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Wendy's Chili Finger Case Study

AN ANALYSIS OF THE WENDY’S CHILI FINGER INCIDENT THAT OCCURRED AT THE SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA LOCATION FROM THE ACTIONS OF ANNA AYALA

INTRODUCTION
Crisis communication can be defined as how effectively an organization deals with a crisis. This study will show how effectively Wendy’s deals with crises, where they went right, where they went wrong, and the amount of damage that was caused by there actions, and lack of action.

Incidentals on Authorization and Submittal

This study of the Wendy’s Chili Finger is submitted to Dr. Lucia S. Sigmar on April 9, 2008. As authorized on January 15, 2008, the in-depth investigation was conducted under the direction of Steven Young.

Recommendations for Improvement of Crisis Communication for Wendy’s Franchises

The objective of this study was to examine the actions of Wendy’s crisis communications team in a time of crisis.

Research Methodology

The research for this report was conducted over a two-week period using the Newton-Gresham Library on the campus of Sam Houston State University. I used the databases IBIS World, Business Complete Advantage and various websites found using Google, the Wendy’s business website was also used.

A Preview of the Research Analysis

The following section is an overview of the Wendy’s Chili Finger Crisis, and the crisis communications that they utilized to clear their name of any wrongdoing. An analysis on Wendy’s ability to use effective crisis communication will also be given in the case study.

THE CASE OF THE WENDY’S CHILI FINGER

“Wendy’s Diner Finds Human Finger In Her Chili” read the headlines of the San Francisco Chronicle on Thursday March 24, 2005. Thirty-nine year old Anna Ayala, was dining in at the Wendy’s located on 1405 Monterey Road in Santa Clara California when she bit into a well-manicured finger that was in her chili (Gaura and Murphy, 2005).


The police were then notified and placed the object in a freezer after...