Kentucky fried chicken (KFC) is a multi national chain of franchised fast food restaurants specialising in, as we all know finger licking good fried chicken cooked in the colonels special recipe, you can eat in or take your food away and most outlets that are not on the high street also have a drive through service
I am not going to go into the health, calories and nutritional values of it as it's deep fried chicken and chips! it's not good for you! but like me everybody needs a treat now and again and that's when i end up at the doors of KFC again.
As it's a franchise ( and in my personal opinion) they might be some variation in service,prices and offers between outlets so my review is based on the 3 KFC outlets nearest to stockton-on-tees Cleveland.

The building
Nice newly built 1 story building with customer only parking and some nice wheel clamp warning signs for none customers and a very narrow twisty one way road round to the drive through service, don't try to get round this with a large van (height restrictions) or with a trailer as it it very tight and i have seen people get half way round then have to unhitch the trailer and push it back out
It's a modern looking mostly glass windows building with large double doors which are heavy to open but do have a automatic system for disable access
Tables come in a variety of sizes and shapes from 2 seater up to about 8, some are fixed in position to the chair and the tiled floor and don't leave much room for manoeuvre if you are anything other than small, there are 2 bins for self disposal of your rubbish and 2 area's for you to collect your straws,salt,napkins etc
There is a large picture display and price list above the service counter and several till points were you form a queue to be served.

The food

You can buy anything from a mini chicken burger for 99p up to a giant bucket of chicken pieces with fries and sides (coleslaw,gravy,corn on the cob) for around £16 and various different flavour burgers/chicken pieces eg: zinger burger, fillet burger, boneless box, hot wings and chicken strips, most items are available on there own or with fries and a drink as a meal which saves you a few bob on individual prices, you can also get ice-cream desserts soft drinks and coffee, a full menu is available on the KFC web site.
the burgers are made with nice juicy chicken fillets and served in a fresh bun with trimmings including lettuce and mayo
The colonels special recipe coating is still as finger licking good as it ever was, it melts in your mouth and a couple of pieces and a portion of fries really fill you up BUT, i feel the quality and size/amount of chicken you get is going down hill, you used to get 2 nice pieces of chicken in a 2 piece meal now you often get 1 and a wing bit and not many fries ( i check my meal and ask to swap if i get a wing stating i would order a wing meal if i wanted wings!) price wise you get a good meal and drink for around £4-5, this price has not changed that much in recent years but i think savings have been made on quantity and quality of the food.

Service

The staff are made up of students and school leavers that tend not to be the most cautious of people on the whole, they often get orders wrong ( check your order before you leave, as specially if your driving home to eat!) and they are not that helpful.
Considering it's a fast food chicken place in my last 10 visits i have had the excuses
1- sorry we have no chicken on the bone left!
2- no we don't take that KFC voucher hear , we are a franchise!
3- we are not running that promotion!
4- we got no gravy at all( then a voice from behind shouts- gravy ready)
5- that will be a 10 min wait!
6- no we got no serviettes left
One example of the service on a recent visit a child in my party spilt his coke, i went to find the serviette box empty and asked the staff for some explaining the situation, he said they had none but came over with a roll of paper towel and wiped the table, i had to ask for some to give to the boy stood next to him dripping with coke, then he only give him 2 pieces!
They don't tend to come out and clean/clear the tables very often, although your supposed to bin your own rubbish many people don't plus the tables still need a wipe between customers for basic hygiene, we often have ask for someone to come and clean the table and just get a "yeah" grunt noise from the gang of staff chatting away.
I mentioned you can help yourself to salt and pepper but if you want tomato,BBQ or mayo then you have to ask for the little packs, some outlets just give you them but some charge you 10p per shot! so it's best to pay for your meal first then ask for sauce as they often don't bother charging you then.

The results

Why oh why do i keep going back! i have actually walked out in disgust on more then one occasion after been told "we have no chicken" or "we don't do "that promotion" then why are you putting "that promotion" leaflet through my letterbox just down the road!
But i do keep going back because the chicken is finger licking good and it's a not to expensive treat
Going steadily down hill but if your lucky enough to have a well managed KFC near you then treat yourself because if you love chicken you will love this