KFC recently offered their two piece baked chicken dinner [two sides and a biscuit] value $3.99, FREE with coupon. Coupons can be found at the KFC site online and downloaded, then printed out. Apparently, millions of Americans started taking advantage of this offer and KFC could not provide this service for the masses standing in line waiting to be served. To make matters worse, somehow Oprah got into all of this and the publicity became a fire that raged across the Internet.

People were now in line both in the store and in the drive-thru. Certainly, with the offer running through May 19th, many had planned to make the KFC circuit in their cities, eating KFC several nights a week until the offer ended.

Today, two days into the three week promotion, the offer was rescinded. KFC threw in the towel. Demand far outweighed supply. KFC now offers customers a rain-check. A mail-in certificate for another coupon, redeemable at a future date. Part of the problem was the supply issue, the other problem was the resulting sit-ins, protests and violence at a few restaurants. Violence, when customers jumped the counter and attacked KFC workers after being told they would not get their FREE chicken dinner.

The bad publicity will teach KFC to THINK these things through. They can’t feed America for FREE for nearly an entire month. Did they think, in these troubled economic times, that Americans would not RUN to KFC for a FREE meal. All of America within range of a computer and a printer were potential customers.

And Oprah might wise up and stick with promotions that are better thought out. But, food is Oprah’s weakness. I am certain that when she heard the words FREE KFC CHICKEN, Oprah smacked her lips and said “Count me in and pass me a plate!”

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