6
Is free KFC chicken worth a long wait?
Marketplace Editor Paddy Hirsch of the Marketplace Whiteboard illustrates his experience at KFC.
To view this content, Javascript must be enabled and Adobe Flash Player must be installed.
TEXT OF INTERVIEW
Kai Ryssdal: We learned this morning Kentucky Fried Chicken is going to try another giveaway with the hopes that it goes better than the one they did in May. They partnered with Oprah Winfrey for that one, putting coupons for free grilled chicken dinners on her Web site. Oprah being Oprah, KFC was overloaded with people wanting their freebies. So overloaded that a lot of restaurants ran out of food. Among the faithful was our very own senior editor Paddy Hirsch who I've got in the studio with me now to ask this very simple question: with whatever it is that you make an hour, is waiting in line for a $5 freebie really the best use of your time?
PADDY HIRSCH: Kai, as you know, I work very hard. So when I go home I don't know want to be slaving over a hot stove. So I eat out quite a lot. So when anyone sends me a link that's going to give me a coupon for a free meal, I'm going to take it.
Ryssdal: What we are trying to get at here is this idea of opportunity cost. I mean, $5 freebie, waiting in line for what 40 minutes, an hour?
HIRSCH: Well, it could have been because when I got to the parking lot, which by the way was stuffed full of Mercedes and Lexuses and BMWs, there was a line around the block there, and a lot of these ladies, and they were all ladies by the way, didn't know what was going on. So I sort of elbowed my way into the front of the queue.
Ryssdal: Nice, nice, nice.
HIRSCH: Well, I wanted to find out what was happening. I didn't want to leave them in the dark. And I found out that they had actually run out of the amount of free chicken that they could have given out. They did actually have some more chicken, so I could have bought some for how ever many $5, but I, of course, declined because I'm pretty cheap, too.
Ryssdal: Of course you did. But does this change it at all for you? If it's not a whole dinner like it was last time, it's just a piece of chicken.
HIRSCH: It's free, Kai. That's the point. I mean they could be giving away, you know, diet Pepsi, which I don't drink. But the fact that's it's free is enough for me to get in line. To me it's worth it. Free is good.
Ryssdal: I should probably point out here that you're a freebie...You're the guy who ran over to Starbucks on the morning that they were giving away free instant coffee, too.
HIRSCH: To me, Kai, free just tastes better. Yes, you may have to spend a little bit of time. But the kind of rush that you get from getting something for free, I think it's worth that time.
Ryssdal: Paddy Hirsch. Our senior editor here at Marketplace. You have seen him I'm sure on our Web site doing his whiteboard videos. Maybe, Paddy, I don't know, something on opportunity cost here in the future.
HIRSCH: We could do. I'll have to talk to my agent about negotiation. But...
Ryssdal: Paddy Hirsch, thanks.
HIRSCH: Thank you.
About the author
Kai Ryssdal is the host and senior editor of Marketplace, public radio’s program on business and the economy. Follow Kai on Twitter @kairyssdal.
Free samples are terrorist threat number one. It's funny that people freak out about everything...but don't mind scooping up a candy bar from a random person on the street. My question is: is a company at all liable for problems with a free product?
Kentucky Fried Chicken grilled chicken is too small. The size of the chicken is a insult to buyers. when I ordered the grilled chicken I could not believe the size. I can't believe they put that chicken on the menu the taste is great but again the size is a insult. I will never buy it and if their sells are low this is probally the reason. Kentucky Fried Chicken should be ashamed and after I saw the size of the chicken I was so offended I stop patronizing the business all togeather because of their disregard and disrespect to the clients just in offering such a product.
Thank you Mrs. Carter
the question should be why is anyone eating KFC at all. Forget about free, you couldn't PAY me to eat it. Grilled chicken is one of the largest sources of heterocyclic amines which are known carcinogens. There is a law in CA that stipulates that consumers must be warned about known carcinogens and KFC is being sued by Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine regarding this issue. Also, some research just came out that shows that chicken, due to the way it is now fed and raised, has more fat than red meat. So, how about a story about why certain businesses (like tobacco and alcohol) have to advise consumers of adverse health effects but the food industry is managing to get by this rule. check out cancerproject.org and pcrm.org
Opportunity cost refers to the true economics, Kai.
If it takes 15 minutes to earn $5.00, then 15 minutes is your wait limit for $5.00 worth of free stuff.
However, you have to consider the value of not shopping for groceries, heating up the deep fat fryer, cooking chicken, & doing something with the used oil.
Perhaps a half-hour wait would still be okay when you throw in all that...
I used to think like Paddy. Particularly if it was something I like (like Ben & Jerry's ice cream).
But I don't like crowds. The reality is that a free food giveaway like this attracts a lot of people, many of them the kind of rabble that I don't want to be in line with and jostling for my complimentary morsel.
Bah. I'll go get what I want to eat, that's a good choice, a fair value, and all -- hopefully -- without the extra stress that this freebie hubbub provides.
Back to the whiteboard with you, mate.
