I’ve been going to the KFC at 230 Queen Street East in Brampton about once a week for years, and until recently, it has always been a busy, efficient location. Unfortunately, my experience today was completely different.
The first thing I noticed was that the self-serve drink station had been removed. That alone isn’t a major issue—it’s the owner’s prerogative—but it was the first noticeable change. What really surprised me was how empty the restaurant was. There were only about six customers when I arrived, whereas this location is normally quite busy.
Despite how quiet it was, I waited approximately 10 minutes before anyone came to the counter to take my order. By that point, three other customers were waiting behind me.
My usual order is the Spicy Big Crunch combo, and I normally use the available coupon code. I was with my son, so I ordered two combos. When I finally reached the counter, I was told that unless I was paying cash, I had to place my order using the self-serve terminal. I’ve been coming here for years and had never been told that before. I personally find the terminals confusing, but I went ahead and used one.
Because of the way the coupon worked, I had to enter the two meals as separate orders. After tapping my card, I noticed the discount had only been applied to one of them. I brought this to the attention of the employee at the counter and was simply told there was nothing they could do about it.
At that point, I had already been in the restaurant for about 25 minutes and was frustrated, so I asked to cancel the order and get my money back. I was told they “don’t give refunds.” I explained that I wasn’t returning food—I hadn’t even received my food yet. I simply wanted to cancel an order that hadn’t been served. I was still told no. They also would not adjust the bill to return the amount I had overpaid because the coupon hadn’t been applied correctly.
That discussion took another 10 minutes or so. I had now been there for more than half an hour without receiving any food, so eventually I gave up and sat down to wait.
While waiting, I watched customer after customer return to the counter because their orders were wrong or because they had been waiting an unusually long time.
When my food was finally called, I had been there approximately 45 minutes. I opened the sandwiches and discovered that neither my Spicy Big Crunch nor my son’s order had been made correctly.
Worse, both sandwiches were extremely cold. The chicken was rubbery, and the coating was very dark and hard. The fries also tasted and looked like they had been sitting around for a very long time. The food was nowhere near the quality I had come to expect from this location.
By this point, I had been there for close to an hour. I asked for both orders to be remade because they were incorrect and cold. I was told they would not remake them. Instead, I was handed a small container of spicy mayo.
That was the point where I simply walked away.
What makes this particularly disappointing is that I’ve been a regular customer at this location for years. It used to run very efficiently even when it was packed. Today, with only a handful of customers in the restaurant, it took nearly an hour to receive two incorrect, cold meals, and I watched several other customers experience problems with their orders as well.
I don’t know whether there has been a change in management, staffing, or operating procedures, but something has clearly changed from my previous experiences at this location.
Unfortunately, after today’s experience, I won’t be returning. It’s disappointing because this used to be an excellent, busy KFC location that I visited regularly. This was easily one of the worst restaurant experiences I’ve had, particularly because of how consistently good this location had been in the past.