The health scares, which have sickened about 500 people in 13 different states, have blighted Chipotle’s reputation. Same-store sales are down. The restaurant’s stock is trading 40 percent lower than its record high last year. And now the company is under afederal criminal investigation. Investors, restaurant analysts, and food safety experts are all still bearish on the ailing company as it tries to figure out the tricky balance between serving fresh food while minimizing risk in its complex supply chain.
The company, for its part, says it wants to keep its commitment to ethically grown and sourced food, today announcing a $10 million investment in the local farmers that supply ingredients to the food company. When it upped its food safety standards to include what the company calls high-resolution DNA-based testing of fresh meat and produce, smaller farms worried that they couldn’t afford to meet the requirements. Now, Chipotle seems to be saying, the company will help make sure they won’t get cut out of the process.
In the meantime, however, guess what: free burritos! In case you were just dying to eat a Chipotle burrito today for lunch, only to have your plans ruined by the company-wide shutdown, here’s your chance. If you text the word “raincheck” to 888-222, the company will send you a SMS coupon for a free burrito within the next few days.
And while free food is usually a fail-safe way to earn back customers’ good will, we imagine that there will be at least a few squeamish folks who will think twice about this offer. After all, loyalty, as Chipotle is learning the hard way, is hard to earn. If you’re worried about a tainted burrito making you sick, free is still too high a price to pay.
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