Chinese Man Buys 2000 Buckets of KFC in Protest

[Sun Wukong]

Chinese Man Buys 2000 Buckets of KFC in Protest

by Peter Barefoot on Monday, September 17,
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From NetEase:
Dissatisfied with the Sanitary Conditions, Man Wants to Buy 2,000 Meal Buckets to Block KFC

On the evening of September 4th, as a result of seeing an employee making chicken sandwiches without wearing gloves while having a meal, Mr. Yang of Beijing, who was on a business trip in Wuhan, wanted to spend 140,000 yuan to buy 2,000 Family Meal Buckets [a package that includes 5 pieces of fried chicken and 3 cups of soda] to-go in a fit of anger to put them in front of the restaurant as a warning to the city’s residents. However, the restaurant refused to sell him any more after 22 orders.

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The person who was purchasing as well as placing these take-out orders of the Family Meal Buckets was a 30-year-old Mr. Yang. He came to Wuhan from Beijing on a business trip. At about 12 noon on the 4th, he and his friend Mr. Lei had came to dine at this restaurant, and as he was paying and waiting for his order, he happened to see through a crack between the food cabinets a young man in the kitchen making chicken sandwiches with his [bare] hands. “He wasn’t wearing a cap/hair net or a face mask and the moment he turned around, I saw both of his hands and he wasn’t wearing gloves either, just using both of his [bare] hands to handle the chicken patties and lettuce…”

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Mr. Yang said he immediately pointed out the severity of the problem, and refused to eat the food. Then as he negotiated with the counter staff, a 20-something year old female supervisor appeared to deal with him. He asked if they could wear gloves when preparing the food and he had to repeat himself three times before the manager said “sorry”.

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Afterwards, the restaurant manager appeared and explained that “there are many people at noon, [that employee] forgot to wear gloves”, and claimed that the cooks’ hands had gone through multiple sterilizations and washings before touching the food, so safety [food cleanliness] was absolutely guaranteed.

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Mr. Yang said he noticed that after he pointed out the problem, the employee had immediately put on a cap and a pair of disposable gloves, but still didn’t wear a face mask. “Even if your food is safe/clean, are your hands safe/clean? When you’re making food with your bare hands, how can people eat the food without worries? Serious-minded Mr. Yang suggested that the restaurant make him 20 Family Meal Buckets as compensation.

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In the face of the restaurant staff’s “apathy”, Mr. Yang decided to buy 2,000 take-out buckets from them. The employees thought Mr. Yang was acting rashly in anger and joking, until a stack of hundred yuan bills were placed on the counter, stunning the employees. According to the employees, one take-out Family Meal Bucket costs 74 yuan, so 2,000 orders would be over 140,000 yuan. Worried they wouldn’t be able to fulfill that many orders, the restaurant decided to split the order into separate orders of 20 buckets at a time, figuring they would fulfill as many as they’re able to.

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Mr. Yang says he often travels, has eaten at KFC restaurants abroad as well, and discovered that KFC restaurants abroad and those in China follow two different sets of food hygiene standards. At foreign restaurants, when the cook is making food, apart from wearing a face mask and cap, he/she must also wear disposable gloves, and even the napkins they provide are moist towelettes. “KFC provides disposable gloves, so why aren’t they used?” Mr Yang says him spending so much money to protect his rights is in hopes of using this to warn the city’s residents. He says he has the [financial ability] to pay this amount of money.

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At about 5 in the afternoon of the 4th, Mr. Yang was still on the scene displaying what he believed to be KFC’s “problematic food”, and refusing to eat it. His friend Mr. Lei says Yang’s parents are in business so the 140,000 yuan to buy 2,000 to-go buckets is nothing to him. Mr. Lei says KFC is big and somewhat doesn’t take its customers seriously, often having the attitude that “if you don’t buy from us, others will”. If the restaurant had apologized from the start, Mr. Yang probably wouldn’t have taken it this far. By around 7pm that evening of the 4th, the restaurant refused to sell Mr. Yang the other 1,978 meal buckets.

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September 4th at around 8pm, Yum Brands KFC of China officially responded to what had happened to Mr. Yang, that according to the relevant policy, the company has established a stricter food preparation process, which requires employees to wear gloves while making food. Individual employees who fail to comply shall be reprimanded by the company. Because employees all wash and sterilize their hands, there’s no need to worry about food safety.

 

[Cestbon]

Do this in SG. Police/security and NEA will coming down.

 

[halsey02]

Do this in SG. Police/security and NEA will coming down.

Then they will give to their RC's especially those in the opposition wards & low in percentages, give to those ah peks etc.. and they will say, the PxP so good, they give his food to eat. ( high cholesterol, sodium & wat not)

 

[singveld]

misleading title, he only bought 22 buckets, not 2000.

 

[Rogue Trader]

misleading title, he only bought 22 buckets, not 2000.

Nothing wrong with the title. He wants to buy. Kfc didn't want to sell.

But you have low IQ, so never mind.

 

[roadrunner]

very brave man with his act of civic mindedness, should have more people like him around, at least the poor won't go hungry after he's been in town

 

[lianbeng]

Do this in SG. Police/security and NEA will coming down.

lianbeng replied cestbon, "no such thing in sg one lah."

 

[laksaboy]

Tiongs actually give a damn to hygiene? The world must be coming to an end.

 

[halsey02]

Tiongs actually give a damn to hygiene? The world must be coming to an end.

That was what I was thinking...since when Ah Tiong so concern with hygiene??

 

[Cruxx]

These ah tiongs are making sinkies look even more balless than they already are.

 

[looneytan]

But you have low IQ, so never mind.

Ha Ha Ha Ha

( I also dun't noe why I laff )

 

[hairylee]

If he trace the chicken supply chain I bet he will give up chicken forever.

 

[ChiKopPow]

Is the oil that fried the chicken clean or recycle from waste oil?

 

[halsey02]

If he trace the chicken supply chain I bet he will give up chicken forever.

Plus the oil they use, & they might even wash & reuse whatever what is leftovers...

 

[Rogue Trader]

There are 2 issues with this story.

One is the unhygienic food preparation practice in China. American fast food chains usually have a very strict preparation procedure which controls operations and quality. That ultimately has an impact on the brand. That ensures the Big mac in NY is (supposed to be) the same in Jakarta or Paris or Timbuktu. Audits are done periodically to ensure branches don't cut corners. The branch manager in Wuhan Kfc will be sacked.

The more interesting issue is the crass Chinaman practice of "throwing money to make a point". No doubt Mr Yang's intentions are good but it is so typically "nouveau riche Chinaman". I remember reading a few years ago one Chinaman used buffaloes to pull his SLK thru the streets because he wanted to show everyone Mercedes Benz China sold him a lemon.

 

[loneshark]

Gloves and mask should be the least of his worries.

 

[hairylee]

Plus the oil they use, & they might even wash & reuse whatever what is leftovers...

Yes, and I think he might discover that the staff's hands were actually the cleanest in the whole process.