing some "image updates" and repainting the locations outside with a red and white stripe type motif that looks horrific, and it appears doing some kind of updates inside as well. But I haven't gone inside to see.

Sometimes out of town I've picked up their "Go Cups" which are typically a pretty solid value for the price (usually in the 2.99-3.49 range) and if convenient.

I work near a KFC and last went there for lunch probably 3 years ago. This place is always a deserted ghost town compared to all of the surrounding and nearby fast food. One day I went into it because the place I was planning to go was simply too crowded. I ordered a "Go Cup" which has in it some popcorn chicken and potato wedges. The photo shows a nice heaping cup. The product I received consisted of two very small potato wedge containers barely even filled with popcorn chicken and potato wedges, placed into the go cup. I got more air and packing than food. I called the complaint number and got a quick call back from a combative "District Supervisor" within about two hours who told me the fry containers are used to portion the Go Cups and what I received was the correct serving. I told her I guess the photo and what the locations out of town are doing is wrong. She huffed back at me again that what I received was the correct serving, very defensive. I noticed on the receipt there was a survey for "free Go Cup with purchase of any drink valid only at this location" so I took the survey and went back a few days later to claim my air cup with purchase of "any" drink. They actually forced me to purchase a large drink, so much for "any." The iced tea tasted like wet rag but I guess I did save about 1.20 on the air cup. I haven't been back since, but this location just got the remodel, so I guess it does enough business to at least justify that.
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Re: Kentucky Fried Chicken

Post by Brian Lutz »

Around here a lot of KFC locations have been remodeling lately, and the newer ones tend to look fairly nice. That said, operations can be very inconsistent from one location to another. In general, the combo Taco Bell/KFC stores seem to be the best run, and others go down from there. There are also some locations (such as the one on 128th in Lynnwood) with prices bordering on gouging (The "$5 Fill-up" meal is $8.49 at that particular location as of the last time I was there.) I'll occasionally get KFC because there's one somewhat within walking distance of where I work (one of few options in the area) but near where I live several Popeye's locations have opened recently, and I'd rather go there instead.

There was one buffet KFC location I knew of in the area (the Smokey Point one in Marysville) but they removed the buffet when they remodeled about a year ago.
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Re: Kentucky Fried Chicken

Post by Super S »

I have been noticing disappearing KFC locations lately. In Vancouver, WA there was a longtime KFC franchisee who sold out a few years ago. They have rebuilt one location, kept one other location open, but I know of at least 4 locations that have closed.

I recently returned from a trip to Idaho, and drove through Boise. I think I saw one location there that was open, and it was a combo. Most of the others have closed, and I did see what looked like a newer KFC/A&W combo unit among those that had closed.

There is a combo KFC/A&W unit where I live, but I am avoiding them until they reopen their dining room. It's not uncommon to see 15-20 vehicles lined up in the drive-thru right now.

KFC does fill a niche, but they seem to be struggling with franchises.
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Re: Kentucky Fried Chicken

Post by jamcool »

wnetmacman wrote: January 30th, 2019, 7:42 pm
cjd wrote: January 30th, 2019, 4:08 pm KFC isn't a restaurant I usually visit. But a few years ago I had started going again once in a while. Yet the last time I went the management just seemed poor and unprofessional and the chicken didn't taste right at all. So I haven't been back. The location also doesn't seem to do much business and also has some maintenance issues. The exterior paint has faded and the air vents inside always look dusty. The store just seemed to where you wonder how sanitary it is and if they use any training.

It seems this is an unfortunately more widespread issue with this chain from what I'm hearing.
On the contrary, KFC is actually trying to make a resurgence. Where I am in South Louisiana, they had all but left us. In the last 6 months, 3 new locations have opened. While they are nice, they are extremely small, like 30 seats inside. But they are clean, fast and friendly.

I do believe if there are issues, it is on a Franchisee by Franchisee basis, and it isn't chainwide.
They recently opened up a smaller KFC in Goodyear, AZ that is mainly drive-thru/walk up/Doordash, with very few tables-this is probably the future of fast food. The place is busy and the food is decent.

I think KFC seems to be less important nowadays in the Yum Brands empire… judging by advertising- Taco Bell is the golden child, Pizza Hut is second, the Colonel is third
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Re: Kentucky Fried Chicken

Post by Alpha8472 »

In my area in Northern California, all of the Pizza Huts closed just months ago. I would have to drive over 30 minutes to find one.

Two KFC restaurants closed recently, but at least there are a few left in my area. I would say that there is too much pizza competition, so Pizza Hut is the most unloved Yum brand. KFC has introduced a new chicken sandwich that is quite good, and they are now offering crispy fries. I actually like the fries. I was pleasantly surprised.
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Re: Kentucky Fried Chicken

Post by storewanderer »

The KFC Franchisee in Reno is a long-term franchisee. They used to have Tahoe/Truckee (there were 4 locations) then sold those to someone else then the someone else went bust and they took a couple of them back but ultimately closed them. But in Reno they have been very stable. They have not closed a location since the mid 90's (when a location was lost due to a redevelopment), but they haven't opened many new locations either. They have a few 00's locations (Fernley, Sparks Los Altos, Reno Damonte Ranch) but have been noticeably absent from other growing areas (North Reno, Dayton, Central Reno). They are always quite quick on image updates as well. The employees are typically overly friendly/scripted and locations look clean. Usually a pretty good experience until you get the food; even locations in tough neighborhoods are clean and friendly.

Also this KFC Franchisee is somehow able to keep their locations actually staffed and open. In the past year they were open for to-go or drive through until 10 PM just like in the past while surrounding fast foods like Carls Jr. and Jack in the Box haven't had dine in open in over a year and often close at 6 PM or 7 PM due to who knows what. I was thinking KFC has a slightly different staffing situation given they do not sell breakfast. They are doing a lot more business just by virtue of actually being open.

With that said I am not impressed with KFC. The food is usually dry, portion sizes seem off, price seems high, and I just think it is a chain that cuts corners. The iced tea tastes like wet dirty towel smells.

I did try the new sandwich a couple times at South Lake Tahoe KFC before it closed a year or two ago, and thought it was pretty good. I have not been to KFC since they introduced the new fries.

In Boise there are 3 KFCs. I think Albertsons deli put significant pressure on KFC in Boise.
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Re: Kentucky Fried Chicken

Post by Romr123 »

I worked for 2 1/2 years at KFC Corporate about 30 years ago as a mystery shopper. Traveled 100% of the time to corporate locations (which were about 1/3 of the system at that point-generally in larger cities).

They have re-franchised to a huge degree in the last 15 years...believe YUM is only about 5% corporate-owned by this point. YUM seems to go in cycles, attending to each of the concepts sequentially. I believe their largest KFC franchisee is Harman from Salt Lake City...looks like they've got 300 locations from Wikipedia. As KFC is the oldest YUM concept, they have some long-term franchisees like Harman...remember that KFC was a menu item for local diners/restaurants in the beginning, so they were part of local restaurant dynasties like Kenny King (Cleveland), Gino's (Philadelphia), Harman's (Salt Lake City) which have gradually been absorbed and de-emphasized, but provided the basis for some of these local dynasties.

KFC is somewhat less exposed to the corporate franchise owners which have conglomerated a lot of PH and TB locations recently....some of those (particularly PH) have filed for bankruptcy which really isn't a good thing for consistency or quality. KFC seems to have more of the 50-unit franchisees which provides a little closer control (as they're normally regional), but their limitations/blind spots will typically impact an entire region. As an example from 30 years ago, locations could either produce their own coleslaw (from cabbage run through a Buffalo Chopper) or use a commissary product. Corporate stores all produced their own at each store; franchisees could do whatever they pleased (ranging anywhere from doing it in each restaurant to using a commissary product including adding green coloring/parsley).

Any of the 3 have to get buy-in from their franchise base when they're doing a new product, because there's likely significant investment in equipment/staffing. I had a friend who retired 2 years ago...her last major project was rolling out the plated meals/individually scooped side items. I worked there during the rollout of (original square) Chicken Littles and french fries...they needed to invest in an additional fryer, racks and a sandwich/fry station, plus to adjust their processes to toss out the fries at 10 minute intervals (the wedge fries had a 1 hour life, as I recall).
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