Put this one in the “Why didn’t they think of this before?” category. KFC in Japan has addressed customer concerns about greasy fingers by offering little plastic gloves – actually glove fingers – to fastidious eaters and the hyper-sensitive. No more icky fingers; no more ruined $50 manicures!
Trust the ingenious, innovative Japanese to come up with Finger Naps,
and trust KFC Japan to embrace the concept!
The little plastic tubes look just like the fingers of those plastic gloves they include with home hair colouring kits. But they’re sets of thumb and index finger pockets, joined at their bases by a strip of plastic designed to make them into little tong covers.They’re even tapered at the tip to accommodate m’lady’s longer nails.
Called Finger Naps, the devices were introduced on December 15 at 222 locations in Japan’s Kanto and Kansai regions. There’s one hitch: You have to ask for them, if you really, really want them. They’re being kept behind the counter. Okay. I can see the potential for abuse by folks wanting to take home a handful for other uses if the things were offered freely.
Finger Naps are also billed as perfect for folks wanting to use their mobile phones during or immediately after consuming their KFC. Yes, I can certainly imagine what a mess a heavily-addicted texter could make of an $800 iPhone with greasy fingers!
A real problem…
Finger Naps are a real solution to a real problem. The Japanese convention, when eating KFC with the finger, has, heretofore, been to wrap the piece of food in a napkin. But that’s never worked well, and KFC Japan apparently became concerned customers would opt for other chains’ wares when craving a snack, rather than deal with the greasy aftermath of a deep-fried chicken dinner. Very perceptive, actually. Take-out and Fast-Service restaurants in Japan are among the most competitive in the world and any advantage – or disadvantage – is seen as a potentially serious issue.
Just one thing: When can we get Finger Naps here in Canada. And the U.S. and the UK and Europe…
~ Maggie J.