Unthink what you thought about KFC

That's KFC's tagline for their new grilled chicken. Earlier this week, Oprah announced that you could download a coupon good for a free 2-piece meal. Apparently, KFC underestimate the demand. The website was very busy and KFC stores have "sold out" of the free meals. There were rumors of a riot in NY City, but KFC says that's not true.

Anyway, I printed my limit of four coupons and decided to take my son out to lunch. Hey, if it's free, I'm a big spender. I even gave the two extra coupons to my daughter and her husband (their kids can go hungry). The coupon was truly a freebie, you get two pieces of chicken, two sides and a biscuit. Manager's choice on the kind of chicken (white/dark meat) and the kind of sides.

We first encountered some skepticism about our coupons as they didn't have a good clear watermark (I guess my laser printer didn't print them well). But after conferring with someone in the back, they decided my coupons were genuine and granted me my free meal. Apparently, it's not really the manager's choice what kinds of chicken and sides you get unless the young lady at the counter was the manager (if so, why did someone else have to approve the coupon?) She quickly boxed up two pieces of chicken a side of potatoes and a side of cold slaw. I was surprised that she didn't ask if I wanted a drink (which I did).

So, we spent $1.59 for a medium drink (+ tax times two for two drinks) and had a meal. After we ate, I explained to my son that this was a marketing test to see how people liked the new taste. He said it was ok, but not great. I agreed. This is supposed to be lower fat, lower cholesterol. But if I'm going to KFC, I want the hard stuff.

If you try the grilled chicken, I'd be interested in what you think.

P.S. My daughter called, they wouldn't let her use the two coupons I gave her. Seems they couldn't see the watermark. Even though all four coupons were printed at the same time.

Virginia is for Lovers

I'm posting remotely today, from Fredericksburg, Va. I come to this town about 2-3 times a year to visit a customer here. I can choose to fly into Washington DC and drive down or fly into Richmond and fly up. Richmond is a nicer airport and an easier drive.

I always forget the Richmond is NOT a non-smoking town. It's hard to get a non-smoking rental car. After three attempts, I got a nice little Prius. After a couple of false starts (pun intended) and some help from a gentelman at the Hertz return "desk", I was able to get the car started and I took off. The Prius is actually a nice car, but I don't like the dashboard (too far away) and I don't like the view out the rear mirror (cut in 1/2 by a metal part of the car).

Last night for dinner, I met my boss, the customer and his "girl-friend" at The Log Cabin in Fredericksburg. We drove through part of the town (not the Old Town) and I was reminded how pretty this area actually is. On past visits, I've noticed how the rivers and rolling hills remind me of the foothills of SC. Dinner at this small non-chain seafood restaurant was excellent. We stayed for about three hours, enjoying gentle conversation. Yes, some work was discussed, but as my manager put it, we just wanted to show our appreciation to the customer.

I got some good news before the meal, I had thought I would be losing this customer next year due to some re-organizations in my department. After working with them for eight or nine years, I have developed a relationship of mutual trust. Fortunately, I'll still be able to work with them, possibly even at a deeper level.

I'm hoping that my wife and I can come up next spring for a visit. We would drive up and then go on up to see DC. But first, we'd spend a day or so visiting this area, having dinner with another couple with very similar backgrounds... it should be a nice visit.

Should Chelsea's picture come down?

Chelsea Clinton had her picture taken with the owner of a restaurant and he put it in his window. He has photos of other famous people including Regis Philbin and even politician Rudy Giuliani. Apparently though, the Clintons aren't happy with the photo.

Bill Clinton's lawyer sent a letter to the restaurant owner, demanding the photo be taken down. The letter included threats of "any and all options" if the picture stayed.

The legality comes down to weather or not Chelsea is a private citizen (she is) and whether the owner has the right to publish the picture (he doesn't).

But wouldn't it have been a little nicer if Bill has sent a letter asking him to take it down? Maybe Hillary could have gone and had her picture taken to replace the Chelsea photo.

You can view the story here. Note that the restaurant seems like a nice place, the man claims that he looks at Chelsea as his daughter and he's a well dressed, nice looking man. In short, it's a good picture.

I agree the picture should come down, the request should have been more civil. I'm not sure this is as much an attack against our former president, as it is an attack on society in general. When we have to threaten through lawyers instead of just making a request, I think we've gone too far.

Second Empire

Last night I had dinner at one of those fancy downtown restaurants in Raliegh. One of those built into an old house. It was a nice dinner, but it wouldn't be my first choice for a place to go.

Our first question was "what happened to the first empire?" Well, we obviously showed our ignorance, the first empire was the Roman Empire and the second was the Napoleonic Empire. The restaurant was named for the style of the house.

This was the type of place where, when dinner arrived, several waiters/waitresses decended upon the table and placed the meals down all at the same time. It was sort of like synchronized swimming.

If you get to Raleigh and want to impress someone, this is a nice place. Plan on a long evening, it was relaxing and quiet (we were loud). Bring a big credit card, it was expensive...