A woman finds a finger in her Wendy's Chili but that turns out to be a hoax. A man finds a finger in his frozen chocolate custard and that turns out to be true. A man bites into his Arby's chicken sandwich and finds a piece of human skin. All of these extras in your food just begs the question: What's the PR effect of crisis management?
Wendy's
- The story:
Anna Ayala claimed she bit down on a finger while eating Wendy's chili in San Jose, California. Police have since ruled Ayala's allegations a hoax and have arrested her. But the finger is legit. Wendy's offered up a $100,000 reward to find the finger's owner and a tip lead to an associate of Ayala's husband who lost his finger in an industrial accident.
- The damage:
Wendy's reported a sales drop at its Northern California locations. Employees have been laid off and work hours were reduced as a result of Ayala's claims and consumers steering clear of Wendy's.
The fast food chain offered a free frosty day at the San Jose location where the the scam occurred and customers were out the door waiting in line. Wendy's then offered a nationwide free frosty day and the event just happened to coincide with the news that the finger's owner had been found.
Ayala was arrested for making false claims but Wendy's President and Chief Operating Officer Tom Mueller says Wendy's reputation has been damaged nationally. Stocks dropped and the chain reports first-quarter earnings fell because of the finger incident and inclement weather.
Kohl's Frozen Custard
- The story:
Clarence Stowers found a finger in his custard at Kohl's Frozen Custard in Wilmington, N.C. He thought it was candy and ate all of the ice cream off of it before realizing it was actually a human finger. He only wished his find was a hoax. But an employee had lost part of his index finger in a freak custard accident and Stowers was the lucky finger finder.
The damage:
Kohl's Frozen Custard only has locations in North Carolina. The story, while disgusting to most of us, wouldn't have made such a huge media splash had it not occurred right on the heels of the Wendy's chili finger claims.
What makes this story even more bizarre and has kept it in the media spotlight is that Stowers won't return the finger to Brandon Fizer, the 23-year-old employee who lost it to a custard machine. Now it's too late for Fizer to get the digit re-attached but Stowers says he's keeping it as evidence and it's been reported that he's hired an attorney to sue the custard company.
Another employee lost part of his finger on the same custard machine less than a year ago. While it was determined he was negligent and it wasn't the store's fault, the images of cut off fingers are still there for consumers.