KFC issues high-profile, humourous apology for chicken shortage
24 Feb 2018
KFC has issued a high-profile, humorous apology for the shortage of chicken in the UK.
The apology came in a full-page ad in UK newspapers for shutting down hundreds of restaurants this week due to shortage of chicken.
The bright red advertisement featured an empty bucket with the chain's initials scrambled to read "FCK" on it, with an apology.
"A chicken restaurant without any chicken. It's not ideal. Huge apologies to our customers, especially those who traveled out of their way to find we were closed," the ad said.
Due to the logistics failure as many 800 out of about 900 KFC locations were closed on Monday, but, by Friday, the most of the stores had reopened.
"It's been a hell of a week, but we're making progress, and every day more and more fresh chicken is being delivered to our restaurants. Thank you for bearing with us," the ad said.
According to KFC, which is owned by Taco Bell and Pizza Hut parent Yum! (YUM), the chicken shortage had been caused by a "couple of teething problems" after it switched to a new delivery partner, DHL (DPW), last week.
DHL said ''operational issues'' had resulted in ''incomplete or delayed'' deliveries.
KFC set up a website to let its fans know the closest open store location.
The full-page print ad was crafted by agency Mother London. The ad apologises for the failure admitting that ''a chicken restaurant without any chicken'' is ''not ideal.''
According to commentators, KFC's apology appears to be getting a largely positive reception from fans of the fast food chain on social media.
Founder and group managing director of Frank PR Andrew Bloch tweeted that the apology was a ''masterclass in PR crisis management,'' while other marketers and fans alike tweeted in praise of the brand's apology.
