Popeyes Louisiana Chicken — Restaurant in England

A few months ago I wrote a critical review of Popeye's Leicester outlining my poor experience in this store in comparison to stores from London or in the USA. It mentioned issues like dry/overcooked food that lacked an appropriate amount of sauce in the burger (balancing flavor), drinks machines that did not have any flavor available and were only dispensing water (lacking even a basic Coca-Cola). The poor value for money. How the store looked messy.

I received a response from the CS team inviting me to send an email to discuss. Initially, I was met with a clear lack of interest, but as a believer in pushing for a better customer experience for all, I persevered. Since then, Popeyes' National Customer Service Manager got in touch to discuss my feedback and suggested that I visit the store one more time. I agreed to go, but I did not tell anyone when I was going. I was promised that I'd see changes and that the customer experience would be better.

I was pleasantly surprised by entering a clean store, meeting friendly staff and eating good food. I want to make it clear that I was not influenced in any way by any offer of goodwill and both the old review and this one are completely honest and entirely my views. They initially offered me a refund which I thought was decent, because my first experience was abysmal. I only accepted any money back after I had a firm commitment from the management team to make changes, and they clearly did.

Today, I had a video conference with the Head of Operations and the National CS Manager who handled my comms. They heard about my concerns and suggestions. I asked them what steps they took to ensure that the customer experience in this store was kept to a high standard, and it was nice to hear a reasonable answer. In summary, steps included talking to the store manager, going through the review I wrote and learning about what went wrong, then adapting to ensure it didn't happen again. Senior management do frequent unannounced visits, and they also submit reviews to the store manager for accountability, having a weekly review of customer feedback to ensure they adapt quickly.

So that's great result from people who I think are passionate about pushing for quality and take customer feedback seriously. I remarked about being a big fan of their chicken and wanting them to succeed in the UK. I really want their Leicester branch to remain open, and I think the key to this will be making sure that the food quality and the customer experience are always at the top of their minds.

They have offered to keep open channels for me to relay feedback about my visits should I wish to do so, and I thought that also showed seriousness in terms of listening, learning and improving. I will be back to the store and I'd recommend it as a nice place to eat. If you have any issues, ask to speak to the manager and I'm sure...

I recently visited the newly opened Popeyes in town, having tried the brand before in Kuwait, where I had a positive experience. Naturally, I was curious to see if the quality remained consistent in this new location.

Upon entering, I noticed a large digital ordering screen, which initially seemed like a convenient feature. However, after three unsuccessful attempts to place my order, even with assistance from one of the staff, I was redirected to the counter. While this was a minor inconvenience, the staff handled the situation well, maintaining their professionalism throughout.

The menu itself is moderately priced, offering good value for the amount spent. Though the choices are somewhat limited, with each category containing only a single screen's worth of options, it simplifies the decision-making process. Despite the smaller selection, the menu covers the essentials of fast food dining.

As for the ambience, it’s what one would expect from a fast food chain—not overly decorated, but comfortable enough. It doesn't particularly stand out from other fast food places, but it still provides a clean, pleasant environment for a casual meal.

When it comes to the food, I was quite satisfied. The portion sizes were generous, and the quality lived up to my expectations. Due to the issues with the digital ordering system, I was given a complimentary coleslaw, which I had originally wanted as a side but was informed it didn't come with my order. A nice gesture from the counter staff—thank you for that! One unique feature I appreciated was the unlimited drink options, where you can customize your soda with different flavors such as orange, cola, and blackcurrant. This is something I haven’t seen at other fast food outlets and definitely earns top marks for innovation.

The service was another highlight. The staff were calm, professional, and attentive, ensuring that tables were cleaned immediately after guests left, maintaining a high level of hygiene. The food was also served directly to the table, which is always a plus in fast food settings.

Overall, my experience at Popeyes was positive. The food was tasty, the service was commendable, and the pricing made it a good value for money. While there were some minor hiccups with the ordering system, the team’s professionalism and the unique beverage options certainly...

Decided to give this place a go having tried about all the other available fried chicken places in Leicester.

Food was a mixed bag but I think it could improve with a few changes to my order.

The chicken sandwich was good with a juicy breaded breast fillet in a fresh brioche bun. The only issue I had was that it was very bland. I would get the spicy version or buy some additional sauces to add some flavour.

The fried chicken was cooked well. It had a nice light yet very crispy breading and the meat was soft and juicy. The pieces did seem a little small but I find with bigger pieces from other establishments to be a bit too watery adding to the blandness of chicken in general. I would go for the spicy version the next time.

The hot wings were a decent size with very thin breading. Other places tend to double the size of their wings with breading and that's all you're tasting. The meat was juicy and soft with very minimal fat left to render. The spice level is quite low and I would put it to the level of medium compared to the local grilled chicken shops. I don't like buffalo sauce so I would not get that option.

The Cajun fries were pretty good with a light dusting of seasoning. Too many places are just dredging their fries in dry seasonings and it becomes seasonings with fries. The fries are the crunchy thin type that you can't really leave to cool else they become hard and chewy.

Decent selection of drinks, sides and desserts but did not get anything other than a soft drink as I'm not dessert person and didn't fancy trying any other sides.

Place is clean and staff...