KFC Birmingham — Restaurant in Metropolitan Borough of Solihull

⭐☆☆☆☆ Disappointed by Parking Fine and Unhelpful Management

I’ve visited KFC Chelmsley Wood several times with my kids after shopping, and while the food is usually okay, the overall experience this time was extremely disappointing.

On my recent visit, I came with my wife, two daughters, and my parents around 3:30 PM, and we were later joined by a friend and his two daughters. We placed a large order, enjoyed our meal in the restaurant, and spent just over an hour there — not doing anything excessive, just dining as a normal family group with children.

A few days later, I received a £100 parking fine for staying more than 45 minutes, which I was completely unaware of. I had no idea there was a strict parking time limit, and nothing was clearly pointed out by the staff either. To me, it’s unreasonable to expect families to finish their meal in under 45 minutes, especially when kids are involved and multiple orders are being placed.

I went back to the restaurant (a 20-minute drive) hoping the matter could be resolved, but unfortunately, I didn’t receive much support. I spoke with a manager named Shabina, who told me it was my responsibility to read the signs in the car park (which I honestly didn’t see) and that I should have informed staff if I was going to stay longer. Her attitude came across as dismissive rather than understanding, and she made it clear there was nothing she could do since the parking is now managed by an external company (Smart Parking). The only help offered was to send an email with a receipt — but even finding a contact for Smart Parking has been a frustrating task in itself.

As for the restaurant itself — the cleanliness was just about acceptable, and the service was okay, but not to the standard you’d expect from a well-known brand like KFC.

Overall, this experience has really put me off visiting again. I don’t think it’s fair to penalise genuine paying customers with unreasonable parking rules and then offer no real support when issues arise. If you’re visiting this branch, make sure you don’t spend more than 45 minutes, or you might find your meal comes with a surprise...

No complaints re: the food, but I only had a 99p Popcorn Chicken. The service on the other hand, was appalling. I did not feel welcomed at all, the opposite in fact. I was "served" by an Islamic lady in a hijab at the till (extrapolate from that what you will, this is not intended to be a generalisation or racist observation), who did not speak a single word to me other than the price, and was otherwise completely engrossed in having a conversation with her colleague. At no point did she make eye contact with me or show an ounce of politeness, she gently threw my chane in my direction across the counter in a blatant refusal to make any kind of physical contact, along with plopping the box of chicken on the counter closer to herself than me, almost out of my reach, where I had to lean in to pick it up myself. This is not a comment about race/religion in general (I've been served by many hospitable muslims in numerous McDonald's restaurants, and Burger Kings on the few occasions I've been there) but I DO believe her treatment of me as a white male was one motivated by her own racist,...

Avoid Avoid Avoid!!!

The Chelmsley Wood branch of the KFC franchise is the worst fast food experience I have ever had. The worst thing is it isn't a 1 time bad service experience that I've had, it is consistently bad over a lengthy period, with no signs of improvement. For my sins, I order a lot through Uber Eats and there are always items missing and/or incorrect items sent. Its happened so many times that Uber Eats now refuse to refund me for my missing or wrong items as they probably think im lying. I've tried ringing the restaurant multiple times over a lengthy period but nobody ever seems to answer the phones.

My advice is that if you really want food from here, go and collect it and check the bag before your leave. But based on other reviews I would avoid this restaurant completely! I am out of pocket and the only way it seems I may get any money back is to file a dispute with my bank. I mean, I understand the quality of food may not always be to the same standard (portion size and heat), but I expect to get what I...