Customer complaints are inevitable in the fast-food industry, and more often than not, employees handle these complaints by remedying the problem with a smile that masks their internal rage. But a Michigan man was left with a literal and metaphorical bad taste in his mouth after a recent Chipotle experience.
TikTok creator Ramzi (@ramzisellscars) shared his story on TikTok, where it’s currently gaining traction.
“I got a story for you real quick,” he says while sitting in his car. “So, I go to Chipotle yesterday. I get a bowl with chicken and steak. I’m feeling like I want some chips, so I get chips and guac.”
Once he bit into a chip, Ramzi realized the batch was stale. So he tried to exchange them for a fresher batch.
Initially, the employee’s response wasn’t out of the ordinary. “She’s like, ‘OK. One second.’ She goes to the back and comes back, and she’s like, ‘Try these’ with a smile on her face,” he recounts.
However, he thinks her smile proved deceptive. “I go back to my seat, and I take a bite. These could not crunch because of how stale these were,” Ramzi recounts. “And I was like, ‘Wow. She got me.'”
“That is how Chipotle customer service is. It’s on another level,” he concludes, baffled.
How Often Does Chipotle Make Its Chips?
The worker likely wasn’t trying to be vindictive. Per the Takeout, Chipotle only makes fresh batches of its tortilla chips at the start of each shift. So, twice a day. And a lot of work goes into them, as they are made by hand. The only way you can try to guarantee you get fresh chips is by timing your visit to match the start of a shift—either at opening or at second shift, which is around 2pm to 4pm.
Have You Had A Bad Chipotle Experience?
Nevertheless, Ramzi doesn’t like the way the worker handled his complaint. “Have you had a bad Chipotle experience? Let me know,” the content creator asked in the caption.
And viewers did just that, recounting their own negative experiences with customer service at Chipotle in the comments section.
“I had the worst experience about a year ago. I never went back!” one viewer commented.
“It makes me so sad because I remember Chipotle in the early 2000s at its prime. It was incredible. It’s pure slop now,” another stated.
“One worker went off on me bc I asked when my 4:30 order would be ready? It was 4:50. I just asked, and nicely too! I wasn’t mad, just wondering,” a third recounted.
@ramzisellscars Have you had a bad Chipotle experience? Let me know #chipotle#customerservice#story#trending#fyp
Has Chipotle Declined?
The years 2012 to 2015 are known as the “golden era” of Chipotle due to its hefty portion sizes, a perceived extreme quality, and decent prices, according to Bon Appetit. In 2015, Chipotle experienced several health crises, including E. coli, norovirus, and salmonella outbreaks, that were all traced back to the company and resulted in customer hospitalizations and plummeting profits. In an effort to instill public trust in the company, Chipotle started preparing some of its food in centralized kitchens—hence, why the food may not taste the way it used to. Fast forward to the pandemic when customers began noticing smaller portion sizes.
Now, Chipotle has had a rough start to the year, as the company is facing a decreasing trend in sales, shares, and stock.
BroBible reached out to Ramzi via Instagram direct message and TikTok comment. BroBible also reached out to Chipotle via press email.