‘Hero’ Man Reportedly Ate Free KFC For A Year By Pretending To Be From Company’s Head Office

A 27-year-old student reportedly ate KFC for free for an entire year by lying to employees at several restaurants and saying that he works at the company’s head office. The unnamed man, who was described as a student from the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Durban, South Africa, apparently wore a suit and was driven to various franchises in a limo by a friend of his. Once there, he’s said to have flashed a fake ID and claimed that he was there to perform “quality checks” on the food, according to The Sun.

  1. Employees were said to be on their best behavior. Not realizing that anyone would be so desperate for KFC that he would go to such great lengths not to pay for it, one employee reportedly said that staff members were bricking it anytime the man came around and went above and beyond to make his experience a good one. “When he arrived we would all try to act our best so that we didn’t p**s off the man from head office,” the employee allegedly explained. “He was so convincing because he was so confident, and even colleagues from other branches of KFC know him. When he came in, he rushed to the kitchen and checked everything, taking notes and then asked for samples of whatever he wanted.”
  2. The man was reportedly arrested in the end. While it’s unclear how he was eventually caught out, justice was indeed served in the end and the man was arrested for theft and fraud, according to reports. Of course, given the vague details of the story, one has to wonder how something like this could even happen at not one but multiple locations and no one ever questioned it. Perhaps that’s because it didn’t happen at all?
  3. KFC Africa denies the story is true. Business Insider spoke to KFC Africa’s public affairs director, Thabisa Mkhwanazi, who said there’s no way the student could have managed this. “We follow strict operational processes,” she said in a statement to the publication. “Any unauthorized individuals posing as KFC team members in our restaurants and head office would have been picked up immediately.” Of course, if somehow it did happen, you wouldn’t imagine they’d be very keen to admit it. Nevertheless, there’s no real evidence this actually took place, so we’ll side with KFC on this one and call it fake.
  4. People on social media have still hailed the guy a “hero.” Even if this so-called hero is only mythical, as seems to be the case, people online have connected with the story and praised the man for such an ingenious plan. Too bad it didn’t really happen, it seems!

Piper Ryan is a NYC-based writer and matchmaker who works to bring millennials who are sick of dating apps and the bar scene together in an organic and efficient way. To date, she's paired up more than 120 couples, many of whom have gone on to get married. Her work has been highlighted in The New York Times, Time Out New York, The Cut, and many more.

In addition to runnnig her own business, Piper is passionate about charity work, advocating for vulnerable women and children in her local area and across the country. She is currently working on her first book, a non-fiction collection of stories focusing on female empowerment.
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