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So Bad: The KFC call-in chaos

Yesterday, my grandmother, 2 aunts, an uncle, and a cousin stopped by the house for lunch and to spend the afternoon with us. So around 11am, my dad asked me to order a barrel of chicken from KFC to add to the lumpia that we were gonna serve. I did so, and was told that the chicken would be delivered in 30-45 minutes. Simple, right? Not quite.

We were already hungry by around 12, and the chicken hadn’t arrived yet. I called the call center (887-8888) to follow-up, and I was put on hold while the agent called the branch that was gonna deliver the food (SM Bicutan). A few minutes later, I was told that the rider had been dispatched a while back, and that I should put down the phone and wait for the branch to call me about the delivery status. I did so, but no one called.

At around 1230, I called a third time, and I was given the same spiel by another agent. When I said that it was my second time to follow-up, she said “Sir, don’t worry, I will file a report about this matter.” Hungry and frustrated by this time I answered back with “Will your report bring the chicken here faster? How does that help me?” The agent apologized, and told me to once again hang up because the branch would be calling me anytime. Why they didn’t call my mobile when I had given both my landline and mobile numbers during the first call is beyond me. So I hung up.

Ten minutes and no follow-up call later, I dialed the call center for a fourth time (and my third follow-up). This was around quarter to 1 already. I asked that since the chicken was late, I shouldn’t have to pay for it, and I was requested to hold the line while the agent called the branch. After a few minutes, she once again told me to put down the phone so the branch could tell me what deal they could make me as an apology. At this point I blew my top and said “No! You call them again and tell me what they have to offer. I’m not gonna put down the phone anymore because they haven’t been calling me!” She put me on hold, and then came back a few minutes later saying that the branch had offered to waive the delivery charge of P120 (from the total cost of P1300++). While I was telling her that waiting for 2 hours for our food (and counting) was too much and that a P120 freebie could not make up for that, my mom answered my ringing mobile to talk to the branch. I then got off the phone to listen in.

My mom was first offered the same deal (waived delivery charge), then 50% off, and then finally they agreed that we wouldn’t have to pay anymore. While this was happening the chicken arrived; I got the food and sent the guy off with a few choice words. The branch manager reasoned out that the original rider had gotten into an accident, and that said accident caused the delay. My mom answered back that while our hearts went out to the rider, 2 hours was too long a delay since the branch was just 10 minutes away. Surely they had other riders? Besides, despite all of the chaos that was apparently going on behind the scenes, no one thought to notify us so we could have chosen to cancel our order and buy something else (which my dad did anyway, having left to buy Chooks-to-Go in between the 2nd and 3rd calls).

With such poor training and lack of customer service, it’s no wonder KFC can’t promise any guarantees for late delivery the way Shakey’s and Pizza Hut do. They’d probably be operating at a loss on a daily basis if they did! It just saddens me that such a big brand which heavily advertises its delivery service (I must’ve heard their jingle more than a dozen times yesterday) can’t make deliver as advertised. It’s too bad for them that one of my aunts is a blogger (she immediately posted on the KFC Philippines Facebook wall and tweeted about what was happening) and that being in a service industry myself I have a very low tolerance of poor customer service practices. I’ve always been a fan of the KFC ads, but now, when I hear the V.O. exclaim “So good!” I’ll start to take everything they say with a grain of salt.

November 2, 2011

in food, photography, technology, travel, Uncategorized
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Gone Digital

After all my comments on how film looks better, and how I like to surprise myself with a processed roll and the possibility of having 36 great shots (or not) to upload when I get home from work, I finally gave in and bought a Canon Powershot A3300 IS. It’s a 16-megapixel snapper with a few manual functions and fun filters.

I looks awesome

For the amazingly low price of *drum roll* P9,000, I brought this baby home last Friday and immediately put it to work during PC&V’s Halloween party, our family trip to Tagaytay, and our November 1 visit to Lola’s in San Juan, capped with dinner (and shopping) with Gracie at Greenbelt 5. I’m not about to sell or give away my film cams anytime soon, but I can foresee using them less often (it’s cheaper, too!).