If there's one thing that we can universally agree on, it's that the convenience of fast-food is sometimes far more tempting than spending time cooking
We've all been there - it's been a late day at the office or you're just not in the mood for cooking and the thought of popping into your local fast-food chain just sounds more appealing.
The folks up here in Aberdeen are not exactly short of choice if that is exactly what they are in the mood for, whether it be Taco Bell, McDonald's or a KFC.
Like many things in life, some of these places have better reviews than others, depending on who you speak to.
For example, the KFC based at the Haudagain Retail Park on Great Northern Road is 'pretty abysmal', according to Tripadvisor reviews.
Out of a total of 27 customer reviews up until July 30, 2021, a total of 17 people ranked the branch as "terrible" and another three said it was "poor."
Five people think it is "average", while only one person each said the place was either "very good" or "excellent."
One of the most recent reviews from a customer said: "Order was missing items that I was charged for and when I complained the staff were rude and unhelpful, will never order food from here again! Awful experience!"
Another reviewer wrote: "Shocking customer service not even a simple “hi” or “enjoy your meal” as you would get at any other establishment. I will spend my money next door at Taco Bell!"
While a third review said: "Every time I've went here there's always an issue with service or Food staff chewing gum, cold fries, incorrect orders, cold food being prevalent each time, slow on orders go to Union street 100 x better quality staff and food."
The comments section showed negative review after negative review, mostly aimed at the incorrect orders, missing items, cleanliness of the store and customer service skills, which gained the branch a low 1.5 score on Tripadvisor.
With such low ratings, our reporter Rachel Williams decided to head out for a spot of lunch to see what it was really like.
First impressions
When I first arrived at the KFC at the Hauagain Retail Park at 2pm it was a little bit quieter than I would have expected, considering it was lunch time.
I was expecting it to be a little bit busier and to be filled with customers, much like you usually see in fast-food places at this time.
Saying that, it's not exactly in town and it made it easier for me to just pop on in and, hopefully, order something pretty quickly.
On first impressions, eerie quietness aside, the place was actually fairly clean and tidy, there was no leftover food and packages left on any of the tables, which is a rare occurrence.
Could this possibly have been because it was not busy? Possibly, but then again I can't say what the cleanliness would like if it was, as that was not my experience.
Overall, my first impressions was that it was clean, tidy, albeit a little bit too quiet for a fast-food chain at what should be a busy lunch period.
Ordering experience
When it comes to ordering your food, it should be a fairly simple process that we are all well versed in by now.
You either go up to the counter and give your order to the staff member serving you or you get lumped with one of those self-service machines that are quite popular with McDonald's branches.
When I first headed into KFC, there were virtually no staff members taking orders and I was met with those self service machines to pop in my own order.
Maybe this is becoming the new norm for post-Covid times, but it seemed easy enough to quickly pop an order through.
Considering one reviewer said that the machines were "difficult to navigate and they got no help from staff members", I was expecting this part to be a little more difficult, but alas it was luckily not to be.
One thing I will say, though, is that the card machine kept having a bit of a moment to itself where it refused to accept payments, but once that was sorted, it was all good.
Customer service
I'll be honest, that this was the part I held the least hopes for because, if the reviews were anything to go by, then the customer service skills were less than stellar.
As previously mentioned, there weren't many staff members behind the counter - in fact, I only saw a couple behind the counter and one on the floor clearing and cleaning.
That being said, I did experience a very friendly and helpful member of staff who helped me to make sure that my order was put through correctly.
Not only that, they also said that I could go take a seat and they would bring it over to me since they knew what I had ordered.
Honestly, I'll give them kudos for the table service alone - felt like I was in a Michelin star (don't worry, I'm joking.)
The food
The order of the day was a Zinger Box Meal and - considering the reviews - I'll admit I was not holding out much hope for how this panned out.
From missing items, incorrect orders placed and long wait times, there were many ways this could go and not for the best.
Like this whole review so far, I'm going to have to go with the completely opposite from the Tripadvisor reviewers as it seemed to go rather smoothly.
As mentioned just earlier, I did encounter a friendly staff members and, because I was confused if I go and collect my order or take a number, they said they would just go grab everything as quick as they could.
And quick they were, as everything was boxed up on the tray and brought over within less than five minutes.
So far we are on to a winner - next thing to do is to check if everything is there.
Zinger burger? Check. Chips? Check. Gravy? Check. Hot wings? Check.
Honestly, I put in a decent enough order that could have possibly gone wrong, according to Tripadvisor, so count me pleasantly surprised that it was all there.
On to the actual taste of the food itself - it was fine for fast-food, I mean, I'm not exactly expecting a five star Michelin restaurant, so I'll take what I get.
First up were the chips, which, I'll be honest, were not as hot as I would like but at least they weren't freezing cold.
It's a pet peeve of mine when I get cold chips and KFC are not the only offender for this, as quite a few other fast-food chains are quite bad for it.
To give better credit, the burger and the gravy were pretty much piping hot, so absolutely no complaints.
The chicken was also hot and seasoned well for taste and seemed to be cooked perfectly fine.
All in all, the meal seemed to be relatively issue-free.
Overall verdict
If you've gotten this far in with my review, then you'll not be surprised to hear that this was not a bad trip overall - which is probably surprising, considering the reviews.
I can't really agree with the reviews for the place, as it seems that my own experience was completely different and these things happen.
From what I could tell, the placed was clean, the staff seemed friendly, although a tad quiet, and the food is pretty much exactly what you expect from a fast-food chain.
Could this have been an entirely different experience had this been busier? Quite possibly and maybe that's what set my experience apart from others.
Maybe it's a bit different during the lunchtime rush or after office trips - who knows, really?
The real question is; would I visit again?
I'll be honest in saying that I am a little unsure and not because of the food, but just because of the location itself as it is quite out of the way and near one of the busiest roundabouts in the city.
All in all, I can only say that the trip was decent and that maybe, just maybe, it is not always worth listening to all those Tripadvisor reviews, as you may be surprised at what you get instead.
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