Wendy's CEO Had to Endure Finger Jokes (Posted on Fri, May

Law 12 Tort Law Ms. Ripley

Wendy's CEO had to endure finger jokes (Posted on Fri, May. 20, 2005, Ledger Enquirer.com)

DUBLIN, Ohio - Every morning, when Wendy's Chairman and CEO Jack Schuessler woke up at 4:15 to watch cable news, there it was. If the anchor wasn't delivering a story about the finger in the chili, it was likely to be on the crawl across the bottom of the screen.

Late at night wasn't any better. Leno and Letterman were making a living off a woman's claim that she bit into a human digit while eating at Wendy's.

But the fast-food chain's strategy was to keep a relatively low profile as the investigation played out.

"The worst part was to be reminded of it every day," the Wendy's International Inc. chairman told The Associated Press on Friday in his first published interview since a woman claimed on March 22 that she bit into a fingertip at a Wendy's in San Jose, Calif. "When you just think it's quiet and you're making progress, then you see it on the news again, a different slant on it, and that's the most frustrating thing."

Eventually, on April 22, authorities pronounced the woman's claim a hoax.

Anna Ayala, 39, is accused of making up the finger story to extort money from the nation's third-largest burger chain, which had sales of $3.6 billion in 2004. She is charged with conspiracy to commit fraud and attempted grand larceny.

Authorities said Wendy's stores in the area where she made the claim lost $2.5 million.

Investigators said the finger came from a man who worked with Ayala's husband and lost the digit in an industrial accident.

Soon after the woman went public, Wendy's began its own investigation. Store employees passed polygraph tests, a health department inspection found no problems, and a trace of the chili ingredients ruled out the suppliers as a source of the finger.

"The only thing we could think of is either somebody played a practical joke that went bad or it's going to be fraud," Schuessler said.

Even as Wendy's learned of evidence that would make it look better, the company stayed relatively quiet so it would not interfere with the police investigation, said Schuessler, who held daily crisis-management conference calls with about eight top executives and lawyers. Wendy's did not apologize to customers, alter its national ad campaign, send its executives out to do the morning news show circuit, or attack Ayala's character.

To Schuessler, the jokes - Jay Leno on Wendy's chili: "Instead of a spoon, they serve it with nail clippers." - were not funny.

"It's very hard what we had to go through because your reputation is being slammed and your inclination is to fight back aggressively," he said. Law 12 Tort Law Ms. Ripley

Soon the fraud explanation began to look more likely than the prank possibility. It also turned out that Ayala had filed claims against several corporations in the past.

The fast-food chain said sales have since improved, but it would not provide specific numbers. Schuessler, CEO since 2000, said the key to turning things around lies in the chain's core values.

"You've got to take care of the customer. Some people complicate the restaurant business, but all it's about is serving great food quickly in a clean environment with a smile and a thank you," he said.

The head of a public relations firm that specializes in damage control said Wendy's was right to keep a relatively low profile.

"At some point it doesn't pay to continue provoking the idea" and calling more attention to the incident, said Eric Dezenhall, president and chief executive of Dezenhall Resources in Washington.

Arlene Spiegel, a restaurant-industry consultant in New York City, disagreed.

"I think they could have used this as a tremendous opportunity to showcase their commitment to the highest food-handling standards," she said. "I would have had a really strong, credible spokesperson making the rounds of every talk show."