A Chipotle customer in New York City declared a recent bad experience at the restaurant to be her last with the Mexican-inspired fast-casual chain. The final straw? An argument with the manager over the valid use of a QR code for free chips.
The TikTok video documenting the discontent comes from creator Your Lil Kebab (@your_lil_kebab). It has amassed more than 350,000 views and 28,800 likes since Saturday.
In it, the creator calls out a Chipotle location at 72nd and Amsterdam in New York’s Upper West Side, at first faulting it for serving a friend fajitas when she asked for carnitas. She was willing to let that one slide, noting, “That’s a valid error. They kind of sound similar. It’s a little loud in there.”
But the worker insisted the friend said fajitas, and ended up replacing it with what the creator characterized as a “half-ass portion.” Then, at the register, the friend tried to redeem a free chips code with a large bag of chips, unsure about the rules governing the free chip giveaways. The QR codes, by the way, are occasionally shared on the r/Chipotle subreddit on Reddit, where redditors are also being warned about issues with the online Chipotle rewards program that plagued customers earlier in the year.
The creator found she was charged for the chips, and relayed, “And I wasn’t told that it wasn’t going to work for this bag. And then he started fighting with me, too, saying it’s going to take too long for him to give me the refund and rescan it. He said it’s not a big deal, to just use it next time.” But it appears there’s not going to be a next time.
“He was so freaking rude,” she observed. “And that was our last straw. And now we no longer go to Chipotle.”
@your_lil_kebab #stitch with @RYAN LYNCH and this is me calling out chipotle on 72nd and Amsterdam in the UWS #lunchbreakvent ♬ original sound – YOUR LIL KEBAB
Commenters brought their takes on Chipotle.
One commenter declared, “Chipotle is the DMV of food.”
“My last straw at Chipotle was when they didn’t drain any ingredient before putting it in the bowl,” someone else shared. “Literally had a container of black bean pico water.”
The creator responded with a horrified, “Noooooooooo” and a crying emoji.
“Y’all need to go on the Chipotle subreddit,” one suggested. “The employees hate their jobs and the customers.”
Another chimed in, “I think corporate feels the same way about their customers. I don’t think it’s just the employees at the store.”
“They forgot my chips and queso last time,” another revealed. They added, “Asking for a refund is basically impossible through the app and they will give you a credit instead.”
“Last time I asked to redeem a free chip reward she said there’s no chips,” someone else said. “I saw some in the back and pointed that way and she said those are old,” and then reportedly said, “If you want to eat old chips then do that.”
That commenter noted, “I was aghast.”
There was no shortage of comments about Chipotle customer service, but one was particularly telling. “I got tired of being polite and said, ‘Can you serve me how you’d serve yourself?’ Suddenly I got a full scoop of steak for the first time since 2017.”
The Daily Dot has reached out to the creator via TikTok comment and to Chipotle via email.