Comments on: Why KFC’s Oprah Debacle Could End-up Finger Lickin’ Good!

By: Oyun

Oyun — Tue, 26 May 2009 23:40:53 +0000

Thanks you everybady

By: zaqxsw cdev

zaqxsw cdev — Mon, 25 May 2009 20:48:48 +0000

Something for nothing + Black people =

By: Destiny

Destiny — Wed, 20 May 2009 05:11:23 +0000

I think this was so funny! I own a free stuff blog adn the most traffic I ever had was when I listed this deal. I actually went up to 1000 visitors a day where I was only at 500,..I'm sorry it ended. I hope Oprah offers something else free and soon!

By: Epic Lunch at blog

Epic Lunch at blog — Sun, 17 May 2009 13:46:11 +0000

[...] I had an epic lunch with Taylor. We decided on going to KFC to cash in on some coupons. [...]

By: Ed

Ed — Sun, 17 May 2009 00:27:37 +0000

Well it didn't turn into a finger licking good experience for me. They refused to honor my coupon saying that if I filled out a form they'd mail me another coupon? They said they didn't expect the large number of people coming at once and they needed to order enough chicken. What really happened was people used programs to print coupons and sold them on ebay. They obviously have no way to track and make sure people only printed 4 coupons. This pissed me off and now I won't be going back to KFC so they turned an opportunity into loosing a customer for good. Stupid move KFC.

By: Doug Mewis

Doug Mewis — Fri, 15 May 2009 00:41:05 +0000

KFC should really go back to fundamentals. Their chicken is too greasy. I remember when it was chicken to die for.

Now if you buy KFC chicken and let it cool, you got blobs of coagulated grease clinging to the pieces of chicken and it is not really appetizing at all. When I was young we always bought KFC chicken when we went camping or hunting and that was one of the main meals. It was so good then, you could even eat it could. Now it gives me a sick feeling to the stomach to eat it cold.

Some franchises are even worse. SOme are “refrying” their chicken and making it even greasier. I watched one outfit in Denver “prep” a batch by deep frying it and then putting it on a rack. Then I watched them take another rack off and deep fry it again. I also have received chicken that was not fully cooked from them and had to take it back.

QC and fundamentals is where KFC needs to go and badly if they need to boost the bottom line.

By: vsears

vsears — Thu, 14 May 2009 02:48:49 +0000

I went to KFC to check out my Oprah coupon deal. While I was in KFC there was a total of four customers and an abundance of grilled chicken and it was less than two hours until closing! I was told that the coupons were not being honored. I was given a “Dear Valued Customer” form to complete and attach my original coupon, place in an stamped envelope and return to KFC. I was told I would receive another coupon for a “free meal at a later date”, PLUS a free Pepsi! If KFC could not honor the first coupon, I may be directed to complete a second form and mail it. What assurance do I have that there will not be run on “free meal plus Pepsi at a later day” coupons?

I asked for a manager. I asked her to help me understand why the coupon would not be honored since there was plenty grilled chicken? She explained that if my coupon was honored, it would not be fair to others. But, I could purchase the meal my coupon offered. I’m going to Popeye”s from now on!

By: kams912

kams912 — Wed, 13 May 2009 20:34:31 +0000

I’m not your average stupid consumer, and for me to fall for this bait and switch really pissed me off. KFC and the Marketing Demon Oprah had no doubt that people would arrive with their coupon in hand wanting a free meal, and when one was not given they assumed that people would just say “O’ well, I’m here I might as well eat” but not this sucker! I’m done with KFC FOREVER!

By: So Good Blog/News Round-Up 5/12/09 | So Good

So Good Blog/News Round-Up 5/12/09 | So Good — Tue, 12 May 2009 20:13:35 +0000

[...] Marketing Pilgrim thinks the incident may still benefit KFC. [...]

By: Melissa Canchola

Melissa Canchola — Tue, 12 May 2009 19:48:50 +0000

If they will honor all the coupons that were printed. I see it as something good for KFC. I didn’t get my coupon on time. By the time my dad told me it was too late. I think they should just have a day where they fullfill all the requested. So they can do it in one day and get it over with. I stilll like El Pollo Loco better, it is really done on open flame. Also on their website they say they would take competitors coupons. So I took some down to the El Pollo loco and talked to the manager (which it said to do on their website). At first there was a family meal from KFC and it had 14 pieces. So the El Pollo Loco said they would give me the 14 pieces even though they don’t have a 14 piece meal to match the KFC one which was great, but my dad said it’s too much cause we didn’t need to get that much chicken.

So we got about 10 pieces with 3 small sides and 2 packs of (2) tortillas which was pretty good price and I ordered 2 loco salads also which are on the dollar menu. So that was still a great price, that came out to 13 and some change. But the manager said I’m gonna give you a discount for just bringing in the coupons from the competitor and chosing them obviously over KFC. So it’s like I got the loco salads free. Then also my dad joked about giving us free soda and she said okay. So we got 2 loco salads and 2 sodas free, which saved us at least 4 dollars if not 5 or 6.

So this can go good for either place if they play it right. But I do think it is right that they should get money from corporate to back up the franchises. So it’s good for everybody and they stay in business. Competition is good in business, I think.

By: Sid Samant

Sid Samant — Tue, 12 May 2009 18:57:13 +0000

Read more about Rodger Eaton’s apology at
http://www.aircheese.com/article/kfc-dominos-ms–apologies-part-i

By: pandorasbox

pandorasbox — Mon, 11 May 2009 18:41:22 +0000

Class!

By: Josh Wellington

Josh Wellington — Mon, 11 May 2009 18:26:35 +0000

I WILL NEVER GO BACK TO ANOTHER KFC EVER

you hear that you KFC bastards!!

YOU HEAR ME YOU CORPORATE PRICKS??

By: pandorasbox

pandorasbox — Mon, 11 May 2009 15:04:53 +0000

It is really pretty good. Much healthier.

By: Dan Greenfield

Dan Greenfield — Mon, 11 May 2009 14:54:36 +0000

Coupons or no coupons -- interesting question. A bigger question is whether KFC's new grilled chicken taste any good. Grilled chicken is a gamble for the KFC brand. Even the best promotions will fail if the product stinks. Dan Greenfield's last blog post..Seeking Actionable Intelligence from Search

By: Top 10 Blog Posts of the Week | SEO, Social Media & eCommerce Talk @RTMLWise

Sun, 10 May 2009 18:09:37 +0000

[...] Why KFC’s Oprah Debacle Could End-up Finger Lickin’ Good! – Marketing Pilgrim [...]

By: Anita

Anita — Sat, 09 May 2009 18:25:30 +0000

Who was the marketing genius who thought up that solution? Pdf file – for goodness sakes! They should have just made the announcement on Oprah to go to your local KFC for 1 day only & GET a free coupon – given by KFC when asking to be used during a very limited time – like within 3 days to a week.

I do not know how they will get rid of the negative connotation. It feels like a scam, even though, logically you know there were problems. I think they should let the hype die as soon as possible, resume the interesting grilled chicken commercials ASAP. Even the “fixes” are making things worse.

By: Jim

Jim — Sat, 09 May 2009 17:35:22 +0000

What most of the pubic doesn’t realize is the ‘checks and balances’ put in place for a limit of 4 coupons per computer went out the window due to a SERVER CRASH (hackers suspected) so the KFC made the decision to post a downloadable PDF for a short period of time (It was either that or get blamed for not living up to the offer of allowing people to log on and download…darned if you do, darned if you don’t).

IT WAS ALL OVER at the point the coupon PDF was out there. As every knows, you can email a PDF anywhere or print unlimited copies. People and organizations everywhere were printing coupons off without limits. Everyone saw the results.

By: Anita

Anita — Sat, 09 May 2009 17:27:23 +0000

DISASTER
I was pulling for them in the beginning & thought it may be a stunt – “just spell my name right”, but after not being able to download the coupon because they did not anticipate the server stress (really?) and now returning to the site seeing that it is “too late” makes me a little angry. I feel ripped off and I didn’t even buy anything. They reached out to offend people in the end and the grilled chicken I wanted to try at KFC is now leaving a bad taste in my mouth without ever having tried it.

By: Dr. DeClutter

Dr. DeClutter — Sat, 09 May 2009 16:43:59 +0000

1) It’ll soon be forgotten if they don’t keep making a big deal out of it.
2) Coupons are coupons – they don’t “owe” anyone anything.
3) If “Consumerist” is right, that “the franchised stores weren’t being reimbursed” then that’s a blackhole for them and hardly supportive from KFC headquarters.
4) Here’s the thing really — if you’re on Oprah, DUH! This is going to happen. They knew it, she knew it and they still let it happen. Big, bad decisions somewhere.
5) People, i.e. companies make mistakes. Outside of a little time and a few miles gas, no one lost anything on this if they didn’t get their free cluck for the day.

Lighten up people!