Perhaps you’ll be able to maintain your cellphone tucked away subsequent time you place an order at Chipotle.
Buyer complaints about Chipotle’s portion sizes have prompted the chain to verify its bowls and burritos are “extra constant” at its 3,500 places, CEO Brian Niccol stated on an earnings name Wednesday.
“We’ve targeted in on these with outlier portion scores primarily based on client surveys, and we’re reemphasizing coaching and training round making certain we’re persistently making bowls and burritos accurately,” Niccol stated through the name.
Niccol stated that “there was by no means a directive to offer much less to our clients.”
“Beneficiant parts is a core model fairness of Chipotle,” he stated. “It at all times has been and it at all times will likely be.”
Chipotle’s crackdown on differing portion sizes comes after some clients posted on TikTok and different social media platforms claiming that they weren’t getting as a lot protein of their bowls and burritos as they used to.
One such video on TikTok exhibits influencer Keith Lee looking out by means of a bowl for a bit of hen.
Others claimed that clients may fight skimpy parts of meat by whipping out their smartphones and filming as they ordered in-store — a transfer they hoped would immediate workers to offer them some additional meals.
The talk over Chipotle’s portion sizes even led one Wall Avenue analyst to order and weigh 75 bowls from totally different eating places to see if there have been disparities. (There have been, he discovered.)
Nonetheless, all of the drama would not appear to have harm the chain an excessive amount of. Chipotle’s second-quarter outcomes beat analysts’ expectations. Income for the quarter rose 18% to $3 billion.
The Mexican grill chain elevated costs in California earlier this 12 months after a brand new minimal wage regulation took impact in that state. General, meals, drink, and packaging prices stayed regular this quarter in comparison with the identical interval in 2023, Chipotle stated, however it’s needed to take care of greater avocado costs, in response to its earnings launch.
Executives additionally stated on Wednesday’s name that they hope that they will not have to extend costs once more in 2024.
Do you’re employed at Chipotle or one other restaurant chain and have a narrative thought to share? Attain out to this reporter at abitter@businessinsider.com
