#trending: Long queues of up to 5 hours for free Texas Chicken bag bemuse netizens

SINGAPORE — Why did the Singaporean join the queue? To get a free chicken-shaped bag, of course.  

The chicken bag from Texas Chicken made waves on social media when the fast-food chain in Singapore offered the bags for free on Sunday (April 16) with every purchase of its 13th anniversary combos deals for S$13.90.

Snaking long queues were spotted in front of several Texas Chicken outlets across the island, reinforcing stereotypes that Singaporeans like to queue.

A TikTok user claimed that the queue at one Texas Chicken outlet lasted up to four to five hours long, with some customers leaving empty-handed despite the long wait, because stocks had run out.

In another video, a TikTok user said that the bags were fully redeemed by 11am at the Seletar Mall outlet, three hours after the outlet opened at 8am. 

Online users expressed bewilderment at the long queues for the seemingly elusive bag.

One commented: “People (queued) for five hours to get that chicken?!” 

Another predicted: “(For) sure the majority will end up on Carousell, selling for an absurd amount.” 

Unsurprisingly, the chicken bag has surfaced on e-marketplace Carousell for prices as high as S$100 when TODAY checked. The bag was priced between S$15 and S$60 for half a dozen other listings.

For those who missed the chance on getting the chicken bag, here is a little public service announcement: The bag can also be bought from e-retail sites such as Taobao or Shopee. 

A Carousell seller even put up a post on the platform to inform others that the bag could be found on Shopee for S$7, asking others not to be “carrot heads”, a slang for a person who is being charged an excessive price.

Another such reminder was seen on Carousell advising others to "stop buying from scalpers".

In March this year, when McDonald’s Singapore gave away a limited edition McGriddles puffer bag with purchase of a McGriddles Value Meal, people were spotted queuing for the freebies.

The first customer in a queue apparently started queueing at 11pm at the Canberra outlet the previous night, for the giveaway next day at 7am, a TikTok post by beauty and lifestyle content creator Vanity Suite said. 

Others arrived at the McDonald’s outlet as early as 6am to get their hands on the bag, which was limited to only 200 pieces.