KFC's new employee training game is a Bioshock-esque VR Nightmare - Sensationalist Headlines

[URL="https://www.eater.com/2017/8/23/16192508/kfc-virtual-reality-training-oculus-rift"]https://www.eater.com/2017/8/23/16192508/kfc-virtual-reality-training-oculus-rift[/URL] [QUOTE]In case being a fast-food employee wasn’t hard enough, KFC is now putting its workers through a bizarre initiation rite: a creepy BioShock-esque virtual reality “escape room” replete with narration from an omnipresent, mildly demonic-sounding Colonel Sanders. Cool! Per a press release, the chain is incorporating the VR environment — experienced via Oculus Rift headsets — into its employee training program to show trainees how to make its signature Original Recipe fried chicken. In order to get out of the virtual escape room, employees will have to play as a pair of disembodied hands to demonstrate (virtual) mastery of the five-step cooking process — inspecting, rinsing, breading, racking, and pressure-frying — all the while being cajoled by a cackling Colonel. But why? The press release notes that this VR exercise takes workers through the chicken cooking process in just 10 minutes, as opposed to the 25 minutes it takes IRL, so perhaps the idea here is to speed up the training process (and to avoid potentially wasting product). Or hey, maybe somebody at KFC HQ just got a really good deal on a whole pallet of Oculus Rifts. [/QUOTE] Video at the link.

Is there any way to get it for home use?

KFC can afford to pay for Oculus Rifts but will still pay its workers minimum wage

[QUOTE=djjkxbox;52605854]KFC can afford to pay for Oculus Rifts but will still pay its workers minimum wage[/QUOTE] Wow I thought KFC paid pretty well but I looked it up and even the shift managers get paid less than $10/hr

This seems more like KFC bizaaro marketing than employee training. I doubt they'd post their actual employee training publicly on the internet.

[QUOTE=Grenadiac;52605863]Wow I thought KFC paid pretty well but I looked it up and even the shift managers get paid less than $10/hr[/QUOTE] Everyone whom works there looks depressed for a reason, and it isn't the secret recipe being secret.

I demand a Colonel Sanders voice mod to replace Cave Johnson. and instead of portals it's chicken.

Is a man not entitled to the chicken in his bucket?

No amount of training will make KFC taste any better, or their franchises have any cleaner kitchens. Source: Am former KFC fry cook, and haven't eaten at a KFC since.

[QUOTE=archangel125;52605923]No amount of training will make KFC taste any better, or their franchises have any cleaner kitchens. Source: Am former KFC fry cook, and haven't eaten at a KFC since.[/QUOTE] is it that bad?

[QUOTE=archangel125;52605923]No amount of training will make KFC taste any better, or their franchises have any cleaner kitchens. Source: Am former KFC fry cook, and haven't eaten at a KFC since.[/QUOTE] No please my greasy cheap chicken. Don't ruin this for me

[QUOTE=Johnny Joe;52605927]is it that bad?[/QUOTE] Working there is terrible... was also a KFC cook.

[QUOTE=Johnny Joe;52605927]is it that bad?[/QUOTE] I never worked in KFC but my old room mate did. While he never spoke much about it I would sometimes drop by to pickup/drop off keys and the place was always disgusting.

One more reason why Popeyes is better

I would pay a dollar for more videos based around this concept. The sound, the distorted voice, and some of the visuals were pretty neat.

[QUOTE=Kiwi;52605973]This is both hilarious and creepy. Maybe entirely pointless too?[/QUOTE] I mean it would probably bring in a few new applicants. "So why did you come work for KFC?" "I wanted to see the spooky Sanders game"

I hope it gets leaked somehow. Be cool to see these assets get used elsewhere.

[QUOTE=Johnny Joe;52605927]is it that bad?[/QUOTE] It's generally that bad anywhere. If people knew what and how they were actually eating in regards to many MANY institutions, they would probably eat less. A lot less.

Apparently the VR training only takes 10 minutes and no supervision, while real-life training takes 25 minutes, a manager and wasted product. This is their real employee training :vs:

[QUOTE=archangel125;52605923]No amount of training will make KFC taste any better, or their franchises have any cleaner kitchens. Source: Am former KFC fry cook, and haven't eaten at a KFC since.[/QUOTE] Every fastfood and restaurant kitchen is horribly unclean. Their staff are poorly paid, poorly motivated, and get nothing for having a clean kitchen. The only clean food production kitchens in the world are the ones at nursing homes and hospitals. Source: am a pest control guy who tries to get these places to clean their fucking messes up and not just push under the damn counter. [editline]23rd August 2017[/editline] [QUOTE=TurtleeyFP;52606070]Apparently the VR training only takes 10 minutes and no supervision, while real-life training takes 25 minutes, a manager and wasted product. This is their real employee training :vs:[/QUOTE] You think KFC is going to pay for $1,500 worth of equipment for the 5,000 KFCs in the US alone, just to save $2 on wasted chicken in training? Its not their real training, just some viral marketing

[QUOTE=Cyke Lon bee;52606090]Every fastfood and restaurant kitchen is horribly unclean. Their staff are poorly paid, poorly motivated, and get nothing for having a clean kitchen. The only clean food production kitchens in the world are the ones at nursing homes and hospitals. Source: am a pest control guy who tries to get these places to clean their fucking messes up and not just push under the damn counter. [editline]23rd August 2017[/editline] You think KFC is going to pay for $1,500 worth of equipment for the 5,000 KFCs in the US alone, just to save $2 on wasted chicken in training? Its not their real training, just some viral marketing[/QUOTE] You're bringing back bad memories of my time doing fire alarm inspections. I always dreaded having to move any equipment to get to ansul test switches. Worst was when I took the cover off one and hundreds of dead crickets fell out. (At a McDonald's inside a WalMart

[QUOTE=Medevila;52605981]KFC in East Asia is pretty bomb doubt they waste money on VR training there tho[/QUOTE] Aus KFC is pretty good too, dunno why USA KFC is so shitty.

[QUOTE=Whomobile;52606412]Aus KFC is pretty good too, dunno why USA KFC is so shitty.[/QUOTE] Because of those pesky regulations holding back cleaning innovations.

[media]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vb7GYATYArE[/media] This is like Job Simulator but with much higher production values

[QUOTE=Cyke Lon bee;52606090]Every fastfood and restaurant kitchen is horribly unclean. Their staff are poorly paid, poorly motivated, and get nothing for having a clean kitchen. The only clean food production kitchens in the world are the ones at nursing homes and hospitals. Source: am a pest control guy who tries to get these places to clean their fucking messes up and not just push under the damn counter. [/QUOTE] [QUOTE=27X;52606065]It's generally that bad anywhere. If people knew what and how they were actually eating in regards to many MANY institutions, they would probably eat less. A lot less.[/QUOTE] Used to work at our local Taco Villa. I at least made damn sure the kitchen and utensils were clean when [I]I[/I] left after every shift. But the guy who worked weekday mornings? Fuck that guy. Always left all sorts of grease on the stove's back-wall, piles of taco meat under the stove (which caused the plastic base-board to peel off and roaches were living behind it), dishes weren't clean, and on top of that he half-assed a lot of the stuff we prep-cooks were supposed to do (taco meat was "cook 3 minutes, stir 3 minutes", he'd cook for 3 minutes and then only stir until the color was "uniform", would grab handfuls of ingredients instead of measuring them, which I tried once and got my ass chewed-out for it, and the manager kept saying that I should work as fast as that guy). The manager didn't understand why I took so long doing dishes, so he offered to "show me how to do dishes fast". He washed, I rinsed and sanitized. He got fed-up with me because I threw half of his dishes back into the wash tub because they weren't clean. The only shit I didn't bother scrubbing off entirely were the layers of permanently-embedded carbonized beans at the bottom of the bean pot, you'd need a wire wheel or several hours of elbow grease to get that shit out. Motivation is pretty spot-on. I was given very specific instructions on how to prepare everything, which when done by the book meant it took time to do properly, and I was constantly ragged on because I wasn't as fast as the guy I mentioned earlier (who, again, half-assed shit, so fuck that guy). The manager even once told me that he'd like to pay me more, but he wanted me to work faster. I changed absolutely nothing, and after one shift he pulls me aside to congratulate me on my raise. Not [I]two days later[/I] he pulls me aside after my shift and says "Zero, I can't afford to pay you what I'm payin' you..." Now that I don't work there, I don't eat there. I don't trust whoever they hired after me to keep the kitchen as clean as I did. But as far as nasty kitchens go? KFC is a solid second. [I]Second[/I]. (because [B]everything[/B] in that place was covered in a thin layer of grease and the fryer oil looked like used motor oil) First place? A local diner called "Foxy's Drive-In". Walls covered in fly shit, employees working bare-handed, dead mice, roaches, flies everywhere. I'm not sure what circle of Hell's Kitchen this place would have been in, but I'm pretty sure it's in the lower 4. To clarify, I was not employed by either of these places, but I did work for them when I did HVAC.

[QUOTE=djjkxbox;52605854]KFC can afford to pay for Oculus Rifts but will still pay its workers minimum wage[/QUOTE] Would you kindly work for minimum wage, low hours, and no benefits?

[QUOTE=djjkxbox;52605854]KFC can afford to pay for Oculus Rifts but will still pay its workers minimum wage[/QUOTE] if a single small restaurant was given the choice between an oculus and 400 bucks to split among its 10 minimum wage employees (averaging what, 25 hours weekly?) over a year, everybody's wages would rise a whopping 3 cents an hour. Definitely not the point to attack this from, but I really do side with your sentiment that budgeting overall should focus more on paying better, it'd result in higher retention, better productivity/conduct, and probably make the place a lot more attractive as an eatery. Jesus christ every time I go into one it's dingy and unwelcoming. I'm not sure if it's the aging interior design itself or that it's actually just greased over from what comes out of the kitchen, but eugh The VR experience however, is definitely being paid for out of their advertising budget instead of any one location's employee fund bucket, as it's both a silly newsworthy gag and as a recruitment gimmick, and even then it probably cost less than a single average employee would for a year. stupid shit like this is still fun and boosts a bit of morale for those coming into the gig, and while cheesy and simple, definitely reinforced the basic tasks and made a memorable game of it all. It's not a fix for many deeper problems, but I don't think it's time and money wasted

[QUOTE=Liem;52605939]No please my greasy cheap chicken. Don't ruin this for me[/QUOTE] Kfc Isn't cheap at all the fuck you chatting mate? My local grocery has cheaper and better fried chicken. Best cheap fried chicken I ever had was from Tesco. Albertsons here in the US comes a close second.

[QUOTE=F.X Clampazzo;52606566]Kfc Isn't cheap at all the fuck you chatting mate? My local grocery has cheaper and better fried chicken. Best cheap fried chicken I ever had was from Tesco. Albertsons here in the US comes a close second.[/QUOTE] Realtalk KFC is overpriced as [I]fuck[/I]

if you ever want to feel like sisyphus incarnate then work as a cleaner for a kitchen. no matter how hard you work and clean everything will look like you had never been there in the first place within a day