Chipotle $1 Burritos Promo a Hoax
Many Chipotle Mexican Grill customers were subjects of a hoax in mid-January 2016. People were made to believe that the food chain was selling burritos for only $1.
The satirical website, Satiratribune.com, featured an article that was reposted on various places online. The article, titled “Chipotle Selling $1 Burritos This Week To Regain Public Trust,” led many to believe that it was a real promotion and asked the company via Twitter where they could avail of the cheap fare.
Although it was later on revealed to be a mere hoax, many actually thought how it was proper for Chipotle to restore customer trust, after an E. coli, salmonella and norovirus outbreak resulted to hundreds being hospitalized. The Motley Fool revealed that the problem happened at 11 restaurants in Washington and Oregon in October 2015. Chipotle had to shut down all 43 stores in the area and only reopened after they were issued a clean bill of health.
Subsequently, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) stated that the outbreak already spread all over the United States, although the source may never be identified. Sales in December 2015 dropped 30 percent. Founder Steve Ells publicly apologized and stated that Chipotle was using various measures to guarantee the safety of its food.
Co-CEO Monty Moran said that Chipotle is offering free burrito bowls and taco trio to win back customers and doubling the amount of food that can be handed out in each location. On Feb. 8, 2016, all of its 2,000 stores will shut down for several hours for a food-safety meeting. The food chain plans to start a huge campaign that will convince news outlets that the outbreaks are done, CNBC reported.
Chipotle spokesperson Chris Arnold said that the chain will feature new food preparation protocols that will ultimately reduce the risk of contamination to almost zero. Investors seem to be satisfied with Chipotle’s plans to bounce back and restore customer faith. However, fans have yet to respond and show that they have trust in eating their food again.
According to the same Motley Fool report, this is not the first time that a major restaurant chain was greatly affected by a food safety scare. Many brands suffer in sales for one year after an outbreak and then recover afterwards.
Although the burritos allegedly available for only $1 turned out to be fake, customers can expect Chipotle to offer great value in the next several months as part of their campaign to recovery.
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