Coles has quietly ended its long-standing 'hot chicken promise' that gave shoppers a voucher when roast chickens were unavailable during peak hours. The policy, which compensated customers with a free voucher if the hot chicken warmer was empty, has been scrapped, leaving shoppers empty-handed.
A Coles spokesperson confirmed the change, stating that improvements to cooking schedules have increased availability. 'We know how much our customers love our RSPCA-approved Coles Hot Roast Chickens... we’ve made changes to our cooking schedules, which means improved availability, particularly during busy lunch and dinner times,' the spokesperson said.
The announcement has sparked mixed reactions online. Some customers expressed surprise, with one Reddit user commenting, 'I didn’t even know that was a thing! My Coles regularly runs out or doesn’t have any chooks.' Others noted the policy had been inconsistently enforced, with one saying, 'I haven’t seen the sticker in any of my local stores for years.'
Coles workers anticipated complaints, with one employee saying, 'Oh God I cannot wait for the amount of whining I am gonna have to put up with from customers.' Another added, 'Yep, just watched our DM taking down the sign and I’m going to have to deal with people complaining.'
Some blamed TikTok for the policy's demise, suggesting the hack went viral and led to its removal. The hack was shared widely, including by Perth fitness content creator Miranda Brady last year, who explained the policy to her followers. While Woolworths does not offer vouchers for missing chickens, they follow a strict four-hour shelf-life policy, allowing shoppers to score markdowns on birds nearing their display limit.
