Friday, April 2, 2010

KFC & McD Going Green... with different strategies


I'm not sure if this is happening in other states as well, but I found out recently that McD and KFC have been participating in the "No Plastic Bags" campaign. It has started for quite some time, but since I haven't visited these two restaurants for the past few months, I was not aware of this.

Apparently, McD and KFC are not giving out plastic bags for Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays. While I'm neutral towards these kind of campaigns, it is the differences on how these two restaurants tackle this matter that fascinates me.

For KFC, it's simple... they automatically charge you an extra RM0.20 every time you make an order on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays. They did not even bother to ask if one would want the plastic bag. They just add in 20 cents when they punch in the order.

For McDonald's instead of charging their customers, they replaced their plastic bags with paper bags. And if you order two or more drinks, they'll give you a cardboard coaster.

It is in my opinion that McDonald's strategy is of a better one. It reduces the use of plastics while not inconveniencing customers. While it is true that we can use shopping bags while shopping in supermarkets, I don't think that it is a viable option when shopping for food. 

KFC's strategy is does not really help much in conserving plastics as they assume that each customer need plastic bags by automatically charging them.

So, conclusion? Support McDonald's! :P