More Freebies On The Way As Chipotle Tries To Win Back Customers

It looks like more food freebies are in store as Chipotle continues its rebound from the food safety scares that rocked the company.

On February 8, the chain offered free burritos to customers during a company-wide closing. It reports that 5.3 million people tried to download the mobile coupon for a free entrée. "That was our first test to see how much people really wanted to come back to Chipotle," said Mark Crumpacker, the restaurant chain's chief creative and development officer.

Since then, the company has been mailing coupons for free entrées, with a planned distribution of 21 million coupons. Six to 10 million offers are already in circulation, reports The Associated Press. There are also plans for buy one, get one offers moving into summer, and more targeted mobile offers in regions where sales are slower to recover.

Chipotle hopes that giving away free food will bring people back to restaurants as paying customers, and to help overall consumer perception by filling restaurants with people. The chain reports customers describing the once-full restaurants as "eerie" now, with no lines whatsoever.