Is it worse to make a promise and break it or never to have made one at all?
I receive an email from my niece of KFCs
free grilled chicken offer via
Oprah, thought it was interesting but not compelling because after all it was KFC chicken, it is by definition not healthy for you regardless of how tasty the greasy skin might be. Then a woman at work forwarded the offer to me and I reconsidered, reconsidered enough that I down-loaded the coupon but took no action. Subsequently one of my friends at work and I were going to gout for a quick lunch, he commented that he had gone to KFC and had the new sandwich and it was well worth the trip, I followed up with the woman who had used the coupon and she too sang the sandwiches praises – both having used the coupon. Well it turns out they closed the KFC nearest me in Naperville and so the trip wasn’t to be. But wait, Saturday arrives and Mackey has a volleyball tournament in a different part of Naperville, there is a two- hour break around dinner time so I decide to try and find one on Hwy 59 4408 E New York St (which I think technically is Aurora)
I go to KFC with my coupon and the kid at the counter says NO DEAL they will not honor the coupon, then says I can get a rain check if I provide them my mailing address, name, and the original coup; I protest this truly is the ONLY reason I have come and made the effort . They didn’t have heavy traffic in the store – two or three groups was all, and their racks were full of chicken in that already cooked KFC manner. I get the manager Ezequiel Diaz who says he is helpless, he only does what the store tells him to do – no empowerment - no customer advocacy – no treat me like an individual
So back to the question. The preliminary objective of
“Unthink” the KFC brand was met. The people I know who were able to taste the new product enjoyed it, the viral effect was phenomenal; however it was ill-conceived. Literally one needs to count one’s chickens before hatching such a scheme. An understanding and preparation to deal with success beyond your imagination needs to be addressed. Social media creates a life of its own and either ignoring it, or not preparing for it and be equally fatal. Store managers and the front lines need training and tools and the ability to react agilely to circumstances.
Don’t ask me me to 'unthink' and then break your promise, I won’t be back.http://www.foodconsumer.org/newsite/Shopping/Others/100520090805_kfc-oprah_promotion_backfires.htmlhttp://www.buzzfeed.com/eliot/oprahs-kfc-disaster-26q
