Remember when we waited in labyrinthine lines at Chipotle for bowls of chicken and rice and beans?
Back when the Denver, Colo.-born chain first made its presence felt in New York and other cities unaccustomed to this type of fast-casual eating, the personalized touch, the value for money —burritos the size of basketballs, bowls that could make two meals — and the fresh, tasty food itself all felt revolutionary.
So how did we get to where we are now?
Shrinking portions, sky-high prices and viral outrage over both have become the norm, and that’s ruining the party, according to new analysis published by Delish.
That’s probably why absolutely nobody was surprised when a video of unhappy customers losing their minds at a California location of the chain cropped up on the internet just days ago. In a way, that could have been any of us former fans.
Here’s why we’re mad.
Portions definitely have a great deal to do with brand slippage in recent years — the same thing that made Chipotle so great, the customizability of your meal, has now become a problem, as employees regularly trigger customers with half-empty bowls.
Social media has been burning up in recent months with reports of disappointing experiences — including from major influencer and food critic Keith Lee. A slightly troubling new trend has even emerged, where customers will film Chipotle workers filling an order, to make sure they get what they want — or else.
The company insists portion sizes have not changed, with CEO Brian Niccol even going so far as to issue a bizarre “hack” video of his own to help customers get what they want — a video that was pretty much laughed off the internet.
Other reason we’re bumming, hard – the menu is pretty much what the menu has been forever. Which is fine when everything’s really good, but it’s not.
Too often, mobile orders are tossed to the side because the kitchen is having trouble keeping the line fully stocked, for example. Lines grow longer than they ever should, due to this kind of inefficiency, leading customers to put in mobile orders while they wait.
Or the person building the bowl does so sloppily enough that by the time it comes to you, it looks wholly unappetizing. And how many times can we really do the rice, beans and meat thing?
And speaking of sloppy — the lack of emphasis on dining room cleanliness is practically an epidemic within the chain, signaling that it’s never been a priority for the company, which turns off a lot more customers than it might think, based on the carelessness on display.
Not that any of this should b surprising — it took many years to figure out how to stop people making sick, with E coli and salmonella.
It’s estimated that over 1,100 people were made ill eating at the restaurant between 2015-2018, leading to the company being levied a $25 million fine by the government.
And finally, if we look at Chipotle’s fall from grace, there’s the fact that fresh fast-casual has pretty much become the norm these days. People have options, and they’re exercising them.
At a time when any lunch of this kind in Midtown Manhattan now costs you in the neighborhood of $20, all in, people are going to go where they’re treated best, and get the best value.
They’re going to Cava, or to Chop’t for a salad, as Delish put it, “the size of your head.” Just like Chipotle burritos used to be.
Of course, all of the outrage has yet to rain down too hard on the company’s parade — health conscious Gen Zers and millennials helped the brand deliver impressive numbers this year so far.
The company plans to add somewhere in the neighborhood of 300 new stores in 2024 alone.