A Chipotle customer shared what happens when you place a mobile order to the wrong location. In his case, the location happened to be six hours away, in another state.
TikTok user Ethan (@iebot) is a self-described “pro yapper” who posted a video on July 3 from inside his vehicle. In the video, which has since amassed 478,000 views, Ethan shows off his bag of Chipotle before sharing how wrongly his meal almost went. “Tell me why my silly little [expletive] mobile-ordered my Chipotle to the Chipotle store that is six hours away,” Ethan says.
Ethan learned of his mistake after he placed his order in the mobile app. “I pull up to the little mobile order window, and I’m like, ‘Hey, I have an order for Ethan,’ and she’s like, ‘No, no you don’t,’” Ethan says. “And I was like, ‘No, yes I do,’ and she was like, ‘No, sorry, honey, no you don’t.’’
That led Ethan to check his mobile app. “Surely, there is a mobile order for Ethan, but it’s three states away,” Ethan says. “And I was like, ‘Seriously?’ You’d think they would map me and tell me, ‘Hey, this restaurant’s literally in a different time zone than you,’ but it didn’t say anything.”
What to do if you mobile-order to the wrong location
To help him get a refund, Ethan then turned to Chipotle’s chatbot. “It was so helpful,” Ethan says. “We were like kiki-ing. We were having a good little conversation. I was like, ‘Are you sure you’re not a person? Because I feel like we’re flirting right now.’ And then, sure enough, the chatbot was like, ‘Yup, 1-3 days, you’ll have your refund.’”
@iebot @Chipotle ♬ original sound – e val
Ethan says, “I was like, ‘Let me marry you, honestly.’ Because, usually, the chatbots are literally like a Dell computer from 1975. So, thank god. I got my money back. I got my order. I got a new fling with the AI bot. What more could you ask for?”
In the caption, Ethan writes, “@Chipotle AI has me smiling over here.”
Pepper is Chipotle’s chatbot
In the comments, users shared their thoughts on Pepper, which is the name of Chipotle’s artificial intelligence-based concierge chat bot. According to Chipotle, “Pepper ensures guests have an exceptional experience on the Chipotle app and Chipotle.com. Chipotle customers can select from frequently asked questions or ask their own questions to get a response quickly. Chippy joins Pepper in Chipotle’s artificial intelligence suite to improve Chipotle’s overall guest and employee experience.”
McDonald’s experimented with AI as well in recent years, but without the same results. Apparently, the chain is ending its partnership on an AI-fueled drive thru ordering project because the system was getting orders wrong.
Update 3:13pm CT, July 18: A Chipotle spokesperson told the Daily Dot when reach for comment:
“Chipotle continues to invest in emerging technology to support its digital business and reduce friction in its restaurants. The company believes technology deployed consistently and correctly can improve the human experience. Pepper, Chipotle’s AI-powered concierge chat bot, allows guests to ask questions and receive responses quickly, ensuring exceptional experiences on the Chipotle app and Chipotle.com. Additionally, if Ethan had ‘opted in’ to allow location-based technology in the Chipotle app, he would have received a prompt to confirm the pick-up location as well as order readiness.”
The Daily Dot reached out to Ethan via TikTok comment and direct message for comment.
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