Stressed KFC staff abused at drive-through

Staff shortages have meant some KFC branches have only opened the drive-throughs, leaving workers battling queues. Photo: Braden Fastier/Stuff.

Stressed-out KFC staff say they're dealing with threatening customers as the fast food outlets struggle with 'chronic staffing” shortages.

Two Bay of Plenty KFC restaurants recently had just one staff member on the front counter, according to customers.

A third outlet had to close due to staff shortages, leaving the drive-through with extra long queues that spilled out onto the road, with wait times of up to 20 minutes, customers say.

A KFC worker, who Stuff agreed not to name, says they were so stressed they felt suicidal after trying to manage three channels at once – the drive-through, restaurant and online orders.

These would normally be managed by several staff members, the worker says.


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'We are recruiting, but people leave, or don't turn up or call in sick, leaving others left to deal with everything.”

'We can't just close, people still want their food, and although some customers are very understanding, others get real angry,” says the worker.

Former KFC worker Jessica Rose says it's increasingly common for branches to only have the drive-through open.

When the Te Puke branch had to close the restaurant, resulting in long drive-through queues, she commented: 'There's going to be some angry people wanting their chicken tonight. Poor staff.”

'Coming from a KFC ex-worker, ya'll are really ready to abuse people over chicken, it was insane. If we didn't give some people a certain amount of thigh pieces (the popular piece of chicken for most) all hell broke loose. People struggle to have patience for chicken.”

Facebook customers have noticed staff shortages at KFC branches in the Bay of Plenty. Image: Stuff.

Other customers are sympathetic to the difficult position staff are in. On social media, Cristin Sim praised a worker left alone on the front line, and told Stuff that the employee was 'literally running” to manage the queues.

'Shout out to the young girl at Mount KFC, the only front counter staff serving the busy lunch line. Handled it like a champ. You deserve a pay rise”, one woman says.

The post received lots of comments from others in the community, some appealing directly to the company to pay more, not work staff 'to the bone” and that staff were 'run off their feet.”

'Need more staff so not under so much pressure. Come on KFC you can help out,” says Tauranga customer, Gary Hicks

A KFC spokesperson says the business is battling the same challenges within the hospitality sector that other businesses are.

'Nationwide, many businesses are experiencing resourcing pressures post-Covid, the hospitality industry included.

'We are not immune to these challenges, and have processes in place to mitigate situations where we unexpectedly have smaller teams rostered on than we'd like. For example, closing delivery or store fronts to focus on Drive Thru eases the impact on our store teams.

'At KFC we pay competitive rates, and we are actively seeking people looking for their first job or to get back into work.”

Gerard Hehir, assistant national secretary at Unite – the union representing fast food outlet employees – says that although staff shortages were an issue, high staff turnover was endemic in the fast food industry.

'Existing staff are under pressure, and it has become a big health and safety issue. We are aware that sometimes staff are trying to manage three channels at once - the drive through, the restaurant, and online orders.

'For one person to be doing that it becomes very stressful - and dangerous - both for mental health and risk of accidents. A branch should really close if it only has one person on the front line.”

Gerard Hehir of Unite Union says staff shortages in hospitality were chronic. Photo: Supplied/Stuff.

Frontline staff were under pressure from managers further up the chain not to close even when they did not have enough workers, he says.

'KFC managers are incentivised by bonuses on takings, so the last thing they want to do is close in a busy lunch hour, even if they are so short-staffed. Some managers find themselves filling in for absent staff, and end up working 80 hours a week.”

Hehir says threats from customers had become so commonplace that staff seldom reported them.

'Drive-through staff get verbally abused, sworn at, threats of violence and things thrown at them. People waiting for their chicken have threatened to come back and beat the worker up, or told them to watch out. Staff have got so used to this happening they have told us they see it as ‘part of the job' when they should be reporting it as a health and safety issue.”

New Zealanders are still queueing for their KFC fix despite staff shortages. Photo: Restaurant Brands NZ/Stuff.

Hehir says long drive through queues due to staff shortages are particularly an issue at KFC because New Zealand customers simply love their KFC.

'KFC has a huge customer loyalty base - so people will wait for their chicken because they just want it, whereas if you are after a burger you have more options. So that is good for the company, but unfortunately not for reduced staff members struggling to serve many people.”

In February 2023, Unite is due to renegotiate the collective agreement it currently has with Restaurant Brands, the company which owns KFC.

Currently, KFC pays a starter $21.30 an hour, 10c over the minimum wage, which the union will be renegotiating. A shift leader running staff can earn up to $27 an hour.

'KFC isn't necessarily a lower payer than other fast food chains, but with everyone seeking staff, non-fast food businesses can offer more, or at least the living wage. With staffing shortages, new workers are not being trained properly or at all, and it is not uncommon for them to only last a week or even a day.”

As well as renegotiating the collective agreement with Restaurant Brands, Hehir says the Fair Pay Agreement that will become effective next year will help improve conditions. The Fair Pay Agreements Bill, which was passed by parliament this week and will become effective next year, aims to level the playing field for between workers and employers in low-pay industries such as hospitality.

'It will ensure workers do get their entitled pay and breaks and are sure on their hours, and should help improve conditions for workers across the fast food industry and hospitality in general.”

The National Party says it will repeal the bill if elected. Tauranga MP Sam Uffindell this week criticised it in Parliament, and says it's 'a return to unionism throughout New Zealand and will remove flexibility”.

Restaurant Brands, the company which owns KFC, announced its third quarter figures on October 26. Total sales for the third quarter to September 30, 2022 increased to $322.2 million (up 32.3 per cent over the equivalent period last year). Third quarter sales for New Zealand were $137.6 million, up 43.9 per cent in total.

Chief executive of Restaurant Brands Russel Creedy says in a statement that sales had recovered from the impacts of the 2021 Covid-19 restrictions in New Zealand.

-Annemarie Quill/Stuff.

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6 comments

Don’t blame the workers

Posted on 01-11-2022 09:11 | By Womby

At Tauranga crossing branch on Sunday on a wet day one young dark haired girl was a shining light Quick on her feet with a smile nothing phased her But the store was badly run, they ran out of Coca Cola, no paper napkins, 20 minute wait time, no real urgency from the other store staff The food is good but the price is way up this year Maybe pay more money and entice more willing staff, the profit will improve The self ordering machines there hardly have worked for months


And yet

Posted on 01-11-2022 09:26 | By Kancho

The number of work-ready people on jobseeker support to the end of June was 100,086, about 60 percent higher than the 63,030 when Labour took office in 2017. So why are there so many supposed work ready people and so many vacancies. A lot of jobs are not highly skilled but do have on job training. Conclusion is that many actually find any excuse to not get up, to turn up and to stay in a job. Meanwhile the government would rather more people come into the country to work but how to house them ?. Immigrants want to work and are good workers but if course the worker shortages is also about the hermit kingdom being closed for far too long and losing skilled people out of the country . Also the government says low unemployment figures but manipulated stats as under utilised workforce figures much higher.


ABUSE

Posted on 01-11-2022 15:04 | By oceans

If some people abuse the staff it makes you wonder what they are like in their own home. Too many people with short wicks. Too much violence. Impatience.


Here's a thought...

Posted on 01-11-2022 20:00 | By morepork

Make your own KFC style chicken at home, in minutes, with an air fryer. I do this when I'm feeling peckish (sorry... bad pun....) Seriously, large thighs from the Supermarket, dusted with a decent rub, or dipped in a spiced batter, and air fried for 15-20 minutes are not only delicious, but are far better for you than KFC... I also do a batch, eat some and put the rest in the fridge or freezer for quick defrost and reheat when I need chicken in a hurry... It costs much less than KFC, tastes at least as good as KFC, and can be readied on demand. (You can experiment with different herbs and spices also... or even make a paste to coat the chicken...)


Short Staffed

Posted on 02-11-2022 07:38 | By Thats Nice

The whole country is short staffed. A lot have purchased a one way ticket and many are sitting at home collecting the dole.


@That's Nice

Posted on 02-11-2022 13:58 | By morepork

Thanks for a succinct but almost accurate statement of the situation. It would summarize as: "The bright ones are leaving, the dimmer ones are on the dole." It's a bit too close to the bone to be dismissed, but I hope it isn't so.


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