‘They added a button on the POS system’: Ex-Chipotle worker says $1.65 charge for vinaigrette is ‘just the beginning’
Customers and employees have been sharing reports of their usual Chipotle orders incurring extra charges after asking for additional servings of their favorite ingredients. One former Chipotle worker's response to a customer's complaint suggests this is only the beginning of price increases.
The customer shared a video alerting viewers that the Mexican-inspired chain is starting to charge customers for sides of sauces like its popular honey vinaigrette dressing. In a stitched clip, the former Chipotle employee says that customers can and should expect other items to begin incurring additional costs.
In her video posted to TikTok, user Dulce (@dazed_dulce) says she and other employees were warned by the company that charges for dressing on the side were a long time coming, and that customers can expect to see this happen with just about any additions they ask for.
"The employees have been knowing that they're going to start charging for the past three years," she says. "About two years ago they added a button on the [point-of-sale] system that allowed us to put 'vinaigrette' every time someone asked for a vinaigrette when they didn't get a salad."
Dulce says that even when customers asked for additional viniagrette after placing their orders, workers would have to put it into the POS system. "Now listen, it also went as far as whenever you get your food, you go sit down and say, 'Oh, I think I want a little bit of the sauce, let me go ask for one.' You would just go up to the register like, 'Hey, can I just have a side of vinaigrette, I already paid for my food, I just want a little bit extra sauce,'" she explains. "They'd say, 'Yeah, no problem.' Well, even though you already paid for your food, you got your ticket, we would still have to go into the POS system and click 'Side of vinaigrette,' that way the system kept up with how many vinaigrettes we were giving out."
She says in the video that this button was added to track how many free sides of vinaigrettes were being handed out, not only to keep track of inventory but also for the company to determine if enough vinaigrette was being given away that it should begin charging for it.
Similarly, Dulce says she and other employees were instructed by the company to charge customers for additional side items beyond an initial two sides—even if they just wanted to have the components of their burrito packaged separately to prevent sogginess.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Dulce via comment on the video, as well as to Chipotle via email regarding the video.
This is not the first time someone online has claimed Chipotle has begun charging for side items. In 2022, another customer warned viewers that a hack for a $2 burrito left him paying for each component of the item that relied on "free" side items. In October 2023, Chipotle shared that some menu items would see a price increase come 2024, but the exact increase was not shared.
Several viewers commented on the video that if prices were to increase because the restaurant chain began charging for more items, they simply would not go.
@dazed_dulce #stitch with @Chris Traina What do you think? Should they charge extra for sides or keep them free? ???? #chipotlehacks #downfallofchipotle #chipotleemployee #customerserviceproblems #restaurantlife #extracharge #lifeinusa #thefallofusa #downfallofusall #fyp #chipotle #capitalism #thatswhyimbroke ♬ original sound - Dazed Dulce ????????
"It’s already 20$ for a bowl and a drink …. Like I just won’t go lol," one commenter wrote.
"I don’t go to chipotle anymore," another said. "I would rather spend the same amount of money and get way more food at one of the many Mexican taco trucks in my city."
"I am not going back!" a third added. "I refuse to pay inflation prices and only get half a scoop of rice and beans."
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