Deli worker lifts the lid on Coles' best-kept secret about its popular roast chicken: 'Not enough people know about it'
Ellie, from Adelaide, said shoppers are entitled to a free hot chook if there are none available for purchase before a certain time, as part of its supermarket policy.
'Not enough people know about this so I thought, I would let you in on the best deli secret there is,' she said in a now-viral video.
'If you come to Coles before 8pm and there are no chickens in our our chicken warmer you can get a free roast chicken on us.
'So our chicken promise is that we promise to always have a hot chicken ready for you but if you come to the store before 8pm and the oven isn't broken, then you are entitled to a free chicken ticket.
'I know, it's pretty cool.'
The free roast chicken policy is available in most stores across Australia - but the time to claim the voucher depends on your location, as trading hours vary between states and regions.
If you ever come across an empty chicken warmer, and see a signage that reads 'Our Promise' at your local Coles store, it's best to ask a staff member for the voucher.
'It will say the times on the sign at your store,' she said.
'For mine it's between 9am-8pm.'
However, the Coles employee said shoppers will only get the voucher if they specifically mention the free roast chicken promise.
'You have to ask (for the voucher) first, we don't offer, that's why it's a secret,' Ellie said.
'But if we do ask, we give you one of these vouchers, and you have a week to come and get a free chicken.
'Thought that you guys might want to know that.'
After working at Coles for seven years, Ellie said she decided to share her all-time favourite deli hack as she noticed not every shopper knew.
Her video has been viewed more than 850,000 times - with many saying they already knew about the policy as it's one of their favourite money-saving hacks.
'I used to purposely go to Coles at 7:30pm to get a voucher because my local Coles liked to clean and close early - so 90 per cent of the time they'd have no chickens left. It was a bit awkward when it was the same worker but they never said no to giving me a voucher,' one shared.
Ellie, from Adelaide , said shoppers are entitled to a free hot chook if there are none available for purchase before a certain time, as part of its supermarket policy
Meanwhile, many confessed they had no idea they could score a hot chook if there's none available certain times.
'I wish I had known about this sooner because the one where I live never has chickens at 6pm,' one revealed.
'I worked in the deli for four years, only about four people ever asked me for a hot chicken voucher within the four years as no one knew about this,' one former Coles employee revealed.
'Thank you, you're a life saver,' another added.
However, not everyone was lucky to get a voucher.
'I went to Coles last night at 7.30pm and asked for the chickens and she said 'there's none left' and turned her back so must only be at select Coles,' one shared.
'I literally went into Coles for a hot chook at a reasonable hour and there were none and I asked someone walking past and she's like, "It's empty... Oh look they are cooking", and walked off,' another revealed.
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