On March 22, Wendy has faced a crisis after a 39 years old woman, Anna Ayala, allegedly
claimed that she had bitten down on a human fingertip in a spoonful of Wendys chili at a
San Jose location. Within 24 hours, media had the entire story published and broadcasted
causing Wendy to face the issue of recovering its brand image since then.
At the beginning, the police was still unable to identify whose the finger was and was
uncertainty about whether the finger came from a dead or live person. However, the police
was able to initially identify that the object was assumed to be from a woman because of
its long and manicured nail. Furthermore, the gruesome was preserved enough to draw a
sample of DNA and fingerprints.
The next morning, the news was spread across the nation and become a late-night
television joke. Denny Lynch, Wendys senior vice president for communications, had
given an interview for The New York, (April 22, 2005) Times stating that It went nonstop
the next two or three days even through the weekend. Even when the pope passed away, it
still got coverage.
The police had begun the investigation to find an evident of missing digits among the
workers in the restaurant and furthermore among the food supply company that involved in
the food production by using the product coding that allows them to trace where a product
comes from, the day it was produced, when it was shipped and when it arrived at the
restaurant. Neither of restaurant employees nor the chili ingredients suppliers had suffered
a hand injury. The police also used lie detector with Wendy employees who worked that
day and came up with the result that they were truthful regarding to their statement
indicating that they didnt have any involvement and knowledge of the introduction of the
finger into the chili. Wendys immediately announced with assurance that no evident to
support allegations that it or its supply chain was the source of the finger and wherever the
finger came from, it did not come from any Wendys employees or food suppliers.
The Santa Clara County Department of Health had inspected the Wendys at Monterey
Road, giving it a clean bill of health. The officials announced that there was no public
health risk at the restaurant. However, the Santa Clara health officials released a photo of
the finger to the news media. The image became a big issue for Wendy public relation to
