The Sad Decline Of Chipotle 

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As a former Chipotle worker I can definitely confirm that during digital line we were told by our managers to only put one scoop one rice and one scoop of beans. And when someone asked for extra they got the normal(normal sized bowl no extra) base portions for what that would be. When I was working there I used to actually give out good portions as a way to rebel against that I would even bless people who got extra in digital orders. (my mindset was “you want extra I’ll give you extra” PAUSE)

I worked at a chipotle for a few months and I can confirm that management pressured part-timers to work as close to 40 hours a week as they could, they pressured me to come in while sick(got myself & another worker sent home because she had to clean up my sick), and they held national "short the customer" competitions to see which store could make the most profit while serving the least amount of food, aka "how much can you short the customer before they complain?"

Crazy how it was very affordable back then, one of my favorite fast food restaurants but way too expensive for what its worth

I started boycotting them as soon as I would order a burrito bowl for pickup, open the container and see the portion was half (or sometimes less) than what I got before

Greed literally destroys everything

Used to be $8, went the other day and it was $14. Then I bought Tostitos at the gas station for $5. Had a $1 soda at home. A $20 dinner should be better than rice and chips with a little meat.

As a former employee of this place it’s completely hectic how they treat their customers and especially workers. We were always understaffed and overworked, expected to do so many things within such a small time period and so little pay. Line portions are sad to look at now you might as well make your own food at home

The fact that a bowl and a drink now costs almost $20 is just the nail in the coffin for this company. Cannot afford, and have had just as good at home :(

I had never tried Chipotle until about 5 years ago. My initial impression was GREAT. I was very surprised by how much I liked it but sooner after started to notice a lot of the things pointed out in this video. It's been about a year since I stopped in. So I guess I'll file it under "it was good while it lasted" for the time being.

Getting more expensive, quality is dipping, and workers are becoming more scarce as getting in and out is taking much longer. Was one of my favorite restaurants, now I am visiting less and less.

don't pressure yourself into weekly videos make, we want quality not quantity

The whole outbreaks that kept happening, overpriced, & small portions for the price have kept me from buying their food going on four years.

Only had Chipotle within the last few years and couldn't believe how mid it is given the hype.

Burritos when done right are the best takeout food ever. I worked at a chain burrito place when I was in high school and so absolutely resonated with the notion of overworked, underpaid and under trained employees running the place. Doesn't bode well for long term healthy functioning

Many years ago in 1988, I was a casher at McDonalds. We were located next door to a Junior High School. At 3:oo pm, when the students were dismissed from their classes, many would come to McDonald's My line was their favorite line. I would always give them extra ice cream in their request for ice cream cones at no extra charge. Once the manager saw what I was doing. She said that I couldn't give more than the 'Controlled Portion' set by MCDonald Corporation. I responded: "Look at my line, almost every student from the Junior High School are coming in by great numbers. We are selling more ice cream cones then ever before. More ice cream cones means more profit". Well, the manager just walked away and never ever said anything else. I kept giving them more ice cream. And they kept coming back every afternoon when their classes were dismissed!!!

I did an online order. When I opened that bowl, there were barely any ingredients in it. I immediately realized that since it was an online order, they purposely skipped on the ingredients! $15 for something that was worth less than $5.

Cousin was a manager at Chipotle and they had a huge mouse problem. He had videos of them everywhere. His breaking point is when his boss told him to kill the mice they caught rather than call the exterminator so they wouldn't close down for the day...

I got extremely sick eating there, so I never went back ever again. Amazing how out of all the places I've eaten at, the "non-GMO, organic" place was the only place that has ever given me food poisoning.

As a former food business owner I empathize with the franchisees, but if a company is going to raise prices, DO NOT give smaller portions….with most QSF companies one can always get a customer to the counter once….the trick is to get them to come back…..Chipotle is going to learn the hard way……

I worked for a company that did food warehousing and supply lines for big chain restaurants, McDonald’s and Chick-fil-a being two of our biggest customers. We also had Chipotle as a client until they decided to drop us since they thought they could save money. Bad move. Since then, I haven’t been to a Chipotle that wasn’t out of something I wanted. Their higher ups are crashing it to the ground.

The last several burrito bowls I have ordered have been $20 bowls of rice with 2 strips of lettuce and 3 strips of meat. Its really sad.

Worked at a busy chipotle during the peak of covid. I had really bad symptoms: diarrhea, stomach ache, etc. one shift during a double. I told my boss that I had to go home because I kept going to the restroom every two seconds and I was sure I had covid. He said no. So I worked a double while having covid. I’m pretty sure I infected a shit ton of people. I still think about this every now and then.

This only scratches the surface of all the problems with Chipotle surfaced over the past 10 years. Ive been a customer since 2008. You can tell everything (food quality, portions, service) is downhill. To top it off, the online ordering fiasco is a complete sham and disgrace: without the eye pressure over the counter, they do not make a quality product. My location even did "online only" for way longer than needed and it was a disaster as a result.

The food seemed fresher a few years ago at Chipolte. It also feels like they are trying to squeeze costs whilst boosting prices.

I still work at chipotle, I can remember that my first year they wanted me to work 7 days a week from 11 am to closing (we would finished at approx 1 am because of short staff) and there were days that I worked and never got paid for it. The manager even asked me to work an extra 20 min for free as a favor just because they don’t want to pay extra hours to the workers. After all this time I never understood why people love that place, their food taste as garbage and it’s expensive, I can make myself something way better at home for less.

There is a Chipotle location near me with a 2 star rating in a pretty good area. Portions are low yes, but that is just the beginning of the issues. Wait times for online orders is insane, the dining room is never clean, and when you peer into the kitchen you can see all sorts of corner cutting when it comes to cross contamination, cleanliness and the sort. They clearly aren’t spending enough on labor and it shows.

Smaller portions on online orders are exactly what pushed me away from eating there altogether. Every online order was either wrong or tiny. It's just not worth it anymore.

Chipotle is really stingy with the food. Panda Express has become very stingy too but then again they've been raising wages to lure competent people.

My mom was a supervisor at Chipotle when I was a little kid back in the mid 2000s. Chipotle has literally been a part of my life, and I have literally spent thousands eating there over the course of my life. It is really sad to see Steve's vision die like this. It isn't the same, Chipotle is dying for sure. Right now it is still viable with the way I order (Bowl with double rice, tortillas on the side for tacos), but I know it won't last. Chipotle was so innovative and ahead of the curb, and now they are just another generic food chain.

Thanks for this video. When it comes to online ordering, I totally believe it. I once had to file a complaint because they were missing beans for my order. Then I asked for extra rice and beans and didn't even look like they followed directions. I like Chipotle for its flavor, but it's time for me to eat out a lot less.

I’m upset with Chipotle because they haven’t been crediting me my points for weeks. I tried customer service and the only option was to chat with a robot. Pathetic!

100% I hate chipotle lately. I used to love going their but I mostly try to avoid it nowadays. I feel like a public trading company is the worst. It's all about profit. As it should be but there's a healthy way to get there.

Chipotle sucks I work there now as a griller and let me tell you something the work culture is the worst I’ve ever seen 1 everything is done by hand lettuce, guacamole, peppers onions, tomato and corn salsa. It takes HOURS to prep you’d think we were a high end restaurant. I gotta be there by 7am 2 it’s insanely busy you’d think business would slowdown because of higher prices it only grew when I started working there 2 years ago after the pandemic everybody would or one bowl sometimes 2 now I’m seeing way more ppl ordering multiple bowls, burritos, quesadillas, etc. 3 the pay is terrible 13-14 dollars a lot of places offer 15-18 now MCDONALDS start at 15 even. All that prep the days are long too everyone work 9-10 hrs at least. That’s why the prices went up so many ppl in many locations were quitting left and right my boss told me they gave everyone a raise from 11 I shit you not to 13. Haven’t got another since I’m cooking 16 batches of chicken 3 of stake and what ever stupid item they add to the menu every 4 months.I have to refill the hot side of the line rice beans, meats veggies. Portion 3 tons of rice in the back I’ve had 3 other jobs before this and ive never worked so hard in my life I had a buddy who works at a high end restaurant and he work there for a month and he said this is the hardest job he’s ever had in his life the guy used to do construction. My own Gm is about to quit. The managers get paid 15 that’s minimum wage in this state VA. They could easily invest in machines to make the prep easier. I work in another restaurant the earliest I came was 9 we opened at 11. The food there was natural too. We had equipment. Everyone there works like a dog I’m not exaggerating. I’m cooking endless meat the line doesn’t stop most days. You got 2 ppl prepping in the back AFTER MORNING PREP. One cutting 50 pounds of onions. The other 50 pounds of avocado it’s INSANE for 14 dollars 9 hrs fuck chipotle I put my 2 weeks I’m about to do security for 20 an hr that’s shit aged me 5 yrs

Chipotle was my first job, i worked my way up to Service Manager and worked at the busiest Chipotle in AZ. Worked there for about 4 years around 2015. I have a major soft spot for this company. My heart breaks a lil every time i go inside a chipotle now… It’s definitely not what it used to be…

I ordered a bowl last week, extra meat and had them out guac on it, that cost me $19. I can get amazing food in my area for way less. I’ll be going elsewhere now lol

working on a chipotle line is the single worst job in food service. I cannot imagine a more demeaning stressful soulless unrewarding job on earth. it is even worse than working a subway sandwich line im sure of it

The flavor is also totally different from what it used to be. At this point if I make a burrito bowl at home it will probably taste a lot better than this

It’s a dump now. Prices have gone up and the quality has gone down. The stores are always understaffed and filthy and the employees are rude and unprofessional. It used to be good but I don’t see it ever returning to what it once was.

I remember hearing about the E. coli breakout and just thinking "At least I'm too broke for Chipotle"

I have a Chipotle across the street from where I live, but the issue is there are new Mexican restaurants popping up left and right that are just better quality and more affordable. Chipotle's far from dead, but they do need to find a new way to beat their competition somehow and justify their existence, cause those smaller competitors like Dos Toros and Chuy's are growing and Chipotle cannot simply become a McDonalds for Mexican food with their company strengths, customers, and goals.

The last time I was there was 8 months or so. I waited forever for my burrito, the kids working there slapped it together, their workstations were dirty and they had this one filthy rag that they wiped the counter with. The food was luke warm, not good at all and I got sick from it. Plus it was expensive. SMDH ...

I recently just got hired in maryland. This explains why they are obsessed with hand washing, sanitizer and gloves. Why wash your hands and put on sanitizer right after washing your hands, right before you have to put on gloves. It’s way overkill and a little bit extreme and obsessive. They also ask you everyday if you’re sick before starting your shift and force you to go home even if just a small cold you’d normally power through or be forced to work through elsewhere. The burritos are still big at least in my location. Everything is rationed though by one scoop, they will give you extra if you ask for it on most non meats and a little bit extra on meat or just require you to pay for extra if you want double. Which is pretty industry standard

Chipotle got me through college. I used to eat there all the time and even after. I noticed that the prices started going up and the portions started going down. I don't remember when but I remember one day just going: this isn't the same burrito I'm used to. I think my biggest gripe came with online ordering and the food just being so much less than I used to get. With rising prices and such, I don't go back often if ever. There are much better and filling options for the price.

You're still going strong! I get a feeling we're never gonna see "The Sad Decline Of HORIZON" ;) Thanks for the quality videos, however, for HORIZON being a positive hopeful term, could there possible be positive topics some day? :D

I’ve been to one twice in my life even though it was just half mile from me for 10 years. Both times were just bad vibes there. I go to family owned Mexican restaurants and not chains. In fact I don’t eat at any chain restaurants. Especially McDs.

Total bummer Chipotle used to be so good and the way they treat their people is shameful

so the problem with Chipotle now is that it might turn into just Taco Bell with a different name.

Went to chipotle last year stood in line for 10 minutes ignored as workers were just making online orders and not dealing with walk in traffic. Walked away for life.

Writing is on the wall for most the problems. Who was their ‘teacher’ = McDonalds. All the portion shorting/staff shortages/neglecting …. It’s right from the playbook

Hate chipotle for their greed but this is happening everywhere. I noticed my shampoo and body wash bottles contain fewer ounces despite the price going up. Companies are using every trick at the same time to squeeze more out of it. But this is the free market so many people want.

Years ago a asked a Chipotle rep why a scoop of guacamole is $2.00 (as opposed to the $0.50 when I first started dining there) when avocado at the time were 4 for $1.00! She replied that they have to pay the people that make it (pretty sure they weren't given a raise) and it's the ingredients they add to it. She then finished by saying if "you can't afford it, don't buy it." Never ate there again.

They ignored me the last few times I tried getting food there. Never again.

I refuse to go to Chipotle after what I saw was my portion size.

Dude, the services is terrible. The quality is awful. Its super inconsistent. And a meal that used to cost 10.45 is Joe 19.89

Started out awesome, 15 years ago it was the sh*t. Now a victim of its own success.

I used to go to Chipotle several times a week for years and they were my favorite place to eat. After many times of them messing up my online order or having to wait more than 30 minutes after the supposed ready time, I stopped going. the last straw was their holiday special of a bowl for $5. I waited over 2 hours for it, and the bowl was less than half full and it was wrong. it wasn't even a deal at that point because I paid 50% less for only 50% of the food, therefore paying full price while waiting all evening. I complained to them and they usually offer some kind of compensation, but this time, not a word from Chipotle. that's when i decided to no longer go there.

Love to see the documentaries you make ❤. Love the fact that they are so concise and easy to understand

This fails to mention another key change they made. Before all these health outbreaks, everything was made on site at each franchise location. As fresh as food you'd likely see at a sit down restaurant. Now, in order to better control the food safety, a lot of it is now all made at central corporate sites/factories, and some of its frozen, and then shipped to these locations. For example the tomato salsa is pre made and shipped to the locations. So a lot of this stuff was cooked days ago rather than an hour ago. A lot of this had to travel miles before ending up on your plate, where before it was just a few feet Most of what you eat at Chipotle is no where near as fresh as it used to be. They are basically not that much different from any other fast food place anymore.

I love your content and it's a bit sad RU-vid doesn't recommend your videos as much.

Remember when Chipotle used to compete with the $5 sub ? Good times.

I got a bowl of GARBAGE from them. It was totally horrible food. I wanted my money back, they only offered me another bowl of garbage. Never mind, and I walked out, never to return.

The high prices and inconsistent quality have made me stop going here.

Great video. It's so depressing what has happened to my favorite on the go food spot. When our hometown got one in 2012 it was the hottest thing in town and i hit it 3-4x a week and as an adult would go on lunch breaks. As a picky eater it was the healthiest thing I'd get compared to mcdonalds/BK/chic fil A or even subway. Still no real alternatives as Qdobas are few & far between in south MA/RI. I still catch myself going sometimes and occasionally being pleased but mostly disappointed and ripped off

Back then it was a huge burrito at an affordable price, now it’s a huge price for a mediocre sized burrito

I started to make Chipotle bowls at home whenever I'm craving it, and it's been really great so far! Not only am I saving money but I get to control my portions as well. Only thing I can't seem to recreate as well is the chips.

They charge three dollars for a 25 cent bag of chips and they are not fresh anymore. You can tell it was made a previous day. I will not go back to them again.

Former manager here. Everything here is 100% accurate, but I’d like to point out one thing: the portions. Customers got so accustomed to over-portioned bowls and burritos that anything smaller looks like we’re cheating them. In actuality, portions for most ingredients are supposed to be standardized to 4 oz. What we give on online orders is actually what we were supposed to give out to both in person and online customers, but customers ALWAYS want more, which is why we over-serve on the line and not for online orders Now that chipotle is completely focused on profits, portion control for online orders is done at almost all locations, and it’s paying off. Chipotle stock has recently hit $2000 a share, due in part to controlling food costs and cutting labor across all restaurants We workers suffer too, not just the customers. You can thank our CEO, Brian Niccol, for all of this

Its the employees. Those people not only hate their jobs, but their entire existence.

I was just there and it was good. Price hike sucks but I don’t think it’s on a decline. It was jam packed at this location as well.

I love how this place is still able to operate. Majority of food poisonings stories I have heard about always seem to involve Chipotle. I cannot think of any other casual "fast" food establishment (maybe Golden Corral) where food poisoning stories are so prevalent.

Their shrinkflation is bad, but nothing compared to their mistreatment of employees and all-out attack on their attempts to negotiate for themselves. They've gone from one of my favorite places to a company I'm proud to boycott.

Shrinkflation is everywhere tbh. Mcdonald's burgers are tiny, less potato chips and more air in each bag lately, Taco Bell's tiny tacos, etc. Not justifying Chipotle's tiny burritos or whatever, but most restaurants and fast food are terrible value for money. Oh, and don't forget the tipflation rampaging around too!

I haven't noticed any difference in their quality or portion size - but I never order from mobile, I always just go in. I did notice they raised their prices, though. Also interesting to note they have experimented with new menu items - or rather, ingredients - for their protein selections. Other than those two things it's the same old Chipotle I've always known.

Can 100% confirm you get less when you order online. I got an email from them saying I’m in their top fans because of how much I ordered from them. Especially recently it’s not been very good at all! I used to be able to depend on the guacamole being good but not even that anymore.

I went to Chipotle once 7 or 8 years ago. I found it overpriced for the taste and food I got. I never returned. I definitely won't be eating there again hearing about even higher prices, smaller portions, and all these illnesses caused

Anyone else get bothered by the clips going so fast you can’t even focus?

It's true for all businesses which deal with the public these days, that they can't afford to pay their employees enough to make them actually care about their job. Chipotle, yes, seems to be heading downhill, but it's still better than other national fast food chains.

Sadly for some reason I really like the flavor of their food however no matter what I eat there I get explosive diarrhea within 30 minutes of eating there every time so I don’t eat there ever.

The only thing I know about chipotle is that their burritos leads to digestive distress.

I've never cared for Chipotle. Plus, really sad how so many of their restaurants have caused their own customers to get Hepatitis A. 🤮🤯

Anything dies when McDonalds touches it.

Loved Chipotle back in 06/early 07. Stopped for a few years, back once in 12 and 22. Not going again, way over priced with next to no meat. It's all cheap fillers advertised as farm to table.

I thought I was crazy with the portions but this was really eye opening…I was a pretty regular customer but I will start to look for other business to support instead I think

The issue with businesses in America is that everyone wants to grow, shareholders want companies to grow and so does the corporate workers too because they get paid in stock. But there is an idiot with this and the issue is you can’t continue to grow infinitely. There is a cap but the people running these companies want to cheap out and make more money. Chipotle could have just been a solid company that delivers big ass burritos and stuff like that but they want to grow their earnings more by cutting down costs which will temporarily fuel growth. But in the long run it’s unsustainable

I've never been to chipotle honestly. Though I find this incredibly interesting!

As a former chipotle employee, on the third day of my week long training, guy “training” me quit, and instead of getting any more training, I was thrown into the position. Definitely understaffed. And managements’ whole focus was to make/save the company money at whatever cost. Despite that, the food itself was up and up. Good ingredients and simple recipes

Honestly the only reason I stopped eating at Chipotle was because they changed how the Quesadillas were served lol. From the whole big piece wrapped in aluminum to now smaller pieces with sides

I remember getting the burritos in college(2008) for under $5. Now it's like $14. I stopped going because of price. Now they cheapening on portions. Well it doesn't surprise me. Cheapening on portions is also what made me stop going to panda express. Not paying $11 for two scoops of orange chicken.

Absolutely love your content! You make great videos 😄

I remembered when they opened in Paris. Their ingredients were super fresh and when I got to the cashier, they comped the whole meal bc they didn't have a credit card machine. Now a meal costs $15-$20, their ingredients are blah, staff isn't nice. On top of that, they pressured a HS student I know to come in and then fired her.

Your documentary style reminds me a lot of one of my favorite channels, LEMMiNO. I am definitely subscribed and looking forward to more videos!

It just doesnt taste the same as it did back in the day, taste has gone down price has went up.

Please take your time HORIZON in your videos, like what people said. Quality over quantity and I'll keep supporting you guys.

The irony. Thumbnail shows plummeting stocks when they are at a all time high and then saying chipotle is greedy. So is clickbait no?

well made video, and I dont really know too much on how their old prices used to be, I can say that my order is a pretty solid bowl, that I can get for around $10 with a tortilla, it is definitely expensive, but pretty solid for how much they give u, it should definitely be cheaper, but too honest its not horrible. just my opinion though ( I don't get double meat or anything)

I, my girlfriend at the time, and a bunch of friends all got super sick from the Chipotle in Burlington VT around 2018. Their entire staff walked out TWICE in the 3 years I lived there.

As someone who worked at 3 chipotles restaurants from cook to line and then grill manager before going to the navy. Chipotle most definitely starting telling is to give small portions I remember they did training on portion sizes also same goes for chips and guac they even started raising prices because of supplies but I would read the same quantity. So now imagine same quantity smaller portions and more prices shit was crazy. Worse part they even had the grill guys cut small chicken and steak so “ more “ can be scooped on the spoon and trick people with the double scoop method. My shift I took care of I made sure people got what they paid for while the other shifts always got the bad reviews never respected chipotle afterwards. Also side note they didn’t pay me my last 2 checks because of me joining the navy smh.

Honestly, thought this myself yesterday. My experience with chipotle has gotten worse and worse every time I try to get their food. Sometimes, it’s such a pain in the ass I just pass on it all together.

These videos are awesome man! I was wondering how you edit / create them, do you have a video editor or did you learn it yourself? and if so how + what softwares do you use? apologies for the interview haha