Chipotle’s had a hard time winning back customers after its food-poisoning scandals plagued 2015, with its sales plummeting, profits down, and burrito giveaways that mostly made the chain look desperate. There is one customer whose fandom can’t be curbed — even if she was one of the people sent to the hospital after the chain’s E. coli outbreak.
That’s right: In the course of settling with the 96 individuals who became sick after eating the company’s food, Chipotle was met with an unlikely demand when one of its victims requested free burritos as part of her settlement.
The 19-year-old woman from Oregon, who was hospitalized because of a serious case of E. coli, embodied the American ideal of seeing a chance to get some free food, even in the grimmest of situations. Her lawyer, Bill Marler, was shocked by her request, telling Business Insider that in 20 years of suing chains, he’d never had a client who wanted to eat the food that made them sick again. Clearly, if Chipotle has any hope of returning to its former glory, it must sign this woman to an endorsement deal.
