This summer, consumers in Japan were shocked by the news of “Chickengate”, the Chinese food scandal that revealed a dirty secret behind our favorite Chicken McNuggets. Since then, McDonald’s Japan has tried to win back customers with Tofu McNuggets, and more recently introduced the “Hiru Mac” or “Lunchtime Mac” to encourage patrons to come for lunch and enjoy great discounted prices.
But, the public still worries about where the chicken is coming from. The sales of McNuggets haven’t recovered since McDonald’s Japan revealed that the chicken comes from Thailand, so they’re trying a new tactic of…giving away free Chicken McNuggets.
It seems that with the purchase of any item comes a handy pamphlet with the bold words “Chicken McNuggets: all about safety, taste and peace of mind”. It reminds customers that all the chicken no longer comes from China with handy pictures and flow charts. And then at the very end, it thanks you for your patronage with a coupon that gets you free Chicken McNuggets!
McDonald’s Japan has gone the old sales trick of “FREE STUFF!” to try and bring their customers back. What do the Japanese public think about such a transparent ruse?
▼“…Obviously sales of McNuggets are low. I wonder if they can recover.”
▼“And then I got a free coupon.”
▼“…It’s hard to gain back trust. I’ll give anyone this free coupon! LOL”
It doesn’t seem like they are winning back every customer. There still appears to be some very real concerns about where the ingredients come from. Their mushroom risotto balls didn’t seem to help their cause either. Looks like McDonald’s Japan is going to have to do a bit more to reassure the public that their ingredients are safe and tasty. In the meantime though…Free McNuggets until New Year’s Eve!
Source: Itai News
Top Image: McDonald’s Japan