Speaking of bad PR

You have to feel for Irvine-based Taco Bell, which is struggling to get back fast-food customers as a result of the chain's E. coli outbreak. A national online poll conducted for USA Today finds that 1 in 3 frequent fast-food customers plan to eat at Taco Bell less often or not at all. Yet the poll also shows that 75 percent of those surveyed believe the chain did a "good," "very good," or "excellent" job in handling the outbreak. Frankly, these results sound like a crock (always be suspicious of online polling) - both because the outbreak was limited in region and scope, and because attention spans are so short these days that it would take something really nasty to have any lasting impact. Of course, having the results published in USA Today doesn't help regain public confidence. Taco Bell President Greg Creed had no comment on the survey, but said the company's own polling indicates that most Taco Bell customers consider the food safe. Taco Bell is a unit of Yum Brands Inc.