In: Economics
KFC’S chicken delivery meltdown could be costing the chain £1million a day.
Around 700 of its 870 UK stores werewforced to shut after a catastrophic failure at KFC’s new delivery firm DHL left them without chicken. The main reason behind it is the delivery from DHL .
KFC is likely to lose millions after new delivery firm DHL left the fast-food chain without chicken
The shambles means zero-hour contract staff may lose pay while
stores stay shut. One insider warned:
It’s not going to get better quickly. It won’t be days, it may be
weeks.
After a catastrophic failure at KFC’s new delivery firm DHL left them without chicken.
And one source said it could be weeks rather than days before
supplies are back to normal — adding:
“It’s an absolute shambles.”
Customers who found outlets closed were equally furious. Matt
Patel, 20, in Chelmsford, Essex, said:
“It’s insane that Kentucky Fried Chicken has run out of chicken.
It’s literally in their name.”Yao Barima, turned away from a KFC
drive- through in Byker, Newcastle, said: “I am in complete
shock.
“Are they joking? KFC running out of chicken certainly sounds like
a joke.”
It is believed the crisis began on Wednesday — the day DHL took over delivery duties — triggered by an accident that shut the M6 and caused traffic gridlock.
An insider said: “Some DHL lorries were sat in traffic for hours and it kick-started a huge backlog of deliveries.
In Rugby there are a sea of trays of wasted chicken at the DHL depot“They couldn’t get enough drivers together to clear the backlog then in the chaos trucks were delivering wrong stock or out-of-date stock which had to be sent back.
“It’s a logistical nightmare for DHL. They just didn’t have the set-up to deal with it.”
The DHL depot at Rugby, Warwicks, was yesterday described as “total mayhem” — with pictures showing thousands of trays of chicken waiting to be loaded on lorries.
The shortage started to bite at KFC outlets on Friday. It worsened over the weekend and by yesterday the system had collapsed completely.KFC stores are usually franchises, with many of the 25,000 staff on zero-hours contracts.
Yesterday some said they had been left with no income while stores stayed closed. Others claimed they had been told “take a holiday”.
One North London worker said: “KFC said full-time staff will be paid and those on short-term contracts will have their pay averaged out.
“But most people who work at franchises like mine are on zero-hours contracts — we don’t have proper jobs.
“We haven’t had any work since the delivery issue first came to light at the end of last week and it’s tough because we have bills to pay.
“Most KFC staff will be in a similar boat.”
A single mum at an Uxbridge store said: “I don’t know whether to laugh or cry.”
Footage uploaded online yesterday apparently showed KFC workers smuggling chicken they had obtained themselves into a store in Erith, Kent, through a fire door — in an attempt to keep it trading.
Some staff said it had been apparent for weeks there were going to be problems with German-based DHL taking over from KFC’s previous distribution firm, South African operator Bidvest.
One added: “Managers and franchise owners were all aware DHL did not have the infrastructure to deliver but went ahead anyway.”
One worker claimed employees had been asked to go to DHL’s depot to help load lorries. The worker said: “We have basically been asked to do DHL’s job for them.”
Another said: “We haven’t been given a proper update from the company, just what trickles down from managers.”
Delivery drivers said their usual 40-minute waits had gone up to 4½ hours. One said: “I’ve been a delivery driver for 40 years and I’ve never seen anything like it.
“It won’t be sorted in days, it’s going to take weeks.”
Sources said KFC may seek up to £30million in compensate.