Chipotle Responds To TikTokers Claiming Portion Sizes Are Now Smaller!
By Melanie VanDerveer on May 24, 2024 at 8:42 PM EDT
Nothing quite gets by TikTokers! Many have claimed that they feel the portion sizes at Chipotle have suddenly gotten smaller, but the fast-casual restaurant said that's not the case.
After sharing videos on TikTok showing smaller portion sizes, many are now filming their bowls being made and said that's the reason they're getting more food than ever before.
TikTokers Claim Chipotle Changed Their Portion Sizes - Including Keith Lee!
It all started when wildly popular TikTok content creator and food reviewer Keith Lee noticed that his usual Chipotle order wasn't hitting the same as in the past, and he wanted to figure out why.
Lee bought a steak quesadilla with corn and sour cream on the side with fajita veggies, a chicken al pastor bowl, and crispy tortillas with chicken, cheese, sour cream, and mild salsa. He also had the vinaigrette on the side, as usual.
It started great with the tacos that he rated an 8 out of 10. He then tried the bowl. Before diving in, he said, "The portions been crazy low." After digging around a bit looking for chicken, he finally found a piece at the bottom.
"I don't taste much flavor. Everything is freezing cold. When I say freezing cold, this tastes like it was in the refrigerator," he said. "It's just not, I don't know if it's the quality, I don't know if it's the seasonings, the time, I don't know what it is, but this is not, and the amount of chicken."
He then counted the chicken and said he only saw four pieces in the entire bowl.
Keith Lee's Viewers Chimed In On Chipotle's Portion Sizes
Before concluding his video, Lee tried the quesadilla, which was something he used to rate a 10, but not this time.
"I'm not making a joke when I say this. This steak tastes like Steak-Umms, frozen steak," he said. "There's not much flavor on it." He then rated it a 2.5!
His TikTok video went viral with more than 15.7 million views and 22,000 comments!
"Keith Lee calling out Chipotle on their servings was needed," one viewer shared in the comment section. Another added, "My chipotle hasn’t been the same in a while."
Keith Lee Wasn't Alone In His Opinion About The Portion Sizes
Other TikTokers also shared their frustrations about their Chipotle orders being a smaller portion than in the past, and the restaurant responded with a joke on their TikTok page.
Their video shows a bunch of customers with their phones out taking videos and pictures of their orders being made because of some of the things they've heard and seen online.
Bri, a content creator, shared a video explaining the "new cell phone rule."
"I'm gonna be going to Chipotle to test out their new cell phone rule. Now apparently, the cell phone rule is where the managers have told their employees that if somebody walks in with the phone and starts recording the process of making the bowl, that they need to load up their bowls," she said.
"Now if this is true, I think it's cause they've caught onto the fact that people are leaving without paying if their bowls aren't filled up correctly."
See the full video here.
Chipotle Responded About Portion Sizes
In addition to their joke video about people filming their bowls being made, Chipotle responded to TikTokers claiming the portion sizes have suddenly gotten smaller.
Laurie Schalow, chief corporate affairs and food safety officer at Chipotle told PEOPLE that "there have been no changes in [the company's] portion sizes."
"Our intentions are to provide a great experience every time, and our meals have always been completely customizable so guests can vocalize or digitally select their desired portions when choosing from the list of real ingredients," she said.
After All The Complaints, Are Portion Sizes Suddenly Bigger Than Before?
Mark, a content creator, recently shared a video captioned, "Chipotle is starting to give massive portion sizes because of people being upset when they have their phone out."
So did all the complaining on TikTok work? According to Mark, it may have.
"Chipotle is now starting to give massive portion sizes because of the boycott," he said in his video. "So ever since Chipotle has gotten more expensive while serving less portions and having quality go down, they've been under a lot of heat online to the point where it became a trend for people to start walking out whenever they're unhappy with their food."
He also said that the restaurant has seen a decline in customers over the past few weeks. But now after many spoke up, multiple people on TikTok who work at Chipotle have claimed that upper management is telling them to "fill up Chipotle bowls whenever customers have their phone out."
His video received more than 3 million views and tons of comments.
"Confirmed just went to Chipotle today the size was LIKE TWICE," one person wrote in the comment section. Another said, "I work at Chipotle and the manger told us to fill up the bowls if people are recording."