Food inflation has seen a massive spike in the cost of groceries, which has subsequently affected the prices of food-away-from-home items, like fast-food establishments and restaurants.
While a number of popular food retailers have been lambasted in social media posts online, some are receiving more ire than others, like Chipotle. The massive Mexican-style fare, assembly line-style chain was once praised for its heaping portions and competitive price points, but now, a number of former Chipotle die-hards are slamming the franchise for its purported grimy tactics of giving less food to online orders, incomplete menu orders despite charging diners full-price for said items.
But the most recurring complaint has to be the throngs of diners who are perpetually shocked at Chipotle constantly upping the cost of its items.
Something that TikToker and Chipotle employee Alejandro Pagan (@aliwuzhere) says will happen again in a viral post. Despite their expected upset, he implores Chipotle customers to keep their complaints about the jacked-up cost of its food away from his ears.
“I don’t wanna catch no smoke, let me tell you why,” he says in a text overlay of the video, rocking his Chipotle uniform while working in one of the chain’s locations.
“Prices have now changed,” he says, pointing his camera to the digital menu board, highlighting the cost of the restaurant’s offerings. “Okay mira, mira, now that you know the price of a chicken bowl went from $9.09 to $9.37, do not come for me, ’cause I warned you. And if you see this please let your friends know that the prices at Chipotle went up 30 cents this week so please, please come correct. Or don’t come at all.”
CNBC highlighted how Chipotle began spiking its prices in June 2021, writing that although the rate of inflation has slowed down (it’s still going up, just at not as rapid of a pace) another price hike will occur in October 2023, which is the increase Pagan points out in his video.
The spike occurred about a year after a string of increases within a 13-month span. CNN reported that Chipotle’s Chief Corporate Affairs Officer Laurie Scharlow has attributed the spike as a means of “offset inflation.”
A number of die-hard customers have expressed their gripes with Chipotle’s prices, some who even went as far as to accuse one restaurant of hiding the cost of its items on menus. Still, all of the talk about boycotting the restaurant hasn’t appeared to have affected Chipotle’s bottom line.
In fact, Chipotle’s profits are stronger than they’ve ever been. CNN went on to quote the brand’s CEO, Brian Niccol, stating that they haven’t noticed significantly waning purchasing from “the lower-income consumer” and added “that the brand’s foot traffic trends have been healthy. Chipotle’s total revenue grew 13.6%, hitting $2.5 billion, in the quarter ending June 30. Sales at restaurants open at least 13 months jumped 7.4%.”
@aliwuzhere PRICE UPDATE!!! SHARE WITH FRIENDS!! *Prices differ from state to state* #chipotle #tiktober #day23 #newprices ♬ original sound – Alejandro Pagán
So even though customers say they’ve been heading over to Cava instead, Chipotle’s bank account isn’t feeling the burn.
A number of commenters who replied to Pagan’s video basked in the glory of Chipotle’s former menu item prices.
“Everything going up but my salary,” one user said.
“I remember it was 7.25,” someone else wrote.
“I remember chicken was 6.50 before chipotle went viral,” another remarked.
“Back in 2018 I use to pay $6.85 for a chicken bowl,” one other commenter penned.
There was one Chipotle customer who said that despite paying more for their food with the franchise, they’ve noticed a marked dip in quality. “Prices up but quality is down,” they said.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Chipotle via email and Pagan via Instagram direct message for further comment.
