News of a Taco Bell firing should come as no surprise after an employee was photographed licking a stack of taco shells — an image that later made it to Taco Bell’s Facebook page.
The Taco Bell firing in response to the pic’s release (and ostensible damage to the brand) was announced somewhat quietly by the MexiMelt maker after the viral photo did untold damage to the brand across social media sites.
The Taco Bell shell licker has not been publicly identified, but the image speaks to a very common fear people have about fast food adulteration and employee malfeasance.
However, the Bell says that the pic did not actually show any food sabotage. According to the lengthy statement posted on their website regarding the “social media incident” involving a “prank photo,” the image was part of an internal exercise gone awry.
The young man shown licking a stack of Taco Bell taco shells, the company says, was planning on submitting the pic to an internal contest and the shells shown were never intended to be sold to Taco Bell customers.
But the company also says given the negative publicity and reach of the incident (which has been massive), the former Taco Bell employee was let go.
In the statement, Taco Bell says :
“On June 2nd, we learned of a photo circulating online illustrating a Taco Bell restaurant team member violating our food handling procedures with a stack of taco shells … Our food handling procedures are strict and we have zero tolerance for any violations. In the spirit of full transparency, we want to inform you of what we know in order to respond to customers’ questions on our social media channels.”
Of the shells in general, the company explains:
“The taco shells were used for training in March before we launched a new product, and were in process of being thrown out. Two employees, however, used them to take a photo for an internal contest in which company and franchise employees could submit for approval photos of themselves enjoying their first bite of the product.”
Of the Taco Bell firing, they add:
“We do not believe these employees harmed, or intended to harm, anyone. But we deplore the impressions this has caused to our customers, fans, franchisees, and team members. The behavior is unacceptable for people working in a restaurant. Our franchisee is responsible for the employment and conduct of his restaurant’s employees and he has informed us that he immediately suspended the employee shown in the photo and is in the process of terminating his employment.”
Do you think the Taco Bell firing will help mitigate the damage?
