KFC workers abused during first day back

A North Shore drive-thru KFC worker, who wanted to remain anonymous, revealed as they neared closing time they ran out of original chicken and had to give customers alternatives, which made some customers angry. Photo: Gregor Richardson

From Monday, restaurants and cafes were allowed to re-open in alert level 3 with some restrictions including contactless service.

This sparked long queues across the country as people eagerly waited for their fast food fix.

However, it also caused customers to become abusive towards employees.

A North Shore drive-thru KFC worker, who wanted to remain anonymous, revealed as they neared closing time they ran out of original chicken and had to give customers alternatives, which made some customers angry.

But when 10pm came around, she said she and her workmates suffered a mass of abuse including being yelled and sworn at.

The worker explained she was told to walk down the long queue and advise people to go home as they were closed.

She said some customers were obviously upset by the news, but others got intensely "aggro" and swore at her.

One customer yelled at her that he had waited three hours for a meal and that they should serve the people in the queue, she recalled.

"The more aggressive he got towards me through his car window, I kept taking a step back."

Eventually, he went to get out of the car before she quickly apologised and walked away.

As she informed other customers down the queue about closing time, the man continued to abuse her until giving up, the employee said.

When she made her way back, she said she could hear customers screaming at her co-workers at the KFC drive-thru window.

In another incident, she said a customer yelled at her co-worker and wouldn't leave until they gave them chicken. The customer won their battle and got some food, but still called one of them a b**** before driving off.

In the end, the workers locked all the windows and ignored customers who were determined to order — even though the auto speaker told them they were closed, she said.

The employee said she was terrified to go back to work because of the abuse she entailed and added that she doesn't want to accidentally take the virus home as she lives with her grandparents - one with an underlying condition.

She has urged customers to "chill out" when it comes to buying fast food and to think about their actions towards employees.

"We are trying to do the best we can. We are putting ourselves at risk, being forced to go to work. We don't want to break our quarantine but have been asked to come back to provide people with food.

"At the end of the day, you're choosing to wait in the queue for three hours. No one is forcing you to do that. If we close at 10pm you should keep an eye on the time and not get mad when we close.

"We are not closing permanently anytime soon. If you miss out on your K fry today, you can always come back the next day."

The Herald has contacted Restaurant Brands, the company that owns KFC, for comment, but has yet to receive a response.

During the alert level 4 lockdown, abuse and violence towards Countdown employees increased 600% as supermarkets were one of the few essential businesses that remained open during that period.