Chipotle CEO Brian Niccol confirmed in a Bloomberg Business interview that the company asked its workers to refrain from ordering chicken due to supply issues. “Our employees were happy to pitch in. I guess there were maybe some employees that didn’t want to pitch in on this one,” Niccol admitted.
Now, an employee who wasn’t so enthused about “pitching in” spoke out about the request on TikTok.
Chipotle employee Crystal (@c.ryyss) starts off her now-viral video by announcing that “Chipotle has a supply shortage of chicken—at least my store does.”
“How do you run out of chicken?” she asks.
“As employees, we are no longer allowed to get chicken,” says. “And if we do, we have to pay full price.”
The issue for Crystal is that she only eats the chicken at Chipotle.
“It’s ridiculous because I just wanted rice and chicken. But it’s OK, so,” she says, sarcastically giving two thumbs up.
@c.ryyss atleast this is what i was told 😞❌🐓🍗🐣 #chipotleworker #ilovechicken #lol #fypシ ♬ original sound – crystal
The Daily Dot reached out to Crystal via TikTok comment and direct message. Her video racked up over 153,000 views, and Chipotle workers resonated with her experience.
“I work at chipotle we got the same thing going on over here,” one viewer wrote.
“Same thing at my chipotle why they tell us we can whatever we want and then just say we cant get it,” another stated.
Why was there a shortage of chicken?
A Chipotle spokesperson told the Daily Dot in a statement that the short-term shortage was due to “high demand” of the chicken, specifically the al Pastor. The al Pastor is a limited-time menu item.
“The supply got really tight. We asked all of our employees, including myself, to pitch in for a week to maybe try something else on our menu,” Niccol said in the Bloomberg Business interview.
Chipotle is through the short-term pinch
Niccol said that the company got “through that pinch.” “We’ve since informed employees they can return to ordering chicken in their meals as normal,” the Chipotle spokesperson told the Daily Dot.
Crystal’s follow-up video confirms this.
“Guys, guess who got their chicken privileges back?” she happily asks in the follow-up.
She then reveals her order of the day: a chicken quesadilla along with chips and queso. She also ordered a side of chicken and rice, which she says is her go-to meal
“This is literally what I eat every day that I have a break,” she says. “It always hits when I eat it.”
@c.ryyss all for the money money #fypp #chipotleworker #lol #overnightshift #needanap ♬ original sound – crystal
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