Chick-fil-A, took a break from its usual agenda of deep-fried hate and bible-thumping last week, to send out coupon offers to patrons for ‘National Sandwich Day.’ Who knew that was even a thing?
In its effort to capitalize on the pseudo sandwich holiday, which occurs today, Sunday, November 3, the notoriously anti-gay, chicken chain sent out the following message:
“Some prefer it grilled, others fancy the original. No matter which Chick-fil-A sandwich you love, order yours on November 3 for National Sandwich Day.”
While their intention was to lure patrons into their lair of delicious intolerance, they forgot one crucial detail: Chick-fil-A is closed on Sundays across the country, for religious reasons. This is their own self-appointed policy and with Sunday closures playing such a pivotal role in their commitment to the father, the son, and the holy ghost, it seems odd to me that nobody in their corporate office checked the date of National Sandwich Day to make sure it did not fall on a Sunday.
They realized the error only after the email had been sent out to countless customers. That, of course, resulted in a “whoopsie, we messed up” email:
“We recently sent out an email that included a message about National Sandwich Day, which naturally we were very excited about. We didn’t realize it falls on Sunday when we are closed.”
Ok, here’s the thing, coupon mistakes happen with brands, but it’s how they are handled that can make all the difference. In this case, Chick-fil-A sloppily handled it by not even providing a counteroffer of any kind in their apology email. One man’s misstep is another man’s opportunity though, and the real victor here was Popeye’s, who’s sold-out chicken sandwich also made its return on November 3rd.
While Chick-fil-A stood by its religion-based Sunday closures and customers were tempted by their ill-planned coupon debacle, Popeye’s trolled their chicken rival when a Twitter follower playfully asked the Twittersphere,
“Wat ya’ll wearing to the Popeye’s chicken sandwich release?”
Popeye’s reply was perfection:
Come through in your Sunday best https://t.co/2CJpPRZunJ
— Popeyes (@Popeyes) October 29, 2019
