Fast-casual Mexican food chain Chipotle is shutting down rumors that there's a way to get servers to fill your burrito with more meat or vegetables: shoot them.
TikTok users, including influential food reviewers, have been sharing images of allegedly puny-looking portions of food from Chipotle. The servings they claim are a far cry from the days when the chain loaded customers' plates with enough food to last them days. Some of the fast food sleuths also allege that when they filmed Chipotle workers fulfilling their orders, they received larger portions.
Chipotle called the claims false and said it never instructed workers to serve larger portions to customers with cameras or phones.
“Our intentions are to deliver a great experience every time, and our meals have always been completely customizable so that guests can vocalize or digitally select their desired portions when choosing from the list of real ingredients,” said Laurie Schalow, director of Chipotle's corporate affairs and food safety. he said in a statement to CBS MoneyWatch. “There have been no changes to our portion sizes, and we've reinforced proper portion distribution with our employees. If we didn't deliver our value, we want our guests to come to us so we can get it right.”
It's unclear what kind of compensation the company plans to offer customers who may feel slighted.
TikTok user Keith Lee, who has 16.3 million followers, said in the May 3 video that he used to love Chipotle, but lately he's been disappointed by the food. The post has over 2 million views.
Lee was filmed eating some Chipotle menu items, including a bowl in which he struggled to find chicken. He eventually found only four pieces, which he described as tasteless and cold.
TikTok user Drew Polenske also chimed in, addressing the alleged portion size issue head on. “I speak for everyone when I say I'm sick and tired of Chipotle's portion sizes and it needs to change.”
“You remember the chipotle peak. You know how they used to load those bowls. They gave you enough food to feed a small town,” he said. “And now I'm going to go into Chipotle, get three grains of rice and a piece of chicken if I'm lucky. I can't take it anymore.” He urged people to leave one-star reviews for the company online.
Another TikTok user posted a video showing a Chipotle worker filling his order of burritos, which appeared to be filled to the gills with ingredients.
“The rumors are true. I picked up my phone at Chipotle and they charged my burrito,” read one line of text in the video.
Chipotle CEO Brian Niccol weighed in on the social media trend, dubbed the “Chipotle phone method,” telling CNBC he thinks it's “rude to our team members.”
“We're not going all you can eat, we're going great ingredients, great kitchen, great bowls,” he added.
