ALJACOBSLADDER.COM 

POPEYES CHICKEN EXPOSED

09/12/2022  WE DECLARED THIS PLACE A CESSPOOL — 3 TIMES

👺 Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen, Inc., also known as Popeyes and formerly named Popeyes Chicken & Biscuits and Popeyes Famous Fried Chicken & Biscuits, is an American multinational chain of fried chicken fast food restaurants that was formed in 1972 in New Orleans, Louisiana and headquartered in Miami, Florida.  IN 2017 the corporation was bought by Burger King —  OWNER JOSE CIL — 

NOTE:  This was the dirtiest filthiest establishment I have entered in twenty years. Cesspool is being kind and my suggestion to the franchise owner is you really don’t belong in the food industry, you give the brand  a bad name,  and possibly getting closed by the food police.  

We went in there several times, ordered and the place is a disgrace to the food industry —  How in the name of heaven did this place pass inspection?  It’s not exactly like “ Something like rotten fish from Denmark" — This is rotten dirty chicken in Largo and I would be afraid to order any kind of fish there.

YOU NEED BASED ON OBSERVATIONS AND SHOPPERS:

👺  FIRE THE HELP, BRING IN A TRAINED CREW — GET BETTER HELP AND PAY THEM — SEE BELOW —    
👺  BURN, BULLDOZE THE BUILDING DOWN, I HAVE SEEN BETTER PLACES IN THIRD WORLD COUNTRIES. 👺  REBUILD A NEW STORE ONE FOOT HIGHER BECAUSE OF THE FLOODING — DRIVE UNDER WATER  
👺  OPTION :  GET OUT OF THE BUSINESS  OR RETRAIN —  THIS OPERATION IS A DISASTER —
👺  CLEAN GREASY TABLES AND NUCLEAR BLOW UP YOUR FILTHY DISGUSTING BATHROOM —
👺  PAY BETTER PEOPLE TO WORK THERE:  CHEAP HELP  —  BAD MANAGEMENT — BAD OUTCOME — 
👺  PAY SCALE  —

According to Indeed, cooks, crew members, and cashiers all make an average hourly amount within the $10 range, while shift managers make $11.78 an hour on average. Shift leaders, on the other hand, make slightly more, with their hourly rate being $12.42.
General managers and restaurant managers come in at $13.36 and $15.09, respectively, and district managers pull in a yearly salary of $67,931, or — when broken down per hour — $35.38. But how does that stack up against the amount that the brand's CEO, Jose Cil, is worth?    OH,   HE HAS MILLIONS IN STOCK PLUS 20 MLLION A YEAR IN PAY —  

👺  MORE CORPO GUANO BULLSH*T THAN TRUTH — 

In the 1990s, Slate says bankruptcy forced a major reorganization of Popeyes. Founder Al Copeland went from CEO to a franchisee, but kept control of the recipes. After his death, the recipes stayed as a part of his estate, and Popeyes needed to fork over $3.1 million a year for royalties. It wasn't until 2014 that they paid Copeland's estate-owned company, Diversified Foods and Seasonings LLC, a whopping $43 million for full rights to the chicken recipes so many people love.

👺DFS still supplies Popeyes with their spice blend, and interestingly, there's both a "proprietary" blend and that DFS still owns, and "core recipes" that Popeyes now has the rights to.   What each of those descriptors applies to remains pretty unclear, but either way, that's some expensive chicken.   Nothing what so ever unique in these recipes.   Common spicy ingredients I have been using for years and definitely Louisiana Cajun mix variant used by a zillion chefs.

👺 COPYCAT BLEND  — They paid royalies for this combo known throughout the industry? Somebody made some serious moola on this deal — 

1 chicken, with skin cut up (Popeye's uses Tyson brand)
1 teaspoon  white pepper
1tablespoon  cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon  salt
1 tablespoon  Tabasco sauce
6 cups vegetable oil
2⁄3 cup  all-purpose flour, sifted 
2 teaspoons  paprika
3 eggs
1⁄2 cup  milk

👺  DIRECTIONS  —  

• Mix all ingredients except the oil, flour, paprika, and eggs & milk, marinate overnight in an airtight container.
• In a large bowl, combine flour, salt, peppers, and paprika.
• Break the eggs into a separate bowl and beat until blended slowly adding the milk.
• Dip each piece of chicken into the egg and milk mixture, then coat generously with the flour.
• Once the chicken is coated, place on a rack to allow the pieces to dry, 20 to 30 minutes. Allowing the pieces to dry will provide for more even browning of the chicken.
• To fry, heat oil in dutch oven or deep fryer to medium. Place the chicken pieces in the oil, skin side down, one piece at a time. Leave enough space between pieces so that they are not crowded. This allows the pieces to cook and brown more evenly.
• Continue to cook over a medium heat, turning until all sides are golden brown and the meat is cooked thoroughly.
• When the pieces finish cooking, they should be removed and placed on a paper towel to allow grease to drain.

👺  ANIMAL CRUELTY   -  According to Popeyes' official statement on animal cruelty, they make it a point to only source their chickens from suppliers who are in compliance with the animal welfare guidelines put in place by the National Chicken Council. While they say they are constantly reviewing and updating those guidelines with more information as research provides it, not everyone is happy with Popeyes' procedures.

As recently as 2018, AJC was reporting on the animal welfare group Compassion in World Farming and their plans to protest Popeyes over the treatment of the chickens they ultimately serve. The group claimed that Popeyes hadn't been proactive enough in making sure their promises were kept and their sourcing was cruelty-free. Group spokespeople added they simply wanted Popeyes to promise to switch to sourcing only chickens raised in healthy, comfortable situations, a promise they said Popeyes consistently refused to make. As their online petition garnered more than 150,000 signatures, Popeyes refused to answer phone calls and emails or issue a statement responding to the protest.

👺 POPEYES —  ✮☆☆☆☆  — My quest for a good chicken sandwich.  Chicken sandwiches are a hot topic now as all the players want to cash in on Popeyes pushing the envelope with ads and looking for additional revenue with a new gimmick.  The double over breaded chicken sandwich.   Something to increase their business with concoctions from normally sold shrimp and chicken baskets with biscuits and fries.  

👺  Health:  A cardiologists delight… designed by Russian Food Experts at the Gorky Food and Espionage Emporium whose Socialist Manifesto motto is “ Once a day till they take you away”.

👺  Problem: The closest Popeyes was not recommended to me by several folks who worked nearby and shunned it as being a dirty location, poor food quality and bad service.  Few people know what I do.   Nevertheless,  I wanted to do a drive by and scope out the location for myself.   I did three times and each one was a fricking disaster  — 

👺 They Were Right — 1st , 2nd, 3rd Visit --

• The building looks and is in need of some upgrading and repairs 
• I did not want to go inside.  It looks dirty, not inviting. 
• They were average when checked and listed by the Kitchen Police.
• When it rains you can swim in the sunken drive-thru —
  
• The greeting over the speaker was unintelligible - mumbles
• There was a puddle almost a lake next to the drive in from poor drainage so it holds water and mosquitos.  
• The mens room was a mess like half of Largo was shooting up in there — I've been on crack house raids that looked like this bathroom, no paper towels, no soap water all over the place,  toilet paper all over, toilet not flushed, it stunk, disgusting the worst I have ever seen other than the toilet that fell in the sinkhole sewer hole on a SUBWAY which we reported and they were closed down in an hour.   
•  I urinated from two feet away, looked like everybody else the same and I  did not want to touch anything including the door knob so I used a wad of toilet paper.
• I placed an order for two of the sandwiches, one regular and the other hot and spicy which after two bites the hot was too hot.  I got thru college working and affording my tuition and am trained in commercial kitchens, ran a restaurant,    I love hot, I can cook in many ways, Thai, Mexican, Jewish, Laotian, gringo Hot stuff using Franks Red Hot the American Southern Hot Wings Sauce,  Crystal,  Huy Fong’s Gastric Zone Killer,  from countries like LAO, and Vietnam, Red Chilis,  Mexico, Jalopena and Habanero,  India, some of the hottest and most foods with chili flavoring even Fong’s California Sriracha, but this was a new level and required a sixteen oz bottle of water from my cooler to flush and put the fire out.  Then some milk.  Must be Ghost peppers which they promote also known as the Jolokia used in India as pepper spray.
• The regular version was OK, I liked it and dumped the hot one.  That was the first visit…  What you see in the picture is not what you get. That was the last good one—
• The second visit was not so good, I went through the drive in and ordered a regular and pulled over just far enough away and lo and behold I had received something that looked like a lunch leftover from the previous day.  Mushy and in bad shape. Wrapped so tightly in covering, it shrunk—  they got me — bad management— 
• When I check a location I don’t complain till I write them up and I generally give the store three chances. This was total failure and I exited the location via the gas station next door and dumped the sandwich in their garbage can as I filled my car up.   I’m not willing to go for the third lucky charm at this location, but those are my rules  and once more I’ll try another. I expected a complaint that I started a fire in their garbage can.
• I always try to give three tries  - this time ordered plain chicken two reg, three spicy five pieces for 6.99 — This time the place was lunch time and the tables hadn't be cleaned or disinfected, the bathroom a shamble same as before, actually worse, the chicken was so greasy I went to my car and used my drinking water to wash my hands due to their contaminated bathroom. And declared this was the total shithouse fast food joint and opened the pices , half uncooked, yellow fat and tossed the rest — 

That was it, no mas, no mas this is the dirtiest fast food joint in Pinellas County — 

OTHER REVIEWS - OVER  XXX COMPLAINTS
I do not show pictures nor last names

👺  Louis O.  7/9/2022  —  Updated review  — Well,  went there again  the kid behind the counter was working is butt of doing the best he could , so I asked him if his manager could help , about that time the manager walked out, I asked him why couldn't he help his help , she told me he was counting the drawers 

The next thing he was walking over to the shell station he was in there for maybe 5 minutes he came out with a soft drink stood out side for a few minutes, can in and walked out to the parking lot and stared to talk to some one . Meanwhile there people waiting at the counter, then you wonder why this place is so belligerent.

👺  William L.   5/8/2021  -  Updated review  — I placed order online so the wife could get it. Family pack dark chicken dinner and a chicken sandwich. They acknowledge and say it'll be ready soon. Wife goes to pick it up, only to be told they don't have half of what was on the order!  Manager type tells her to ask for refund. That's it…

So I sent the request for refund and had it within an hour or so. If I have to request a refund and do donkey work because they're too stupid to tell me they're out of X, Y or Z, then I have had it. These folks do NOT deserve my business nor yours nor anyone else's. 

If I were you, I'd learn how to catch a wild chicken, wring its little neck and learn the meaning of Gee-chee food. That'll be the only way you get good down home chicken unless U live on a plot of dirt near Frank Purdue's ghost!! No chance of so doing by dealing with Popeye. This place and the whole chain needs to die a long overdue death. Change the chicken for a buzzard, and Popeye for Bluto, Olive Oyl, Colonel Sanders, maybe a General Electric belt-sander or even Foghorn Leghorn if U are that bloody desperate.. Bleech!

👺  Name Withheld -11/4/2019 Previous review —  This has to be one of the most raggedy Popeyes I've ever had the distinction of visiting. Dining room is a haphazard mess. Drink station doesn't have lids  or straws out properly. They're still just in sleeves and boxes. Floor has trash on it under tables and otherwise...Many tabletops are dirty. All kinds of cardboard boxes full of supplies in plain sight behind counter; stacked three and four high from the floor.

We came to have this new and revived chicken sandwich...We placed order at 3:52pm and here we sit over half an hour waiting. Dining room filled with folks waiting around. Drive thru line goes all the way around the building.

Meantime the managers are yelling at the worker bees about why they're messing up this, that and the other. One such conversation took place dining room two tables away. Another one was yelling about why there were no fries ready. They FINALLY sent someone out to the dining room to tidy up a little at 4:35pm (still no chow). Glad I don't have to use the jakes because I'd bet my entire paycheck that the "facilities" are...uh: in need of dire attention. Think Walmart washrooms, folks!

We were treated much like a number as, in fact, our # is 38 and they called #16 as we placed our order and got our beverages. Order taker not friendly at all; not nasty either, but not by any means friendly.Also seems like the worker bees were messing up many of the orders, as quite a few folks were saying that such-and-such was missing. Perhaps these people will get their act together once this chicken sandwich craze dies off.

As for the food: she ordered original chicken sandwich and I the spicy. She has red beans and rice (her only go-to) while I have Cajun rice. We finally got the call and received our humble feed at 4:44; that's 52 minutes of waiting for those who don't like arithmetic. 

You'd think with all this hype that the place would've been a wee better prepared! So once the Queen Bee DID get our food, the drone behind the counter dropped it on the counter in a to go bag, even though we said we were staying. Aforementioned drone didn't ask if we wanted any sauces, etc and disappeared.  Normally when they put your chow in a to go bag, they add salt, pepper,  condiments, etc.  ZIP!!!

Chicken sandwiches were certainly yummy and just as flavorful as the, uh: holy rollers working up the road a piece except on Sundays. Bigger too! I took a bite of both as did the Queen Bee. Cajun rice as I remember it and her side quite passable. Food is the only reason I give this dump two stars.

👺  Claire E.   7/8/2022 —  Waited 10 min at the drive through to give my order then paid and waited another 7 min until someone else came to the window and asked what I had ordered. Gave the order again and waited another 10 min for food.  It was by far the worst chicken sandwich I have ever had!  Loaded with breading and it was disgusting!  Threw it out   Won't ever go back !

👺  NAME WITHHELD 8700 Ulmerton RD  5/23/2022  — Won't take order from kiosk, sat 10 min only one there. Won't answer phone. Left. 1600 hrs today. One car at the window. Guess they don't have enough staff to work. Won't be back

👺  Jordan B.  Gainesville, FL   6/29/2022 —  Horrible service, I live down the road from this Popeyes and have made over 3 attempts to get food.. all failed. They close when they want, they do not answer you in the drive thru. I would not recommend wasting your time trying to get food from this place

👺  Frances C.  Largo, FL  5/23/2022  — Won't take order from kiosk, sat 10 min only one there. Won't answer phone. Left. 1600 hrs today. One car at the window. Guess they don't have enough staff to work. Won't be back

👺  Robert B.  Tampa, FL  6/10/2022  —  Stay away from this place! They serve undercooked chicken, and the service is lousy. I drove up to the drive-through, and the girl told me to wait a moment. So I did, and I saw her walk back in two minutes later with a full cigarette in her hand. So I ordered my food, and then pulled up to the window I drove off and I fit into the chicken, which was not done. Disgusting!  

If it's possible to give no stars this place would surely win that award. Stay away!!

👺  Alan E.  Largo, FL 2/17/2022  —  Worst place I ever been. I order off their app went to the store and they were closed people are inside but no one would talk to me about my order. I decided to give them another try. I order off the app again. This time I order their pie and they were out of stock and know one told me.

👺  Joshua S 40  3/22/2022  —  Wanted to try the chicken sandwich I heard so much about. Placed an online order for it. No where does it say when you arrive at the store to alert the staff at the counter to have them start working on your order. Ten minutes pass and nothing progressing, I let the girl behind the counter know, and she pulls up a separate screen for mobile orders that is not visible anywhere for them to see in between people ordering the store. 

Not a very efficient way for orders to be fulfilled. When I finally received my food, the sandwich was Luke warm and the fries were COLD!! Asked for new items and was informed it would be another 5 minutes for each item. Got a refund and went down the street to a better chicken place" Chick-fil-A ". Don't waste your time here.

👺  Ron P.  Largo, FL  7/17/2021  —  Worst service ever!!!!! Did answer drive thru. Had to go to window for order. When I ordered, kid with dish soap all over his hands were taking order. Just ordered 2 sandwiches and a 2 piece meal, almost took 20 minutes to deliver. The 2 piece meal came with 2 wings. What a joke. The car behind me on drive thru gave up too only to have another car just roll up to the window and order. Just go to Wendy's next door. Their food is fresher and comes out way quicker.  Popeyes should just turn the location to the Wendy's parking lot. Do not go to this location EVER!!!!!!!

BULLSH*T EXPOSED

2021-2022 WINNER — CORPORATE BULLSH*T AWARD 

👺  After contacting the Better Business Bureau we discovered that POPEYE’s  Franchises is owned by BURGER KING :  And frankly that explains a lot of things, as we do not think highly of the Burger Barf Corporation and how they run anything.  And we discovered most of the fast food places (all) are not BBB registered.   Neat way to dodge bullets and bad publicity.  We do have other sources.

👺  BBB performed a file review on Popeyes restaurant located at xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx —  Due to large volume of unanswered consumer complaints at this location and high volume of consumer inquiries.  Complaints allege poor customer service, food not being prepared properly, refunds not being issued and consumer's calls not being returned.

Since 2017, Popeyes Restaurants has been owned by the Burger King Corporation.  That explains a lot.  BBB contacted Burger King Corporate regarding the unanswered complaints. Burger King responded by stating the following: the individual Popeyes' franchises are responsible for responding to complaints.

To better serve consumers, BBB requested an address or department at Burger King where consumer complaints filed against Popeyes could be addressed. A suggestion was also made that Popeyes could benefit by having additional customer service training for their employees. This would help build trust in the marketplace.

BBB remains open to speaking with a representative from Burger King or Popeyes to discuss specific pattern of complaint and steps they would take to decrease the volume of complaint.  So far  nothing

👺  OFFICIAL CORPORATE STATEMENT:  (CORPO-GUANO) 

🔘  At Popeyes, we don’t take shortcuts on quality. Our chicken is freshly and expertly cooked. So crunchy. So juicy. So full of flavor. It’s pure joy!  We’re working hard towards removing all colors, flavors, and preservatives from artificial sources from our fried chicken menu items in the US by the end of 2022, and it’s our goal that by that time,  Our chicken in the US will also have no added MSG.     

🔘  ED: You gotta be kidding me,  you haven’t read the reports that the MSG harangue was a myth started by the competition. You guys are really behind the times.  OK, you are owned by Burger KING — You need an assassination— Down with the KING  —  

👺  SOME TRUTHS AND RUMORS  ABOUT POPEYES  —  EMPLOYEES SPEAK UP —  

🔘  This sandwich is 700 calories  —  Look, if you're grabbing fast food you know you're getting into a high-calorie situation, but the famous Spicy Chicken Sandwich clocks in at a gut-busting 700 calories and has 1,473 milligrams of sodium. The FDA recommends you eat no more than 2,300 American food of sodium a day.  

 🔘  The last Good Popeyes Buffet closed in 2021  —  Apparently, at one time, many Popeyes locations were actually all-you-can-eat buffets. Over the years they have been sadly phased out. The last one standing in, Lafayette, LA, was made famous by Anthony Bourdain, who ate at the location for three days straight, enjoying the $8.99 price tag. Sadly according to Eater, the location is still there but the buffet did not survive the pandemic.

🔘   This secret spice blend will upgrade your grilled chicken    —  Skipping fried foods but missing all the flavor? Ask for the chain's Cajun Sparkle spice, which is used on tots and some fried chicken, and is kept behind the counter, Cajun Sparkle, which includes garlic powder, onion powder, and red and black pepper, tastes savory and spicy. 

 🔘    The restaurant had to buy their own recipe back.  A few years back, Popeyes made news nationwide for spending a whopping $43 million to buy their secret recipe for fried chicken, according to Thrillist. 

🔘   Not every location has the full menu --Popeyes bright orange sign dots many rest-stops across the US, but when you see that sign on a late night, don't get your hopes up for a chicken sandwich. 

🔘  But while we know much about Popeyes the brand, we know comparatively little about how the place actually operates across its 2,633 domestic locations and counting. Fortunately, Popeyes employees (past and present) have been sounding off on the company's secrets on Reddit for years. 

🔘  This Cajun-inspired powder flavoring is always in good supply at Popeyes—but the chain seems to be keeping it a secret. The ingredient is rarely advertised and isn't on the chain's menu, so the only way to get some of it is to know to ask, says one short-term Popeyes employee. 

Although the exact recipe for the seasoning is unknown, main ingredients likely include MSG, cayenne pepper, and paprika. Next time you're getting Popeyes, try this sprinkling some over whatever you've ordered—it's bound to taste better.   Or just buy any Cajun mix at your local grocery store.

🔘  When asked what key information they would like drive-thru customers to know, one Popeyes employee revealed that drive-thru workers are timed, and their performance is rated for efficiency.  According to the same employee, Popeyes' standard for optimal drive-thru order time is under one minute.

🔘   Popeyes fans, rest assured, the five-second rule is not practiced at your go-to chicken spot: If it hits the floor, it goes in the trash. So says an employee who worked at a Southeast Virginia Popeyes for a year and a half.  He did mention, however, that exceptions are sometimes made for chicken tenders that fall on the counter, which are considered to be "normally clean." Those are returned to the heat lamp.

🔘    When asked what makes the popular rice and beans side dish taste so good, one former Popeyes employee said that the secret ingredient was lard and possibly meat flavoring.    If true, the dish is not, as you might have assumed, vegetarian.

🔘   Public opinion seems to be  divided on the quality of Popeyes biscuits, with some customers swearing by them, and others wondering why “ they are so damn dry."  The consensus among employees, however, seems to be that the biscuits are prepared with proprietary margarine, which is applied not only before they go in the oven, but during baking, and immediately afterward. A Popeyes veteranfrom the '80s even claimed that the biscuits are so buttery, they clock in at around 900 calories.

  

Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen complaints contacts:

• Call Customer Care on 1 (877) 767-3937.
• Email Customer Care on popeyescommunications@popeyes.com.
• Visit Customer Care Contact Form.
• Expect them to do nothing as the 649 complaints told us.

AMEN — WE RATE THIS ESTABLISHMENT A CERTIFIED SH*THOUSE