My pal Cartman says KFC gravy is the best... and worth the wait...

Slow service. Old looking stores. Large confusing menus. They have lost focus. The "We do chicken right" campaign went away. They ignore their existing stores to make new, flashy multi name stores and don't care for what made them great. Church's Chicken, Popeye's and many others don't (Taco Bell/KFC?) care about the association with "fried" fare and they are always busy, their menu easy and priced right.

Yeah, I was wondering if it was just my local places. The waits are ridiculous. No wonder the brand is in trouble.

Their chicken isn't that good anymore either. The last time I ate at KFC the "crispy" chicken was soggy with grease.

First, I find it insulting that their marketing people think it's "confusing" for customers when they added grilled to the menu. Do they think we're that stupid?

Next, their original recipe is awful now. It never seems to be cooked long enough now. I used to make it by there at least once a week, not anymore.

OUShark, may I introduce you to Paul L? He seems to think the addition of grilled chicken is confusing.

The chicken's gotten worse and the prices have gotten too high. I can get a bucket of Bojangles chicken that tastes just as good for about $5 less than KFC.

Whats confusing at the kfc in my town is half of the menu isnt on thier take out board. You hear about specials they have on tv then you go to drive thru and its not there and you have to ask if they have it or not. And also I remember a few years ago they tried to change it from kentucky fried chicken to kitchen fresh chicken. That is so lame. Just leave it the way it has always worked for decades. Lets face it, if you want fried chicken you want it the southern way.

This guy Eaton claims this strategy of pushing the grilled chicken is derived after extensive consumer research, eh? Well, a 7 percent drop in sales is huge and sales of the grilled chicken continue to drop.

This is still one more attempt by the KFC management to develop an alternative to their fried chicken; they’ve been trying this for decades. I recall something they called rotisserie gold (probably in the 80’s) which had whole chickens rotating on a spit with a glass front so the customer could see them cooking.

Well, their initial promotion of this type of chicken went pretty well because they had a buy one get one free policy. When they ended that policy and coupled with the wearing off of the novelty effect, nobody bought this chicken anymore and I predict the Kentucky grilled will follow this path eventually. I tried it once and it's far inferior to their fried chicken.

For KFC to survive and thrive they need to pay attention to their flagship product which is fried chicken and enforce quality control which seems to be slipping lately. The colonel must be spinning in his grave.

Our local KFC is a nightmare. There's always an angry mob of customers stuck there at dinner time, waiting on their orders for 20 minutes (no exageration). They're always out of everything. The employees are basically numb to it all. They've become used to being cussed at, or walked out on, nightly. (and this is not an area where that's a common practice).

Their recipies have all changed for the worse ... the chicken, the gravy, the mac & cheese, the cole slaw ... Nothing tastes as good as it used too!

Whoever's been in charge of KFC for the past 5 to 10 years should write a book entitled... "How to run a once loved franchise straight into the ground!"

There's nothing sweeter or more yummy than a egg yolk buttermilk drenched piece of chicken double dipped in cornmeal batter, then deep fried in a 50/50 mix of bacon fat and peanut oil, then slapped on a Grade-A buttered honey basted biscuit dusted with salt, coleslaw and a Diet Pepsi!

It's not just the stupid wait times...but also the cost. I can pick up an 8 piece meal at a supermarket between $5-8 with no wait...while I'm going to pay at least twice that amount at KFC. If the grocery stores can offer this product in the price point...there's no reason KFC can't...since they buy more chicken/other items at a lower cost than the grocery store can.

Plus...they used to have a decent buffet for a decent price. That's all gone as well. Used to eat there to get all the chicken/stuff I wanted.

Now...if Kenny Rogers/Boston Market/Church's/Popeye were available locally (they're not)...would stop there LONG before KFC (which is).

Yes it is corporate management if you really want to know. I worked at K.F.C and many other fast food restaurants for the last 20+ years as a manager. They give you prep guides to follow on how much you cook depending on an average weekly sales. Yes sometimes you sell more then normally, thats why they are suppose to also follow hourly sale to see if they need to increase cooking product. But sadly some managers out there don't care and never follow their hourly sales. In all my years as a manager I think I ran out of food once because we got a travel bus and that you can't prepare for. But on the grilled chicken from K.F.C., it tastes plain old nasty. One of their geniuses got the spices wrong. I grill chicken and it sure does not taste any thing like what they try to pass off as chicken!!!!! Also wanted to comment on the people who blames our government, your right. No senator, congressman, or President needs to tell me what, when, where, or how much I eat!!!!!!!!!! I'm chunky and so what, cause I have a great personality and to me thats what makes a person. Not how big, skinny, ugly, or pretty they are. That you can't blame on politics, thats humans stupidly.

I used to like KFC when I was younger. Last time I went to a KFC I had the double down. I can't express how disappointed I was with it. First they had a big advertisement with one price listed, and when it was my turn to order, it was a dollar more. Then when I got the sandwich, it was about 3 bites and it was done. Since then, I have not gone back, and likely never will. I feel I was scammed by the advertisements for that sub par meal. At least the wait time once I was able to order wasn't 15-30 minutes like some people are complaining about. I think I waited all of 30 seconds to a minute for my food.

If KFC wants to get back on track, they need to update the look of their stores. I feel like I'm walking into a place that hasn't been changed since the 70's when in there. Also they need to get back to the basics, and produce food as good as those outdated looking stores used to produce back in the 70's. They could have only 5 menu items and do great business if they did those 5 items well. Instead they have a whole bunch of stuff they are now doing poorly.

I can believe the grilled chicken isn't selling -- IT'S NEVER THERE. I have asked for it easily 6 times and as far as I know it's only an ad campaign with no real product. They always say a minimum of 15 minutes wait any time of the day you go in. That's *minimum*. Once they said they wouldn't have it until the next week.

Aside from that I agree with lots of other posters. KFC takes WAY too long no matter what you order, and it costs too much. "Fast food" - fast and inexpensive. That's the reason we go there. KFC long ago forgot about this.

No joke on the wait. And if you are in the supposed drive thru, it takes even longer. This is supposed to be "fast food" folks. If it means that I have to wait longer than 5 minutes in the drive thru, it isn't fast. Particularly when you have hungry or grumpy kids in the back seat. I want to sit those folks in my car for a while and let them deal with the "mommy, is it ready yet?" whining. That would motivate them! And you are right - trying to get extra crispy takes FOREVER!!!

The last time I asked for chicken at KFC (wanted a grilled meal and a fried meal) I was told the wait would be 30 minutes! Nope! Went down the street to Popeyes, got my meals and was home enjoying by the time 30 minutes came around. No wonder sales are down!

I like KFC, but Popeyes and Churchs are both as good. And, you just can't beat the specials at Popeyes and Churchs, so in general I find KFC to be too expensive.

As far as non-fried chicken, I can get a whole cooked chicken at several different markets (Albertsons, Krogers, Walmart Neigborhood), for $4.99, so if I want non-fried chicken, I'm not going to pay more than that at KFC or any place.

Ha! We all know Eaton and the board will be reading this newsvine.

Here's what your customers think; you're old looking stores give terrible, overpriced service for something that tastes aweful. Maybe you should stop trying to cost cut and selling the most disgusting product. If you're truely concerned about health, maybe you should start buying organic chicken instead of Agribusiness chicken pumped full of steroids. If you did that you could keep the rediculous prices because it may be worth what the consumer pays.

Seems the main complaint across the board is WAIT time (like another, I thought it was localized--but it seems to be very common) and the outrageous PRICE increases.

KFC/Eaton are you listening?!?

Plus there's a lot of suggestions for alternate places that I had never tried. They'd better be listening!!

Their food has gone WAY downhill. A KFC just opened in my town about a year ago; we ate there once. My chicken was half-raw, potatoes and gravy were cold (and super-bland), and dinner for 3 people was over $40. We will stick with Popeye's.

where i am in idaho, the service has always been on par with many of the other fast food chains, although on occassion there is a wait because the management is trying to keep his waste cost down by now having overly large batches of chicke prepared ahead of time,as for me ...i like that idea as it means that i am much more assured of getting freshly cooked chicken as opposes to chicken that has been sitting in the infra-lamps all day.

the prices here contnue to be cheaper than the popeyes and even cheaper than local independant fried chicken retailers.

i wil simply say that i am in a suburb of the largest city in idaho, and the K.f.c. operator here is doing a great job!

My co-workers and I went to KFC armed with our online coupons from the Oprah promotion on TV. Here in Hawaii, all of the KFC's choose not to participate in the promotion. There were dozens of disappointed customers in the store and outside in the parking lot yelling at the poor store manager that KFC was a fraud. I thought people were going to wreck the inside of the store.

I called the parent company of all the KFC's in the Hawaiian Islands and of course, in the heat of a problem, they don't answer their telephone calls. I just left a message saying how disappointed I was and they responded by just sending me a standard form letter saying how much KFC appreciates my business and how they are focused on quality food control and customer service.

I've never been to a KFC since that fiasco of a promotion and I don't plan on returning anytime soon. As far as I'm concerned, the suits and ties that are promoting Grilled Chicken and lame sounding sandwiches over their signature Fried Chicken probably spend all of their time in their Ivory Towers and no enough time talking to their actual customers and franchise owners. They need to take a lesson from New Coke's failure.

Message to KFC: Rest In Peace... You won't be missed. There's a Popeye's Fried Chicken in our area that makes better fried chicken than you ever did and I never would have discovered them if it weren't for your idiotic fraud promotion!

My co-workers and I went to KFC armed with our online coupons from the Oprah promotion on TV. Here in Hawaii, all of the KFC's choose not to participate in the promotion. There were dozens of disappointed customers in the store and outside in the parking lot yelling at the poor store manager that KFC was a fraud. I thought people were going to wreck the inside of the store.

I called the parent company of all the KFC's in the Hawaiian Islands and of course, in the heat of a problem, they don't answer their telephone calls. I just left a message saying how disappointed I was and they responded by just sending me a standard form letter saying how much KFC appreciates my business and how they are focused on quality food control and customer service.

I've never been to a KFC since that fiasco of a promotion and I don't plan on returning anytime soon. As far as I'm concerned, the suits and ties that are promoting Grilled Chicken and lame sounding sandwiches over their signature Fried Chicken probably spend all of their time in their Ivory Towers and no enough time talking to their actual customers and franchise owners. They need to take a lesson from New Coke's failure.

Message to KFC: Rest In Peace... You won't be missed. There's a Popeye's Fried Chicken in our area that makes better fried chicken than you ever did and I never would have discovered them if it weren't for your idiotic fraud promotion!

Just 14 years ago when I started working at the KFC ('96 - '00) it was a corporate owned store that allowed us to serve for our locale. We sold what worked in our area. We had cole slaw (the best, fresh made daily), potpies (also made three time a day during cold weather) and the normal sides. We had original chicken, rotissere and krispy. It was delicious and made with care. Did I mention we were the highest volume store in our region. Everything made and served with care. Nowadays, since becoming a franchise store for PesiCo, most everything is premade and shipped in frozen (aside from the chicken). The workers are trained and paid less and customer service is no longer a priority. Not to mention the prices are just ridiculous.

Back when I was managing my store, I had mandatory training sessions three times per week and my clerks, cooks, prep workers had mandatory training twice a week. For every area of training aced, a raise was implemented. This ranged from .05 cents an hour to $1.25. We had workers that were motivated and a workplace that was happy. We were more like a family than our own families and it showed. Our customers, knew us by name and we knew our customers. If it was one of our birthdays or a holiday, you knew it from the gifts that our everyday customers bought in (it helped that we were right across the street from the Dept of Revenue which had about 1300 workers at the time). The problem is that no one runs the stores like that anymore. No one invest in the workers are care that the customer is satisfied. That is not just KFC but every other fast food chains as well. No one cares about the marketing crap, get back to the basics in the stores and the customers will return.

Well, when they charge $24.99 + tax for 10 pc of chicken, two large side orders, and biscuits, then they have gone way overboard. Not to mention their meats is the cheapest you can find filled with hormones and water to make it look like you are getting more.

Also, Ohblob (aka Oprah) as well didn't do the company any good with all those "Free Coupons" she advertised on TV, and then a lot of the KFC's didn't honor them.

Once the original man of KFCdied, so did the franchise. The places look too ghetto and the people working in them are just too young and rude. Eating at a KFC today is like eating at McDonald's or Carl's Jr. Junk food at it's worst!

I haven't eaten there in years, and never will again. Church's Chicken is a better place to eat along with the Fish-N-Chips chain.

As far as non-fried chicken, I can get a whole cooked chicken at several different markets (Albertsons, Krogers, Walmart Neigborhood), for $4.99, so if I want non-fried chicken, I'm not going to pay more than that at KFC or any place.

Where I live, you can get fried chicken at Albertson's, too - and at least at the store I usually go to, it tastes just as good as, if not better than, KFC, Church's, or Popeye. They have specials all the time, too. Plus it's convenient to pick it up when I'm doing the rest of my grocery shoppin.

ChunkyMonkey, please. I've seen customers in these places who feel it's a right to shout at and harrass the poor kid behind the counter who's just trying to do their job. You can't blame sliding sales on the poor cashier when the parent company doesn't seem to know what's what.

Best market research right here, but I bet KFC won't listen to any of these. It is easier to crunch the number and play the game.

High price, confusing menu, lousy service, old stores, and long wait time.

I'm from Indy too and you are exactly right. They never have the chicken that I want...unless I want to wait 30 minutes. They are the most expensive and never ready for customers! I thought I'd try it the other day. A co-worker went to pick it up and he called to tell me there wasn't any grilled chicken... so I had Arby's.

I gave up KFC too. Poor, slow service, always seem to be out of popular pieces such as legs or breasts, and they must have cheapened up the recipe because it just doesn't seem to taste as good as it did before. It's easier to go to Popeye's or Churches when we want to indulge in some fried chicken.

KFC is a joke their large mash potato'sis what a about a pint in size and their chicken is always under cooked and soggy because the batter is not cooked and these people complain about the ad's get a gripe on some reality, I used to always eat KFC not anymore over priced crap is what KFC has ended up ....

From what I've read, know and seen it sure does seem like a corporate problem to me. If I was a stock/franchisee holder I'd be as hot as a pressure cooker. That is a multi billion dollar recipe those corporate paper pushers are squandering.

I no longer go to KFC because the chicken quality isn't what it used to be. I also don't like what Pepsi, (the franchise corporate owner), has made a mockery of what used to be a great place to eat. Clearly, Pepsi is VERY poorly run...just look at Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, KFC, and Frito Lay. They are ALL poorly run, (by Pepsi), and the food is FULL of trans-fats and garbage quality ingredients.

Agree: the waiting time is ridiculous. Not only that, but they stopped serving their mac and cheese, the cole slaw has been inconsistent and generally not that good, the service has been terrible in that they often leave out part of the order (but that is consistent with other fast food places). They also stopped allowing an additional side instead of a drink. I don't like pepsi either.

I tend to agree with most of the comments here. Aside from the "old" look of the stores (which I couldn't care less about if the food was good). The comments of slow service, crappy extremely greasy oozing chicken, and an inedible product are the norm here in Canada as well. So it is a "corporate" problem, and not a franchise one. The worst thing is the size of the pieces!!!We call it Kentucky Fried Pigeon here 'cause it has to come from a pigeon or a cornish hen. There are plenty of other places that sell chicken just as good, with bigger pieces and a cheaper price. That's why they are losing sales. It is common here to have the guy in front of you waiting 15 minutes before they get to you in the drive thru. That happened to me once...but never again. The last time I went to a KFC (and it will be the last time ever), a puddle formed on the bottom of the box from the grease...not just a mark...a puddle. The co-worker that I went with and I both woke up in the middle of the night with severe diarrea. Now that's fine country cookin'. They are driving themselves out of the market.

I'm not even going to get into the way they charge extra if you want any white meat...not all white meat...but any. If you don't pay extra you get two legs and a thigh for a three piece meal.

So good bye KFC, hello Mary Brown's, Dixie Lee or anyone else.

Popeye's is much better than KFC ever was, even back in the day. http://www.popeyes.com/

And that's from a person who worked in the fast food business, and catering business, both.

Grilled chicken menu items are everywhere and as of yet have not brought about the demise of any particular fast food chain. KFC started to falter when the franchise lost interest in its own collective survival. The Colonel's fried chicken is still a nice treat on occasion depending on the location.

Grandys chicken is the best....Especially when it's fresh. But that seems to be a common issue for most chicken franchise. Consistency. Used to eat KFC and Churches but it's a crap shoot, you never know if it's fresh or been sitting under a heating lamp for hours. And Churches is one of the worst at changing its oil....Nothing worse than chicken cooked in old oil and then left to sit under heating lamps till you come along and pick up a take out order.

And right on to the people that pointed out the cost....it's outrageous! Local grocery stores offer a 8 piece for like 5 bucks, 12 pieces for 8....

Perhaps if you guys canned some of these geniuse marketing guys, got back to basics and offered a MUCH better price. Here let me come up with a marketing idea for you...Traditional KFC bucket o chicken, guaranteed fresh and ready to go when you order it... And in these TOUGH economic times, you really need to respect how expensive it is.....Lower your prices and let us know you know times are tough. You have a lot of competition out there, including people cooking at home more now than in recent history....

You need to take a look at Popeyes as they seem to be the best at this...Although Grandys is still the best chicken in my opinion.

I have given up asking for a 14pc. Extra-crispy - it's NEVER there. They always have to put other types in to make the fill. And the Mac and Cheese is a cold lump by the time they finish crushing it into that cup.

Churches, then Popeyes, then KFC (if I have to). I'll get burgers before I'll get KFC anymore.

Customer: "Hi, may I have 10 Hot Wings?"

KFC: "That'll be an 18-minute wait; is that ok?"

Customer: "Uhhhhh, no."

OR (even worse)

Customer: "Can I have 10 Hot Wings?"

KFC: "Sure, is that it?

Customer: "Yes"

KFC: "I'll have your total at the window...sir can I ask you to park, it'll be an 18-minute wait."

Customer: "Uhhhhhh, no. Can I ask you for my friggin' money back?"

There was a Popeye's where I live that you couldn't even order a 2-piece and have it ready by the time you got to the window. Full of employees with bad attitudes; customer service was non-existent. Yeah...that location is now closed for business. "We just can't understand why we aren't making any money at this location...." I hope for their sake they didn't transfer any of those people to another store.

LOL I've been eating fairly regularly at KFC in various midwest cities for over 14 years, this is not the KFC experience. Sometimes you do need to wait a few minutes, but rarely (and never that long).

"He says an internal survey of 642 franchisees showed almost 50 percent of stores' grilled chicken is thrown away..."

I hope they aren't just "throwing it away", when I'm sure there are a couple of kids and/or families down the street who wouldn't mind waiting an extra 5-8 minutes...

JGT, you'll be disheartened to know that many American restaurants and grocery stores dump bleach or other toxic materials on the food they throw out every night to ensure that nobody gets a bite without paying for it. This is standard practice.

But Alan, this is America; if they didn't, some dumpster diver would successfully sue for getting sick off the molded chicken. The courts haven't started issuing payouts for bleached chicken yet. ;-)

Same here. I've stopped going because of the long waits.

All,

Blame the throwing away of perfectly good food on the LAWYERS and the idiots who sue for anything. (picture some fool dumping HOT coffee on their crotch).

Mike,

You need to read up on the coffee crotch incident. It was the jury that made the award in response to McDonalds unwillingness to respond to 1000's of complaints about coffee being dangerously hot.

Sadly, most state's Health Depts. have regulations against giving prepared food away, unless it's canned or sealed pkgs.

First, i agree with how do they get off deciding what we can and can't eat. "Bring back the fried chicken". Then for the coffee incident if you need a reminder on your cup that coffee is "caution hot" that is very sad.

Never had a problem with KFC. Now, Popeye's was nasty. We had bloody chicken; it was raw on the inside. Never eat there again.

of course they are always out of extra crispy...its not on the menu anymore. When they added the grilled chicken, they removed the extra crispy. Personally I don't find that too bad as I'm original recipe type only...but I know they've lost a lot of business due to this.

I agree - its crazy you go in one of the stores between 5-7pm and NOTHING I mean Nothing is ready - You wait and wait for the fried chicken --- DINNER DINNER - Hello people??????? Are You There?????

Mike - you are dead wrong about the McDonalds coffee incident. It was not a fool and they were right to be sued. Do a bit of reading.

Roy, do you have a link a report of that ever happening? If so, has it happened more than once? Sounds like an urban legend to me. I think we'd know if there was an epidemic of places being sued by dumpster-divers - the press would keep that on the front page 24/7, wouldn't they?

Panera's Bread gives away all their extra bread at closing every evening. My local church used to run a ministry where we collected it (several huge clear trash bags of it) and handed it out in some of the poorer neighborhoods. The people loved it, and Panera's always had a full store (of paying customers) waiting for closing because of it. Not sure why we stopped doing that.

many American restaurants and grocery stores dump bleach or other toxic materials on the food they throw out

Seems some before serving their food as well. Need to be more careful about cooking up out of the bleach pile.

Roy, do you have a link a report of that ever happening?

I think you missed the "IFs" in my post Patrick. But, it doesn't take a genius business owner to avoid certain types of liability, knowing that we lead the planet in frivolous litigation. "Reasonable man's theories" and such go into play when precedents are being set. Who would not reasonably expect that a homeless person could find his way into a dumpster behind a restaurant to look for salvageable food? I've even torn off a floret or two of mold from a slice of bread in my day. I took the liberty of making the assumption that even that homeless person could discern that bleach-soaked food is not salvageable...or not live to tell his tale. Sue me.

Oregon has food pantry law that got approval from the legislature to get food from restaurants and groceries stores that is still okay to eat but not sellable, like the plastic container of berries that has a couple of moldy berries in it or the bread that's one day past the sell-by date or left-over soup that would be sold if the restaurant wasn't sticking to its "fresh-made today!"

The food is picked up in the very early morning and distributed directly from the truck to a scheduled route of homeless shelters. When I'd get to the store by @ 5 a.m. I'd see it there. One of the guys who lobbied for it has been dead now for more than 20 years, but his legacy lives on.

You got it girl.

Although this issue concerns corporate making poor decisions and then trying to cover their butts with rationalizations, there was a line stated that is more frightening than the battle:

"He says an internal survey of 642 franchisees showed almost 50 percent of stores' grilled chicken is thrown away."

In consideration how many children in this country are hungry, some starving, these of frightenly horrific stats! These kids are starving, and the corp is bitchin about an 'F' and their misuse of such to gain an extra buck!

What a waste, all of it should go to homeless shelters throughout this country. And shame on those who do not contribute! It doesn't take much to bag and refrigerate the fresh but excess foods and have someone drop it off at a shelter after work.

Notanidiotlikeolegunny

Mike,

You need to read up on the coffee crotch incident. It was the jury that made the award in response to McDonald's unwillingness to respond to 1000's of complaints about coffee being dangerously hot.

Bu77$h!t That is screwing up our health care and insurance industry which of course is another topic. We don't need national health care. We need an end to ambulance chasing attorneys and frivolous lawsuits that pass the tab onto us and the 1000's of people who complained and didn't get a dime. Then, health care would become affordable again.

and who is stupid enough to drive with hot coffee in their crouch? Another darwin award candidate? Sounds suspicious enough to be premediated insurance fraud calculated from past complaints. Especially if she was wearing a dress.

i read about it and she was wasnt even the driver. She was in the passanger seat and wanted to add sugar or cream, squeezed it together with her thighs and spilt it on her crotch. She was a 79 year old dumb lady who didnt know that squeezing a foam cup will make the contents spill over on you. So yea she was a moron and no amount of print on a cup will help that.

I no longer go to KFC because the chicken quality isn't what it used to be. I also don't like what Pepsi, (the franchise corporate owner), has made a mockery of what used to be a great place to eat. Clearly, Pepsi is VERY poorly run...just look at Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, KFC, and Frito Lay. They are ALL poorly run, (by Pepsi), and the food is FULL of trans-fats and garbage quality ingredients.

I used to work for a small regional grocery store. Every night, all of the bakery items were donated to a local food pantry since the store baked everything fresh each day.

That ended when a "customer" of the food pantry sued the company saying her family got food poisoning due to the baked goods.

She was not able to prove the claim, but the money spent defending against the claim (along with the how ungracious the recipients of the free food were) made the company decide to not donate anymore food.

In addition to the bakery items, no warehouse items were allowed to be donated either. So, if someone hit a pallet with a forklift and broke open a couple of cases of canned goods, those were thrown away.

So, it is completely due to the fear of litigation that "old" food cannot be donated. And I really don't blame companies for choosing not to donate after watching what happened at my store.

Fear of litigation is the reason restaurants and stores do not donate out of date goods. We used to have stores donating fruit and vegetables that were bruised or damaged, donut shops and bakeries that used to donate day old bread or donuts, but that has all stopped. Too worried about someone suing.

People don't realize the full impact of NAFTA and American obsession with white meat, the

dark meat pieces that McDs / KFC didn't want were loaded into 40-foot freezer vans and on

down to Central America, sold out of vans at below cost of production and crushed the local

farmer cooperatives growing fresh, organic free run chicken, making a glut of corn and drop in

price, forcing indigents off the land their families had farmed for hundreds of years, then the

Greener's came up with Bio-Alcohol and the price of corn went through the roof, because the

US protects corn farmers from cheap Brazilian sugar cane ethanol at $1.15 a gallon, again

now ALL the poor Central American farmers were shoved off the land as millions, tens of

millions of acres were monocropped in GMO field corn for the Big Agra plantation owners,

and everyone was forced to head to El Norte, leaving their families indigent, waiting for the

dollars, and hoping one day to see their men again. That's your legacy of Clinton and KFC.

Agreed!

It is 5 miles to the nearest KFC and 45 miles to the nearest Popeye's.

The trip is worth the superiority of Popeye's! Can't beat that chicken!

I would agree but, we don't have a Popeye's near me and on top of that, they used to sell a nugget that wasn't processed chicken parts and once they stopped offering that I quit going to them. There are just some things I won't put up with. If you get use to something and someone changes it just for the sake of change, then I'm gone.

I think this popeye's commercial captures it perfectly:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZLBptdTLeM

That's some funny chit! I like the Popeye's parody, Run out of chicken! Now that's funny! KFC IMO is too expensive; almost $1.50 a piece for an 8 piece for $10 before taxes. And the pieces look like they've shrunk! WTF! Plus it's too greasy. Popeye's is better esp the sides.

Most unfortunately I dont have a Popeyes near me but I do enjoy bojangles every now and again.

In regards to the "extra crispy shortage", this is what I've been told by former KFC workers. The fried chicken starts out as "Original Recipe". Then, any chicken that hangs out for too long get refried, thus making it "extra-crispy". If that chicken hangs around for too long, it gets covered in sauce and becomes the "BBQ" chicken. Now, I have never worked at KFC, but I have been a cook for over 20 years, and I have met a lot of people who work in the industry.

As a cook, I say go to a locally owned non chain restaraunt. You will almost always get better food and service.

original and extra cripsy are two different seasoned chickens. Original starts out with a fresh bag, cleaned, and dipped into original flour, then pressure cooked.

crispy, extra crispy, extra tasty crispy (whatever you want to call it) starts out with a fresh bag of chicken, cleaned, and dipped into crispy flour, shook, dipped in water, breaded for a second time, and then open fried.

BBQ chicken, like what is in the sandwich, is skinned, deboned, shredded white meat from either already prepared and cooked chicken, and mixed with bbq sauce and recooked.

Popeye's chicken is okay - their SERVICE sucks donkey dongs! They are S L O W like a mentally deranged and mentally handicapped person. S L O W. Gawd - and the servers are D U M B. Dumber than a box of rocks! I'll NEVER go to Popeye's EVER again. twice was enough. Not to mention - horrid sucky yucky tasting side dishes. Ewwwwww.

KFC - I pretty much only eat the grilled chicken anymore. The crispy isn't that good, and the "original" even worse. Truely if not for the coleslaw and potatoes w/gravy - I might not go back, but I do like the grilled way more than the fried. Now - if they could JUST find a way to make everything a LITTLE less salty - I'd be ecstatic! Okay I'll admit - sometimes there is a wait for the food, but I think the longest I've agreed to wait was 10 minutes. If it's longer than that - I'll either order something else, ask for my money back, or just say "no thanks" and walk out. One reason I always walk inside - cause at least if I am waiting, they'll give me a free soda. <G> But also I'm not sitting in the parking lot waiting for someone to run the bag of goodies out to me. Takes 30 seconds to walk-in and 30 more to walk back out when I have my order.

I no longer go to KFC because the chicken quality isn't what it used to be. I also don't like what Pepsi, (the franchise corporate owner), has made a mockery of what used to be a great place to eat. Clearly, Pepsi is VERY poorly run...just look at Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, KFC, and Frito Lay. They are ALL poorly run, (by Pepsi), and the food is FULL of trans-fats and garbage quality ingredients.

I'm with you on the gravy. I worked at a KFC when I was a teen and that was one of the things people would buy. Lots of mashed potatoes and gravy. Now days I can go to the grocery store and get better gravy out of a can. Poor Colonel Sanders is probably rolling in his grave with what corporate america has done to the good ole southern flavor. Damn, we sure do miss you Colonel.

"Poor Colonel Sanders is probably rolling in his grave with what corporate america has done to the good ole southern flavor. Damn, we sure do miss you Colonel."

My sentiments exactly. I grew up in Louisville, Ky- HOME of KFC. The Colonel was very strict about his standards being kept. He would frequently walk into a KFC, go behind the counter,pick up a piece of chicken and bite into it. If it wasn't the way he wanted it to be, people got fired.

In walks big corporate ownership- quality goes down while the price soars. I've only been to KFC a handful of times in the past 20 years, and each time makes me remember why I DON'T go more often. The employees are rude( of course, so is management), the product sucks(when it's even there), the price is exhorbitant, and I can make better chicken at home for a LOT less. Yum! Foods(where on EARTH did they come up with that ridiculous name) took something wonderful and turned it into crap. If they had kept to the Colonels standards even a little bit, thier sales wouldn't be in the toilet. But, like most corporations, they refuse to listen to thier consumers, instead trying to put out the lowest quality they can and keeping the prices as high as possible. The Colonel knew that if you give people good product, they come back for more.

So YES, damn we miss you Colonel.

The guy who plays drums for my band used to work at Yum! as a database administrator. They had a different name but I forget what it was before.

Anyway, they laid off like 300 people here back in late 2008, giving my friend early retirement. The whole thing was a catastrophe and now I understand they're hiring people back -- who have half the experience and will take half the pay. I know this also because one of my co-workers got hired there. He's not even 30 yet, and has never made over $45k. The pattern was painfully obvious.

And like everyone else they're learning that inexperienced, cheap-ass labor makes for a shoddily-run corporation. They're taking Pizza Hut and Taco Bell down with them, and I can't wait. I am dying for some decent Mexican fast food like Taco John's to come along and fill that gap in the market.

Final edit: there's nothing wrong with the guy who they hired, except that from what I know he is one of the most experienced people now in that IT group. He's going to be the one who misses out because he won't have people around him to ask what's going on. Play that dynamic fractally all across the organization and you have a virtual replay of the Circuit City fiasco. When are employers going to learn to treat their employees as a valuable resource?

I totally agree. I'm not a big fast food guy, but on occasion I'll indulge. Went to KFC over a month or so ago. I experienced the poor, slow service. Was not given a fork or napkins. They were sold out of a certain item in one of their combo meals. They did not tell me, they just didn't give me the item, then were jerks when I went up and inquired about it. The place was disgusting. Had to wipe off the table that we sat at. Gross! Will never go back to a KFC...ever.

Oh, and the bathrooms were so horrible I can't even begin to describe it!

+1

I agree. Anywhere you go in the USA. The cleanest city you can guarantee going inside a KFC will ruin your appetite. Either way you have taken care of your craving for food I guess.

The bathrooms are even worse. The toilet is here, the wall is way over there. How does that even happen?

My father would get so angry when he went to KFC about 10 years ago since they refused to put out napkin dispensers. The only napkins they gave were packaged in with the sporks (which he also hated - he just wanted a real fork!).

When he asked why they had no napkin dispensers, they answered it was because 'too many people are wasting napkins." For goodness sakes! It's a fried chicken restaurant! Napkins are a necessity! So instead of saving napkins, they ended up wasting sporks since he would take 5 packs of packaged sporks just to get the napkins.

I always thought the '20 minute wait' was only in my town. Reading these responses I see it's actually the norm around the country! I don't understand why it takes so long. Another interesting thing I discovered - you wait a lot longer if you're in the drive-through than if you go inside, even if you're the only car. I walked inside, ordered, and got my food in about half the time than when I usually use the drive-through. It makes me wonder if they slack off with drive-through orders because no one's standing there watching them...

My last time through KFC's drive-through was a movie-length nightmare and I hate going there. I don't even consider them an option anymore and if my daughter asks for it, I usually talk her out of it.

Those grilled chicken legs are the most pitiful looking things I've ever seen. It's like they are using baby chickens or something.

I think they're pigeons.

"I think they're pigeons."

Wouldn't surprise me at all.

Big is better, huh? How do those hormones make you feel? Are you growing any tits. yet?

Ummm, Double Down much? KFC released the most demonized fast food item ever this year. They're definitely not "taking away freedoms" to eat unhealthy food.

Sad part is it's media based. Check out the nutrition tables at Red Robin, Applebees and TGI Fridays and you will see (especially the kids meals) the calorie counts are higher there than McDs. Those Red RObin burgers have twice the fat and calories than a Quarter Pounder!

Compare that double down with their regular 2 piece meal and you will see how much healthier the double down is. Its funny how much outrage was had over the double down when it isn't any different than the other options sold there.

I cant figure out why they are trying to market that grilled chicken as "healthy" anyways. If you are the least bit health conscious you not gonna eat a piece of chicken with the skin on it.

Consumer reports say that the fabulous Double down only has 540 calories, If you hold the bacon the fat content is not that bad. I think it is the best thing that has come out in ages. Back in the 70's their chicken and mashed potatoes with gravy were the best. Then in the mid 80's they started selling puny chicken pieces for big money. I stopped going for 20 years untill I saw a sign on the building for the Double Down. Now I have to go once a week or more since I have always been a chicken liver. A little pricey but for $7.49 for a value meal it is far healthier than a Big Mac value meal. Taters and gravy are still better than fries anyday.

Gone are the days when KFC served, golden brown, crispy fried chicken.

Oh Bull@!$%#!! Here's their menu ... golden brown, crispy fried chicken is the first item listed!!

Now we have CEOs and politicians telling us what to eat.

Right. So, back when KFC only made Original Recipe... they weren't telling you what to eat...but NOW that KFC has the unmitigated temerity to advertise and promote a new product...they're, telling you what to eat!!

LOFL...

And, by your definition....the USDA has been telling people what to eat since it released its first nutritional guidelines back in the late 1800's!! So, making nutritional recommendations is not a "now" thing...it has been promoted by our politicians and our government for 100+ years.

These are the freedoms and choices we are losing every day. Little at first and one by one.

Name one!! Name one single freedom...food related or otherwise...that's been taken from you!! Just ONE!!

If you feel victimized by some imaginary, fast-food boogieman ...so be it. But, trying to pervert a CEO's efforts to drive business or the governments efforts to provide nutritional information & guidelines...as either new, or as a fascistic plot to control people, is nothing more than empty fear-mongering!

I for one would like to make my own choices thank you.

How exactly does adding a new menu item equate to a loss of choice or someone making choices for you? Again, specifically what choices have been eliminated?

You people in San Francisco can do what you want.

And so can "you people" who aren't in San Francisco....that's the point.

+1. Stopped visiting KFC about a year ago for these reasons.

KFC chicken doesn't taste like it did when I was a kid.

The stores are always dirty and the kids running the place is another story...

Winco does have excellent chicken for a good price, I agree. Would that KFC still did...

Only time I go to KFC is if I have a coupon...overpriced...small pieces...long waits

Churches...better price...larger pieces..best fried okra Ive found...

Like Popeys... they are also over priced and small pieces...but like their spicy bird..

Typical, substitute lower end products and raise prices. Apparently the suits at KFC don't bother tasting their own food, either that or they have taste bud issues. Their mashed potatoes can be runny at times and the gravy isn't even close to what it use to be. Nasty place, pretty sad though, had fond memories of getting a huge bucket and a ton of sides after an afternoon of boating at the grandparents. I love it how you place an order then they tell you what you can get. Then as your waiting for an indefinate period of time when the order finally comes up you realize you are either stuck to the floor or you can simly slide your feet across the well greased tile to pick it up.

I'm glad other people agree with me about the drop in quality at KFC! I have been thinking for the past several years that maybe I was just becoming more picky as I got older or maybe I just remembered it better than it was as a child.

With regards to the grilled chicken option, I tried it when that free coupon came out and it was YUCKY! It was so greasy there is no way it could have been a better health option!

stull

KFC chicken doesn't taste like it did when I was a kid.

I know. It used to be just excellent.

I've been to Cave Hill Cemetery, where the Colonel is buried, in Louisville. I haven't checked recently but I'm willing to bet the earth is all churned up from the poor bastard turning in his grave like chicken on a spit.

I hate to say this, John, but I don't think you can blame KFC for your son's work ethic... or lack of. Or anyone else's for that matter.

Sad state of affairs for us if the rest of our kids have this work ethic

No it's a "sad state of affairs " when we blame others for not raising our children to have better ethics

quit eating at kfc as they raised the prices and lowered the quality of food and service.

if they (corperate) don't want to to be "fried" then they should sell tofu and sushi . fried chicken is still the only way to cook chicken. church's rules in most cases. but they vary by store , even just a few miles apart.

John, I have no idea how you raised him that said didn't you put him to work as a kid? I learned my work ethic through my parents. Just wondering and its not a jab, I got kids of my own now and I also see what you are seeing in youth today. Just don't want to have to say it about my own.

My son works at KFC, and I am amazed at the laziness of the staff there.

Although individuals contribute to this, it sounds like the real problem at KFC is crappy management by an indifferent corporate behemoth. If some of the employees were slow and lazy, that would be their problem. If the whole organization is slow and lazy, it's a structual problem with how the workflow is designed. Probably too many needle-nosed idiot accountants paying more attention to strict short-term profits, and not enough managers actually looking at sales results or product quality.

High quality product sells itself.

People in China line up around the block for KFC.

Low end KFC is probably an upgrade when compared to all the other things they like to eat.

Actually it was the replacing of Classic Coke that was the misstep. You want to introduce a new flavor, go right ahead, but don't take away the product that made you famous in the first place.

And you're right, that's exactly what I see happening here. They are belittling and slowly replacing the "fried" chicken that got them here with chicken-flavored cardboard and calling it grilled.

I personally think the whole "New Coke" debacle was a ruse by the Coca-Cola Company to make the taste difference of "Classic Coke" less noticeable to consumers when they switched from using cane sugar as a sweetener to the much cheaper high-fructose corn syrup.

And yes, you CAN taste the difference between sugar and HFCS!

Henry, the grilled chicken I get at my local KFC is far from "chicken-flavored cardboard". It's meaty, juicy, and excellently seasoned -- the best thing KFC ever introduced. If they ever discontinue it, I might go to KFC for extra-crispy once in a while...or I might skip them altogether; too many other places sell excellent crispy fried chicken.

Original recipe KFC? Forget it. Tiny pieces that are half soggy breading, swimming in enough grease to lube my car, and way the hell too much salt. (I used to like it, but I liked a lot of things when I was younger and just didn't care.)

I agree with Up partially, that was when they switched from sugar to corn syrup. But they were also getting their butts kicked by Pepsi during that period and were trying to lure Pepsi drinkers back into the Coca Cola brand.

You are so right about the taste. For a short time, Pepsi retroed to sugar as a promotional gimmick I think, and it tasted great. My sons, who had never tasted it before, were amazed by the difference in flavor. I for one, think they should bring the cane sugar back.

It doesn't matter what Mr. Eaton does, He will still receive his golden parachute lined with our millions even if he drives the company into the ground. In hard times like these, Americans find comfort in old brands. Anything more American than drinking a coke or shopping at sears. maybe pulling your child in a red American Flyerwagon. To bad the Sears catalog is long gone. We need our old time brands to make a come back and show us some loyalty. I want my son to put a quality Die-Hard battery in his car instead of a Wal-mart brand. At least Coca-Cola will always be around as long as they stay away from that New Coke crap. So sell me some good old fashioned recipe KFC with nice big juicy pieces and keep the wait down to 10 minutes cause at least I know it's fresh. 20 minutes is too long unless the product is really great. Maybe families good use that time to try and talk to each other. Remember those days.

Andy-1938920
You are so right about the taste. For a short time, Pepsi retroed to sugar as a promotional gimmick I think, and it tasted great. My sons, who had never tasted it before, were amazed by the difference in flavor. I for one, think they should bring the cane sugar back.

A lot of us Type II diabetics think the corn syrup is part of our problem.

Those baked beans were awesome.

Steven: You're a provocateur, and in my book that's worse than wet-back. You want to change the focus from lousy management to illegal immigration. Besides, I think that if the - undocumented migrant labor - worked at KFC they would have decent fast service and the place would at the least be clean.

Don't think I have ever even seen a hispanic working at KFC.

Come to Oregon there are lots of Hispanic's working at KFC's.

Steven is just another race-baiter....Talk radio and Fox news is level FULL of them now, and the opinions garnered that way are the only actual opinions most of these mouth breathers HAVE.

Don't really know or care where you live but there are no Hispanics in any of our fast food restaurants in our area either. Though I wouldn't put it past the employers in our area to hire someone that can't speak English(any race or nationality, not just Hispanics). Better employee screening would help these problems, there are too many hard working, jobless Americans these days.All I ever see is a bunch of kids that don't care and there are never enough of the ones that do care to go around. I'd rather fry chicken at home any way. To hell with waiting and paying when you can have it your way at home.

I don't mean to turn this into yet another debate on illegal immigrant status but, I think it would be very difficult to hire illegal immigrants considering all the paper work that has to be filled out in order for you to get paid in a fast food restaurant. When I worked at the Chick-fil-A, paychecks were given out as checks or sent directly to you bank account.

However, I do agree that there are many non-english speaking latinos working in fast food restaurants. Usually they are the people in the kitchen actually preparing the food not the people at the front register. At chick-fil-a, every single person in the kitchen was latino and very few of them spoke english. Nearly all but one of the people working upfront was black and spoke perfect english (many were high school or college students on summer vacation).

I think its unfair that so many spanish speaking persons never bother to learn english or attempt to assimilate into our society even after in some cases, several decades in this country, but we are only aggravating the situation by hiring them and not requiring that they learn to speak our language at all. Even the super in our building barely speaks moderate english. This, mind you, is comming from a left leaning centrist. Isn't the saying "When in Rome, Do as the Romans do"?

Could we get back to constructive comments about improving an American Icon.

I went to a kfc/taco bell last night (I'm from canada) and the employees working could not understand english fluently. It took me twenty minutes to try to explain what I wanted because the drive-through workers (two of them) couldn't understand my English. As a native English speaker, it is very frustrating when an employee both can't understand English nor speak it. By the way, I ordered a bean burrito and fries... not hard to understand at all.

KFC is too large to fail! The government will bail them out.

civlized-1429276
KFC is too large to fail! The government will bail them out.

No, they won't. Yum! had a layoff about 18 months ago, and the government was nowhere in sight.

I work in Louisville, where they're based, and I had friends who worked at the corporate office. It may seem like a big company but on the scale of large companies they're not that big really. If KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell vanished tomorrow it would mean a dent in the labor market but not that much of one, and as far as quality of food nobody would miss that crap either. There are so many chintzy fast food restaurants in the country that any one of them can fill in for the other.

The problem happened when they wanted to be 'more healthy' and got away from the chicken recipe that was responsible for their huge success. I used to LOVE KFC, but I just cannot STAND the stale-grease taste of the new 'original recipe' - which it most certanly is NOT!! If they would go back to the mouth watering, finger licking good, original recipe with 11 herbs and spices and served the real old fashioned KFC instead of the ersatz "healthy" stale grease they're trying to sell now (and improved customer service); they'd get their customers back. I wish, I wish. Remember Coke Classic??

Hear Ye, Here Ye!!!!!!

Sorry to tell you but what you ate was not chicken

I keep hearing people mention Popeye's. That's the worst fried chicken I've ever tried. Maybe it's a regional thing and it's better in other parts of the country? (I'm in the Bay Area/Oakland part of the world). I've tried a few Popeye's over the years and it's always dry, small pieces of flavorless, overcooked chicken.

When KFC is "on" it's pretty good! But I have to agree with many of the posters here. The wait is CRAZY long for "fast food" and it's too expensive.

Patrick, you must not have stopped off at the Popeye's on San Pablo and Franklin in Berkeley...the best chicken ever and I agree, when KFC is "on" its pretty good, I even like their grilled chicken, very juicy and tender...the wait time is what i can live without!

sorry, San Pablo and Francisco

I have to agree with patrick-17, Popeye's chicken is dry, especially the white meat. Bojangles is the best but Popeyes is still better than KFC and has just as many branches.

JJ - Next time I'm around there and have a hankering I'll give that one a try.

One thing for sure the chicken from the grocery store is at least four times the size of KFC. Two chicken breasts will barely fit into a 10 inch skillet. I still love the original recipe and wish they would bring back the gizzards. The local KFC in my town has fast service, you can place your order at the drive through and it is ready as soon as you pay for it most times. I do think the chicken is a little on the greasy side a lot of the times. KFC's prices are on the high side. I have tried the other franchises and they don't compare to the original recipe taste wise. They probably have better sides though and their prices are lower. But when I am in the mood for fried chicken it is KFC original recipe for me (and I would love a side of gizzards).

Avg Joe, You are da man. I had forgotten about the gizzards, but those were the best!! I wonder why they stopped serving them. Does anyone know?

because KFCC is trying to discontinue livers/ gizzards altogether. The only way we are allowed to keep them is to have them on a buffet. Since not every store has a buffet, they have to be taken off the menu. Its sort of a relief because they destroy the flour and the fryers they are cooked in. Livers/gizzards are big here in the south, but is a failing product. Most people want wings or popcorn chicken in other places. oh and wings take 9mins 30 seconds to cook.

Thanks Bob.

I think It's time for KFC to start selling the Original recipe flour in stores. Most barbecue sauces started out in some rib joints, then became chains, then to the grocery store. I would buy it in a minute if it was the good old recipe I grew up with.

Its actually "Think outside the bun". But thanks for playing.

KFC may have lost the F but the fact that they lost the C is much more important. Because the grow mutated "birds" that resembel chicken but no longer are chicken they have been forced to

stop calling what they sell chicken. Never going there again. Not only does it taste bad its mystery meat. Kentucky Foul Cooked food yumm yummm

Art Deco - don't believe everything you read. That is a massive urban legend.

http://www.snopes.com/horrors/food/kfc.asp

KFC grows their own chickens? Last time I checked, they didn't own a slaughterhouse.

It's kinda like those animal rights activists who think that by protesting a KFC, they are saving chickens. Meanwhile, at a slaughterhouse, where chickens are actually being killed. . .If KFC were to close, the slaughterhouse would just find another company to supply to.

I think Art Deco is a plant in the blog, from PETA. Just like them to perpetuate that myth.

KFC has no chicken farms. They get their chicken from Tyson or another major chicken distributor. LOVE THE PETA LIES

'Mutated birds' made me lol.

This person obviously knows nothing about chickens. Not all chicken breeds are the same. There are breeds that are specifically 'meat' birds that have huge breasts/bodies. No steroids, no chemicals. Breeding is what made them that way, however, even that has to be regulated for safety and not to end up with a cruelty to animals charge.

You can't compare a white leghorn (an egg layer) to a Jersey Giant (a broiler = meat).

Whats wrong with mutant chicken? Look what mutant turtles did for the crime wave in NYC!!!!

original gravy..laden with lard and what we called "cracklins"...

Absolutely! :) That's why it was SOUTHERN fried chicken!

I did work at KFC in the late 70's. We made our own cole slaw, gravey, and we got dinner rolls for the meals, NOT the nasty biskets. Fried Chicken : : Total time 20 minuites three minuite brouning time 17 minute for pressure cooking the rest of the chicken.

Extra Cheispy : : Chicken is marinated for a minimum time of Four Hours, then dipped in Whole Wheat Flour twice, then, cook about 18 minutes

Maybe, KFC needs to be bought from Yumm Inc. and Run by the old crews of years gone by.

With every grocery store and big box discount store (think Costco) selling rotisserie cooked chicken - why on earth would YUM! management want to compete in that arena?

Your answer is contained in your question. With every grocery store and big box discount store selling rotisserie chicken...it proves there is a substantial market for the product.

Should the CEO of the world's best selling chicken resturant ignore this market and concede defeat... without even trying to win that business over (or back) to his brand?

there is a whole audience out there that not wants those 11 herbs and spices crunchy and hot -

Agreed! But, taken in context, your comment implies that KFC has is no longer offering...or planning to discontinue, their Original Recipe or Extra Crispy selections. That's not true. From the article:

Grilled chicken accounts for about 16 percent of all "on the bone" chicken sold

So...the other 84% of "on the bone" chicken they sell, is fried!! I posted their menu back in #7.6 ....fried chicken is the first item listed. Seems they understand their "base demographic" pretty darn well.