| It has been almost more than a week now that a fourth Popeye’s store has opened in Metro Manila. The location of course is inside the crowded and mostly congested SM City Manila that has been around since it opened its doors in the early 2000s.
Popeye’s has been in the Philippines before until the last store closed sometime in late 2001 due to heavy competition. The new franchise owners of Popeye’s are the owners of “Kuya J’s” a chicken restaurant that has been synonymous with Filipino flavoured chicken and other dishes has brought back the brand slowly to the country. It is not new that it is a favoured chicken joint in North America, but can it satisfy the Filipino craving? |
A week ago the new store at SM Manila was greeted with local celebrities and influencers. The line was so long it would take you an hour to get to the counter. The menu was not as impressive as the North American counterpart as they have to “localize” some of the dishes with the generic “rice meal.”
What is lacking though is what some who have tried their meal in other countries is not available in this country. But for the sake of “being new” again to the Philippine food industry giving this place a chance for growth would have been something of a high expectation due to the hype it marketed itself to be.
But this time an observation for this branch must be given a focus on what it is the total impression and needs to get things done:
Unapologetic and Not Direct Service
Waiting Time is a Waste of Time
Lack of Limited Sandwich Selections
Unapologetic and Not Direct Service
This was addressed previously about not getting the information straight that they do not communicate with their customers to avoid the inconvenience. This is not “an isolated case” but is pretty much common to most fast food restaurants in the Philippines that they do not talk directly to their customers or informing them that they no longer have that food in their menu.
They apologize at the last moment when the customer is already disappointed. It must be the Filipino culture of not being straight to the point that they would rather discourage their customers further from behind. Australians as an example are not like that they will tell you otherwise and hold responsibility upfront than cowardly.
Waiting Time is a Waste of Time
If you sold out on the “French Quarter Burger” you inform you customer ahead of time instead of letting the person know when they are already disappointed to give them the news at the counter when they can get the information even before lining up to wait there for all eternity.
This is the reason the term “traffic” no longer is synonymous of that experience commuting but while also lining up for food or while paying a purchase at the counter. Instead of avoid grievances those “usher boys” that they hire should be informing the customer what food is available than just trying to be cute with every female customer lining up that has nothing to do with them.
On the other observation when serving take outs or dine-in it has to be separate because it is a hassle waiting for your food for forty five minutes. It’s like you’ve travelled from Makati to Alabang already with that kind of wait time. There’s no excuse if you’re newly opened for more than a week now. It seems that if foreigners would try the Filipino style Popeye’s they would have left for another place instead.
Lack of Limited Sandwich Selections
It is okay to “localize” food with rice meal but don’t overdo it like the other fast food restaurants. This is what I was thoughts before when the news broke out that Popeye’s is coming back to the Philippines. Is this what they are offering the same tried and too generic concept of filling up the menu with the common rice meal?
Where’s the salad or other sandwich selections that could have been capitalized? Unfortunately, Kuya J offers the same thing with rice meals and still offering THE SAME concept to a foreign franchise is quite a redundant when they could have at least introduce something that is not available in the country.
This shrimp sandwich is mediocre in aesthetics and taste that it was the only sandwich available because the other two that they offer has been SOLD OUT. It shows what Filipinos are trying and it is not those rice meals. Beside that just like other fast food restaurants being instructed to serve my drink with “no ice” they still ‘cheat’ with putting more ice on the drink why is that?
The fries don’t looking pleasing and appear to be portioned so much that it appears stingy, obviously. The quality of the chips where lacking something besides not in abundance like in the product photo in the menu and it really is cheap.
On a final note, there’s still room for improvement with the menu instead of offering the same generic thing Filipinos has got used to eat. This was actually a lost cause to make Filipinos try something else instead of trying to offer the same generic concept that others had tried and it is not what some have expected, but there is still chance since this is just one of the four stores right now.
Oh by the way paper bags don’t have handles for take away and it is not economical and convenient for customer’s taking their food like a beaten package. This is not a pleasant baggy that you can just carry it like a baby that is all.
Branch: Popeye’s SM City Manila
Customer Service: C
Food Quality: 5/10
Overall: Needs to Communicate More
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