I admit it. I’ve got a weakness for Kentucky Fried Chicken. Calories, cholesterol, and unknown secret ingredients included. Whatever.

But tonight I’m no longer a customer, and I’ll tell you why.

For the last couple of years “4 pieces of chicken, original, with fries, to go” has been a regular order for me. While I often had to repeat at least part of my order, and then turn down salad, desert, and extra chicken, it seemed to work very well. I’d go in once every couple of weeks or so and enjoy two pieces and fries for one night’s dinner, a piece each for the next two nights with salad.

For a long time the price was about $6.94, and that was acceptable to me. A couple of weeks ago, I noticed it had gone up to about 7.50. I thought for a minute, but paid it. After all, prices go up with wages and taxes, etc. Fine.

Well, tonight I went in and made my order. It came to $8.40. Huh? I mentioned the price increase, and the young lady at the till turned around to another young lady in the kitchen who dutifully explained that they were now restricted to selling ‘packages’ of items, and couldn’t sell them separately. That meant that I could pay for four pieces of chicken, a salad (that I didn’t want), fries, and a pop (which I didn’t want), or walk.

I walked.

Sorry Colonel Saunders. Don’t try to supersize me. I can get a whole barbequed chicken at Safeway for less than $9.00. That would last me most of the week.

You’d think that these days, with all the individualized and mashed up services being offered, companies would have learned that their customers are sick of the on-size-fits-all approach to their products. But I guess not.  

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