Texas Chicken staff 'burst into tears and ran' after people swarm outlet for free chicken bags

The early bird gets the worm, or so they say.

And when Texas Chicken gave out chicken bags on Sunday (April 16) morning to celebrate its 13th anniversary in Singapore, people started swarming the fast food chain's outlets for the freebies.

This, however, took a toll on one employee, who had to inform disappointed diners that the free item was out of stock.

Customers who purchased a meal deal — or Chick Deal as they called it — for $13.90 each from 11am onwards on Sunday can redeem the chicken bag.

A TikTok video shared by Usman Choo showed a staff member weeping outside Texas Chicken's Century Square outlet as a passer-by comforted her.

Choo, 44, told AsiaOne that he was at Texas Chicken's Century Square outlet at around 4pm and the bags were already out of stock by then.

"Two aunties told the staff member that they were waiting [in line] for five hours. She was still calm and composed at that time," he said.

"She burst into tears and ran [outside] after an uncle nagged at her to honour the redemption by taking down the names and phone numbers of those who were in the queue."

[embed]https://www.tiktok.com/@usman26waw/video/7222580205842386178[/embed]

Choo's video has since garnered more than 100,000 views as well as hundreds of comments.

In the comments section, several netizens urged the public to be more sympathetic towards those working in the food and beverage industry.

While some blamed the diners there for stressing out the Texas Chicken employee, one netizen said that the fault lies with the way the restaurant handled the queues.

"Can't blame the customers. If they did a stock count and [gave] a cut off line where the bag would run out then people wouldn't make noise," he wrote.

Unhappy netizens also took to Texas Chicken's Facebook post to complain about issues with the queues at various outlets.

While the fast food chain said the promotion is on "while stocks last", it is unclear how many chicken bags have been given out.

Responding to AsiaOne's queries, Texas Chicken said that the chicken bags are out of stock and will not be replenished "at the moment".

"For those who left disappointed, we are genuinely apologetic and do promise to do better," the fast food chain's spokesperson said.

"Let us all spread kindness and love as we nurture our little chicks. Your understanding and support will go a long way."

For those who missed out on this promotion, it looks like you can still get your hands on the adorable chicken bag.

AsiaOne did a quick search on Carousell and found some people have listed the "limited edition" items there for up to $60 each.

But others have found more wallet-friendly alternatives. The same chicken bags are sold on online platforms such as Shopee from $9 onwards. 

ALSO READ: Some queue for hours to get free croissants at Tiong Bahru Bakery, only to find redemption cards listed for $20 on Carousell

chingshijie@asiaone.com