LONDON, KOMPAS.com - Jaringan restoran cepat saji Kentucky Fried Chicken ( KFC ) dikabarkan menutup separuh dari total 900 gerainya di Inggris. Penyebab tutupnya gerai restoran ayam goreng tersebut adalah pasokan ayam yang habis. Mengutip BBC , Selasa (20/2/2018), pada pekan lalu, KFC telah mengganti kontrak pengiriman kepada DHL. Inilah yang disinyalir oleh KFC sebagai biang keladi masalah operasional terkait pasokan ayam. Juru bicara KFC menyebutkan, belum jelas kapan masalah pengiriman ini akan selesai. Adapun para karyawan didorong untuk mengambil hari libur, namun kebijakan ini tidak dipaksakan. "Tim kami terus bekerja keras untuk kembali (beroperasi) sesegera mungkin. Namun, masih terlalu dini untuk menyatakan berapa lama permasalahan kekurangan (pasokan) ayam ini akan selesai," ujar juru bicara KFC.
Baca juga: Susi dan 100 Wanita Paling Berpengaruh di Dunia Versi BBC Hingga awal pekan lalu, ayam untuk kebutuhan KFC dikirim oleh perusahaan distribusi Bidvest milik seorang warga Afrika Selatan. Akan tetapi, setelah terjadi perubahan kontrak, banyak gerai KFC mengalami kekurangan pasokan ayam. KFC pun mengumumkan permasalahan tersebut melalui akun Twitter resminya. Menurut KFC, permasalahan terkait pengiriman ayam ini sangat kompleks. "Kami telah menghadirkan mitra pengiriman baru, namun mereka memiliki masalah. Membawa ayam segar ke 900 restoran di penjuru negeri (Inggris) adalah perkara kompleks!" kata KFC.
KFC pun tidak lupa disertai permintaan maaf kepada konsumen dalam cuitannya itu. Pihak DHL pun memberikan penjelasannya mengenai masalah dalam pengiriman pasokan ayam ke gerai-gerai KFC. Gangguan tersebut, kata pihak DHL, merupakan gangguan operasional yang segera diselesaikan. "Karena permasalahan operasional, banyak pengiriman dalam beberapa hari terakhir tertunda atau tidak selesai. Kami bekerja keras bersama mitra-mitra kami, KFC, dan QSL untuk menyelesaikan masalah ini, menjadikannya prioritas, dan memohon maaf atas ketidaknyamanan ini," tulis DHL. Namun, permasalahan ini sudah terlanjur membuat sejumlah konsumen marah dan kecewa. Mereka pun meluapkan kemarahannya pada media sosial.
More bad news for KFC fans: A chicken shortage that has closed hundreds of stores in the UK could last all week.
The fast food chain was forced to shut restaurants across the country after a logistics snafu hit chicken deliveries.
As many as 800 of about 900 KFC locations were closed on Monday. About 450 remained closed by late afternoon local time on Tuesday.
"Each day more deliveries are being made, however, we expect the disruption to some restaurants to continue over the remainder of the week, meaning some will be closed and others operating with a reduced menu or shortened hours," a KFC spokesperson said in a statement emailed to CNN.
In a message posted on its UK Twitter account, KFC said "our teams are working round the cluck" to reopen all restaurants.
KFC, which is owned by Taco Bell and Pizza Hut parent Yum! (YUM), said the chicken shortage had been caused by a "couple of teething problems" after it switched to a new delivery partner, DHL (DPW), last week.
DHL said Monday that a number of deliveries had been "incomplete or delayed" because of "operational issues." The German company apologized again on Tuesday but added that it was "not the only party responsible for the supply chain to KFC."
"With the help of our partner QSL, we are committed to step by step improvements to allow KFC to re-open its stores over the coming days," DHL said in a statement.
QSL is a food logistics provider that has been working with KFC since 2011. It did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Colonel has an update...🐓🛣🚦
More info - https://t.co/mLELSs6TaY pic.twitter.com/WEOz6jExHC — KFC UK & Ireland (@KFC_UKI) February 19, 2018
The UK is KFC's largest market in Europe, and one of its top five globally.
Franchisees operate 95% of KFC's outlets in the country. The company said Monday that it would pay its staff as normal, and it was encouraging franchisees to do the same.
KFC did not say whether it would compensate its franchisee operators for lost business.
KFC fans have used social media to complain and express their amusement this week over a chicken restaurant running out of its signature product.
So KFC is closed due to having no chicken.. I feel like this is the beginning of the end of the world — kayleigh greenwood🤗 (@kayleigh_xxxxxx) February 19, 2018
-- CNN's Ivana Kottasová contributed to this report.
Image copyright Reuters
Delivery problems will mean some KFC outlets will remain closed for the rest of the week, while others will have a reduced menu or shortened hours.
As of 13:00 on Tuesday, 470 of the fast-food chain's 900 outlets in its UK-based division were shut.
That compares with 575 that were closed at 21:00 on Monday.
Last week, the fried chicken chain switched its delivery contract to DHL, which has blamed "operational issues" for the supply disruption.
Earlier, a KFC spokesperson said: "We anticipate the number of closures will reduce today [Tuesday] and over the coming days as our teams work flat-out all hours to clear the backlog.
"Each day more deliveries are being made. However, we expect the disruption to some restaurants to continue over the remainder of the week, meaning some will be closed and others operating with a reduced menu or shortened hours."
In DHL's latest statement, the company's John Boulter said the company regretted the "interruption of supply" and apologised for the "inconvenience and disappointment caused to KFC and their customers".
"The reasons for this unforeseen interruption of this complex service are being worked on with a goal to return to normal service levels as soon as possible," he added.
"With the help of our partner QSL, we are committed to step by step improvements to allow KFC to reopen its stores over the coming days."
How many KFCs are open?
KFC says 430 of its outlets were open as of 13:00 on Tuesday, compared with 325 at 21:00 on Monday.
However, even some of these are only offering a limited menu or have shorter opening hours.
KFC has set up a web page where "fans" can find their nearest outlet that is still open.
What caused the problems?
Until 13 February, KFC's chicken was delivered by specialist food distribution group Bidvest.
But after the contract switched to DHL, many of the food giant's outlets began running out of chicken products.
Image copyright Getty Images
The GMB union said it had tried to warn KFC that switching from Bidvest to DHL was a mistake. The change led to 255 job losses and the closure of a Bidvest depot, said Mick Rix, GMB national officer.
He said: "Bidvest are specialists - a food distribution firm with years of experience. DHL are scratching around for any work they can get, and undercut them.
"KFC are left with hundreds of restaurants closed while DHL try and run the whole operation out of one distribution centre. Three weeks ago, KFC knew they had made a terrible mistake, but by then it was too late."
The distribution network uses software developed by the firm Quick Service Logistics (QSL).
DHL said: "Due to operational issues, a number of deliveries in recent days have been incomplete or delayed. We are working with our partners, KFC and QSL, to rectify the situation as a priority and apologise for any inconvenience."
A KFC spokesperson said the decision to change supplier hadn't been taken lightly.
"DHL have estimated that winning the KFC contract and opening the new distribution centre has created 300 new jobs," he added.
How long are the problems likely to persist?
A spokesman for the firm said as of Monday, it was "too early to tell" how long the problems would go on for.
How much is it likely to cost KFC?
KFC's spokesman said he did not have a figure, but any calculation is likely to be complicated by the fact that 95% of KFC's outlets in the UK are run by franchisees.
Some media reports say the crisis could be costing the chain £1m a day, but any such figure at this stage is likely to involve a large amount of guesswork.
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption "Angry, sad, disappointed and hungry": We talk to KFC customers
What's happening to KFC staff?
Workers are being encouraged to take holiday, but would not be forced to do so, the company has said.
"Our teams are working flat out all hours to get the rest back up and running as soon as possible - but it's too early to say how long it will take to clear the backlog."
It said that in the restaurants owned by the chain, staff on short-term contracts would be paid the average hours worked per day over the past 12 weeks, while those on salaries would be paid as normal.
"Franchisees will be seeking their own independent advice, but we're encouraging them to adopt this policy too," said the chain.
Do you work for KFC or DHL? What has been your experience of the past few days? You can share your story by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.
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Image copyright Reuters
Delivery problems will mean some KFC outlets will remain closed for the rest of the week, while others will have a reduced menu or shortened hours.
Just over half of the fast food chain's 900 outlets in its UK-based division have been shut.
That compares with 575 that were closed on Monday evening.
Last week, the fried chicken chain switched its delivery contract to DHL, which has blamed "operational issues" for the supply disruption.
Earlier, a KFC spokesperson said: "We anticipate the number of closures will reduce today [Tuesday] and over the coming days as our teams work flat-out all hours to clear the backlog.
"Each day more deliveries are being made. However, we expect the disruption to some restaurants to continue over the remainder of the week, meaning some will be closed and others operating with a reduced menu or shortened hours."
In DHL's latest statement, the company's John Boulter said the company regretted the "interruption of supply" and apologised for the "inconvenience and disappointment caused to KFC and their customers".
"The reasons for this unforeseen interruption of this complex service are being worked on with a goal to return to normal service levels as soon as possible," he added.
"With the help of our partner QSL, we are committed to step by step improvements to allow KFC to reopen its stores over the coming days."
KFC has set up a web page where "fans" can find their nearest outlet that is still open.
What caused the problems?
Until 13 February, KFC's chicken was delivered by specialist food distribution group Bidvest.
But after the contract switched to DHL, many of the food giant's outlets began running out of chicken products.
Image copyright Getty Images
The GMB union said it had tried to warn KFC that switching from Bidvest to DHL was a mistake. The change led to 255 job losses and the closure of a Bidvest depot, said Mick Rix, GMB national officer.
He said: "Bidvest are specialists - a food distribution firm with years of experience. DHL are scratching around for any work they can get, and undercut them.
"KFC are left with hundreds of restaurants closed while DHL try and run the whole operation out of one distribution centre. Three weeks ago, KFC knew they had made a terrible mistake, but by then it was too late."
The distribution network uses software developed by the firm Quick Service Logistics (QSL).
DHL said: "Due to operational issues, a number of deliveries in recent days have been incomplete or delayed. We are working with our partners, KFC and QSL, to rectify the situation as a priority and apologise for any inconvenience."
A KFC spokesperson said the decision to change supplier hadn't been taken lightly.
"DHL have estimated that winning the KFC contract and opening the new distribution centre has created 300 new jobs," he added.
How much is it likely to cost KFC?
KFC's spokesman said he did not have a figure, but any calculation is likely to be complicated by the fact that 95% of KFC's outlets in the UK are run by franchisees.
Some media reports say the crisis could be costing the chain £1m a day, but any such figure at this stage is likely to involve a large amount of guesswork.
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption "Angry, sad, disappointed and hungry": We talk to KFC customers
What's happening to KFC staff?
Workers are being encouraged to take holiday, but would not be forced to do so, the company has said.
"Our teams are working flat out all hours to get the rest back up and running as soon as possible - but it's too early to say how long it will take to clear the backlog."
It said that in the restaurants owned by the chain, staff on short-term contracts would be paid the average hours worked per day over the past 12 weeks, while those on salaries would be paid as normal.
"Franchisees will be seeking their own independent advice, but we're encouraging them to adopt this policy too," said the chain.
A KFC worker in London who contacted the BBC said he had not received any shifts for the past week.
"This problem isn't our fault, but we are the ones who can't work.
"I have got bills that come out of my account on Friday and I feel terrible about the whole situation. I am looking for a new job," he said.
Do you work for KFC or DHL? What has been your experience of the past few days? You can share your story by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.
Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can also contact us in the following ways:
WhatsApp: +447555 173285
Tweet: @BBC_HaveYourSay
Upload your pictures / video here
Send an SMS or MMS to 61124 or +44 7624 800 100
You might also like:
Get news from the BBC in your inbox, each weekday morning
