People are likening a Panda Express customer’s reaction to the portions he received to the series of Chipotle boycott videos that have been cropping up on social media. However, Mathieu (@mathieu.315), the TikToker in question, received criticism for the way he handled his order, with many saying he was being disrespectful.
The clip begins with Mathieu recording a Panda Express worker who is preparing his meal. “Can I do the friend rice,” he says, tapping his finger several times in the direction of the fried rice bowl.
“Can I do more fried rice?” he requests again after the workers continue to scoop the ingredients into his container. “More fried rice,” he says again.
“As an entree?” the woman asks, holding the container after she placed several scoops of fried rice inside of it. “No, just a little more,” the TikToker tells her.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah, and for your entree?” she asks, but Mathieu gets stuck on the rice.
He points to part of the rice bow. “Can I just get that piece of egg that’s right there,” he asks her as she continues to scoop more rice into the to-go box.
“It’s like right there alone?” he says. The employee obliges him, scooping the little bit of egg up, so it can join the rest of the food in Mathieu’s plate.
“Yeah, the piece of egg. And for the entree, I’ll do the orange chicken,” he says before heading on over to the proteins, tapping against the glass.
“Orange chicken,” he says again, continuing to tap.
The worker gives him a scoop of the entree, and he taps the glass again. “And I’ll do another orange chicken? Can I get one more piece of orange chicken on top of the rice?” he requests. “Like just one more piece?”
The worker seemingly ignores the customer’s request. “All right. Is that it for you, sir?” she asks.
“No, just one more piece, like one,” he says, continuing to point to the orange chicken.
It sounds like the woman denies his request, and Mathieu let his followers know just what he thought about her refusal. “Terrible service,” the text overlay reads. That’s followed by two angry face emoji.
He then asks for a second entree option, pointing to the “grilled teriyaki chicken.” He taps the glass several times more. She cuts up a piece of the grilled teriyaki chicken to place inside of a side container for Mathieu, who continues to tap on the glass, not saying anything. “Can I get that piece that’s right there?” he says, pointing to a bit of chicken left on the cutting board.
“Did you want another portion ? Cause I already have put it in the box,” she says to him.
“No, on the board. There’s one piece of chicken right there,” he tells her before she replies that it “doesn’t even fit” in the box for the portion of grilled teriyaki chicken he requested.
“Can you put it inside the white one?” he asks. She holds up the smaller red container filled with the second protein and explains that that contains the amount he purchased. He doesn’t let up, however, and asks the employee again if she can place it “inside the little white box.”
The employee denies his request again, which Mathieu isn’t happy with. “Definitely leaving,” he says via text overlay.
He asks for a second portion of the grilled teriyaki chicken, tapping on the glass over and over again as she cuts into it.
She begins to bring his food to the register. Mathieu, however, seems to walk in another direction, “Outa here,” a voice narrates as the video closes out.
@mathieuu.315 Panda express skimps on servings #pandaexpress #foodie #leave #viral ♬ original sound – Mathieu
Most TikTokers, including those with Panda express work experience, seemed appalled by the TikToker’s behavior.
“I used to work for Panda Express. We are only allowed to put what fits in the box we can’t squeeze more in there unless you ask to get another. Your rude and she just doing her job. So stop pointing your fingers at the glass lol,” one commented.
“I used to work at Panda Express and our biggest pet peeve was when people would point and tap on the glass,” another said.
Others applauded the way the worker handled the situation. “I love that she was telling you no,” a third said.
However, there were some viewers who actually thought his video was satire and commentary on Chipotle customers. “Y’all don’t get the joke he trying to act like the people who buy burritos at chipotle,” one viewer speculated.
However, Mathieu is not the first internet user to complain about Panda Express portion sizes.
One Redditor said, “A Panda Express near me began serving smaller portions than usual recently.” They then posed the question, “Is this happening elsewhere as well?”
The post, which was uploaded around two years ago, received a ton of responses. Many Panda Express workers claimed that higher ups are strict with portion sizes and that the poster was likely getting over-served before. “Panda’s prices haven’t increased with inflation. Since profit margins are tighter, managers have to be more conscious that associates are serving the correct amount,” one commenter claimed.
It also appears that heading into fast casual restaurants and commenting on/demanding employees give him more food is a recurring theme among many of Mathieu’s videos. The TikToker has previously uploaded a clip that shows him requesting an employee assemble a monster, four-tortilla burrito for him.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Panda Express via email and to Mathieu via TikTok comment for further information.
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