Does KFC really do this?

So I saw a story at Reason, the libertarian site, about a cop who got fired for hassling the staff at a KFC:

“He ordered some chicken that we didn’t have available at that moment,” during a July visit, said Tavi Padilla, the restaurant manager on duty at the time at a Williams KFC/Taco Bell.

Another manager offered another type of chicken and a voucher for a free meal later during the July 9 visit. But Graham wanted his money back, which is against store policy, according to Padilla.

“He told me, ‘Look, fat a--, I don’t want to talk. Just give me my money or I’m taking you to jail. Do you know who I am?’” Padilla told other Williams police officers via a written statement.

But even Reason readers, predisposed to groove on police abuse stories, zero in on the other alleged injustice in this story: will KFC really take your money, tell you they don't have any thighs or breasts or whatever you asked for, and refuse to give it back but instead give you some bulls&*t voucher for a future visit?

I mean, would anybody else do this? Would you stand for it if McD's didn't have Big Macs but offered you a double cheeseburger instead and a frickin' coupon?* I realize that chicken is somewhat more fungible than completely different styles of burgers, but it's my right as a customer to want what I actually frickin' asked for and paid for, there's a reasonably good case for fraud here, they take your money for one thing and then tell you you have to take another. And it's such obviously bad customer relations, even for Pepsico or whatever they call it these days, I have a hard time believing that they really do this nationwide, maybe at one franchisee. Has anyone encountered this?

* I can recall at least one occasion at McD's many years ago where I tried to grab something quickly on the way to work, they bungled it and wanted me to wait six minutes, and when I refused, they refunded my money immediately without the slightest hesitation. Seems the only way to handle it to me.

Mike G wrote:* I can recall at least one occasion at McD's many years ago where I tried to grab something quickly on the way to work, they bungled it and wanted me to wait six minutes, and when I refused, they refunded my money immediately without the slightest hesitation. Seems the only way to handle it to me.

As a "data point," I believe the KFC no-refund thing may not be limited to that chain, or just that franchisee, because I had an experience at a McDonald's once that was similar to yours but ended differently than yours. Same situation--after paying, I was told I'd have to wait an inordinate amount of time for my order (it wasn't like I had to be in brain surgery in fifteen minutes, but the order would take far longer to fill than anyone bargains for when they go into a McDonald's); I responded by saying, "Well, then, just give me my money back because I don't have that much time"; they responded by saying, "We can't do that." A discussion ensued, but not one that resulted in my getting my money back. For a while after that, I was "once bitten, twice shy" when entering any McDonald's, never ordering any item unless I saw it behind the counter or asking the ought-to-have-been-ridiculous question "Can I get a Big Mac pretty fast?," because I never wanted to find myself trapped like that again.

I'm no expert on the laws in Arizona, but I'd bet money against a Double Down sandwich that what the KFC was attempting to do was illegal. A business simply cannot take money for a product, not deliver that product, and not return the money. This is fraud, plain and simple.

eatchicago wrote:I'm no expert on the laws in Arizona, but I'd bet money against a Double Down sandwich that what the KFC was attempting to do was illegal. A business simply cannot take money for a product, not deliver that product, and not return the money. This is fraud, plain and simple.

Not fraud. Just extraordinarily poor customer service.

This is an anti-theft measure -- against their own employees.
Minimum wage can cause an inordinate amount of "refunded" transactions. Without going too much into details, I have witnessed this firsthand.

they're owned by Yum brands now (KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, A&W, Long John Silvers)

kanin wrote:This is an anti-theft measure -- against their own employees.
Minimum wage can cause an inordinate amount of "refunded" transactions. Without going too much into details, I have witnessed this firsthand.

I concur with kanin - we had an employee who used to do this when I managed a cafe. I will say that it's a patently stupid way to handle it; other stupid ways include you having to fill out and sign a return form, which is more standard in the retail industry and still prone to abuse.

I think that eatchicago is also correct, but I would guess that if the customer had known to ask, almost every retailer will cut & mail you a check instead of a gift certificate or exchange, which is the PITA method of getting around that legality.

This is a long time ago, but when I was making college money at McDonald's, some friends of mine were doing the same at KFC. They told me about the anonymous inspectors who came by to check the restaurants - including the service - regularly, and how they were drilled in treating every customer, down to the last "thank you very kindly," as if he or she could be an inspector. As rigorous as I thought McDonald's employee training was, KFC seemed markedly more rigorous.

So I find this tale surprising and frankly, a little hard to believe, unless KFC did away with the anonymous inspectors years ago.

If I were standing in the place of this cop, as myself, a civilian and not an armed tool of the ruling class, I'd pull out my camera and start shooting.