Report : Fake Kfc Coupons in China

Report

FAKE KFC COUPONS IN CHINA

On April 6th 2010, KFC China faced an enormous amount of unsatisfied customers regarding its coupons that was been distributed on China’s famous e-commerce website, Taobao.com for the customers to print and use to get their meals. During the incident, KFC outlets across China did not make the same decision. Some of the outlets decided to continue letting the fake coupons to be used by the customers, and others decided to shut it down and blame it on Yum! Brands Inc. China Division, the company that is responsible on bringing KFC to China.

One of the coupons that was available online offered KFC’s normal 64 RMB Family Bucket meal for half price (32 RMB). The coupon was valid throughout the country and only on Tuesday yesterday. Many Shanghai residents printed this coupon and brought it to their local KFC where they were eventually rejected. KFC staff in different stores offered different excuses and handled upset customers differently. This led to small protests in many KFC restaurants all across China by customers who felt they were cheated and being lied to. Some customers refused to leave, demanding explanations and that KFC honor their promotion. Many used their mobile phones to communicate with other people online, to check if others were able to get the deal at other KFC restaurants. When some people reported that they got the deal, this only made everyone else angrier.

According to an investigation by KFC, some third-party websites offered downloads of the e-coupons in the second and third "acts." KFC had not authorized these websites to offer the coupons, and KFC decided to reject all coupons from the two "acts," the company claimed. Tong Tianwu, head of the provincial consumers' association in Jiangsu, told Xinhua Wednesday the coupon directions said prints and copies of the prints were both valid, but that KFC had no mechanism to identify which coupons were downloaded from KFC's official website and the ones from...