Chipotle Mexican Grill Case Analysis

In 2015 Chipotle Mexican Grill faced an E. coli epidemic in many of its establishments across the country. The fast-food chain has grown rapidly in a short time, but the recent bacteria scare is putting strain on Chipotle’s sales. Back in October 2015, multiple cases of people getting sick were reported in the states of Washington and Oregon. As of January 2016, 55 people had fallen ill across 11 states. Chipotle’s biggest problem is that it had no idea what products were contaminated with E. coli. The chain had to answer to the media, employees, suppliers, consumers, the FDA, and the victims. Chipotle’s slogan, “Food With Integrity” now seemed untrustworthy to the public. Chipotle had little answers explaining why this happened and needed
Chipotle was criticized for being smug and slow in its response to the outbreak. The company took a month to close its doors after the first outbreak and Chipotle did not learn their lesson because it happened again. They did not adapt to the situation and this is clear in their responses. For example, “Don’t panic … order should be restored to the universe in the very near future” (Berfield). A Chipotle in Portland, Oregon posted this statement on their door. Not only does this feel insensitive, but it also feels out of touch with the public. Chipotle took to long in getting to the root of the problem, which was their food safety. The company’s slow response time is clear when they announced a national shutdown day for all its North American establishments on February
The restaurant’s reputation for pioneering “healthy” fast food turned into public distrust of their integrity. An inability to act quickly and divisibly is the reason Chipotle is still struggling with its consumer base. Sales and shares are still down for the chain, which means Chipotle has to think carefully in how they precede for the future. The major issue here is that Chipotle needs to appear less aloof to its consumer base and more caring. Chipotle needs more open and honest communication with their consumers; something they only just started doing