Talk about a fowl-up.
An Oprah Winfrey-sponsored chicken run—which proved more popular, in these recessionary times, than either the talk queen or KFC could have imagined—has left the fast-food giant with no other choice than to bite the hand that feeds it…or rather, to bite the hands it's been unable to feed.
Four days after Winfrey partnered with the chicken chain and made available to the nation a coupon redeemable for a two-piece grilled meal at the fast-food joint, KFC has cut short the promotion, saying it would no longer be honoring the coupon.
The free meal deal was originally slated to run through May 19. Millions of viewers downloaded the coupon after Tuesday's show, with even more joining in after word of the deal hit the Internet.
KFC President Roger Eaton cited the excessive lines at restaurants around the country and the fact that extreme demand had, at many locations, far exceeded supply of the product for the company's early pull-out.
What he neglected to name, however, was the massive PR nightmare that resulted when the tried employees and hungry, wallet-weary customers clashed. And clash they did.
"We are so sorry, but due to the overwhelming response to our free Kentucky Grilled Chicken meal coupon, we can no longer redeem the free coupon at this time," Eaton said in a statement posted to Winfrey's official website.
Instead, Eaton advises coupon holders to take their voucher to KFC, where they will be given a form to fill and mail out in exchange for a rain check of the same promotion.
Having learned from their free-for-all mistake, this time around, Eaton says the redemption times for the rain checks will be staggered.
To further sweeten the pot, KFC will also throw in a free Pepsi, something not originally included in the coupon.
"Thank you for your understanding," he wrote.
Complete instructions on how to obtain a rain check are available on Oprah.com.
In the meantime, El Pollo Loco says fans can redeem their KFC coupon at the rival chain this Sunday.
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