By Tyrone Reid, Staff ReporterFIRST IT was the potable water. Now, the luxury of free soda refills by fast food giants, KFC, is also gone with the wind at least for the time being.
That is, until the National Water Commission sorts out the water quality situation that has plagued the nation after Hurricane Ivan's ferocious winds battered sections of the island.
"Ever since the hurricane, we have had to wait on the assurance that the water quality has gone back up to normal," Donald Baugh, director of restaurant operations at Restaurants of Jamaica, operators of KFC, told The Gleaner.
"We are using two litres now and it really is impossible to give the volume required to support a free refill programme," he added. He explained that this was so because the tap water is an integral component to the company's soda machines. "Soda is mostly water, the machines mix the concentrate, the water and the carbon dioxide... It (soda machine) is like a little soda factory. Every drink is made fresh," explained Mr. Baugh.
As it now stands, Mr. Baugh said the outlet in Linstead is the only one of the company's 27 outlets that has been passed by the health inspectors. Until then, one cup of soda will have to suffice.
While Mr. Baugh admitted that free refills is a major attraction at KFC outlets islandwide, he was unable to say whether the inability to offer complimentary extras has impacted negatively on business.
"People are still using KFC quite a lot because of the convenience, but it is difficult to isolate the effects of something like this on business."
