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Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Chipotle's prices going up, portion sizes going down
Posted by dholm on Wed, Jan 28, 2009 at 2:22 PM
Something very frightening is happening at Chipotle.
In the past 6-8 weeks I have observed some dramatic changes the restaurant chain has made to its pricing structure and portion sizes.
First let's reflect on what Chipotle used to be:
- A commitment to naturally raised products with no chemicals or preservatives.
- Salsas, guacamole, cheese, beans, rice, and meat prepared on an open grill, made fresh daily.
- Moderate/affordable pricing for a high quality neo-Mexican experience: just under $6 for an entree and 75 cents for chips. (Not bad considering what you could pay at many other places)
- Large portions that fill you up, and extras when you ask the employees.
Now, what's different?
The prices have increased substantially. Burritos, Bowls etc depending on the meat you get have risen about 25 cents in price (this may vary depending on where you live). A brown bag of chips has gone up from 75 cents to $1.15. The guac price and drink price has also gone up.
That's not even the worse part: the portions are shrinking, significantly.
At the old Chipotle you used to receive a generous helping of rice, beans and meat. They used to cover your entree with as much cheese as you want and smother it in salsa and sour cream. Now however, it's quite the contrary.
Sure, you still get a nice portion of rice and beans (after all those are cheap). But they have gotten very stingy on the meat and cheese. A few weeks ago, when the employee dropped about 3 pieces of chicken on my bowl, I asked him for more (not "double" meat, just the appropriate amount for a single serving). He put more on for me but then said, "I'm really not suppose to do that, they have cameras watching us."
WHAT!?!?! Since when does Chipotle monitor and track how much food their employees are serving up?
The cheese situation is worse. Personally I like a lot, I mean a lot of cheese on my bowl. Now the employees are sprinkling about 16 shredded pieces of cheese on top. I find myself asking 2-3 times for more cheese until they finally get it right.
This might sound silly to you, after all it's just a few cents right? You might not have even noticed. But that extra change adds up to be a substantial price increase to your final bill. Depending on what you order your final check total may rise $2-$3. That's a lot for a "fast casual" chain with no table service.
Before we go out to eat in a restaurant we all have a number in mind of what we want to spend. It might be $15, $25 or $50 depending on where you're going to eat. For places like Chipotle, Panera or Moe's, that number should be significantly less than what you would pay at a full service restaurant.
I used to plan on spending about $13-$14 at Chipotle. Now that number has risen to over $15. That's irritating. For a larger family of 3 or 4 it could mean a price change of $28 to over $30....suddenly things feel very different.
The real question is - when will it stop? When will it be enough to make you stop going? This price change/portion reduction was something Chipotle did for themselves, not for us the customer. In these challenging times I can imagine that their price to serve us high quality food has risen. So instead of coming up with alternative solutions they have pushed that on to the customers to pay.
Doesn't seem right to me.
Comments (12)
Showing 1-12 of 12
Dholm, Hello there! It sounds like you have been a fan of our restaurants in the past, and we are glad for that. I’m sorry this hasn’t continued into the present. I work for Chipotle, so I hope you don’t mind a brief rejoinder. It’s true that we did recently raise prices in many of our restaurants across the country, and we apologize for the sticker shock you are experiencing of late. Unfortunately, with the climbing costs of food, and also the overall uncertainties of long-term cost projections for food and transportation, many restaurants must raise prices these days - I am sure you have noticed this at your local grocery store too. We held off for as long as we could, but we could not wait any longer. It's certainly not fun for us to know that we needed to raise prices, and we definitely understand that our customers don't like such things either. But unfortunately if we had kept our prices the same as they were, then we would eventually need to stop serving the high quality foods we serve now. We don't want to reverse those standards, not ever. "Food With Integrity," as we call it, has us looking at every ingredient we use and how we can get foods from more sustainable sources that raise animals and grow produce in ways that respect the environment, the animals, and the people who raise and grow the food. It's really a new perspective on eating. Already, we serve more naturally raised meat (meat coming from animals that are raised in a humane way, never given antibiotics or added hormones, and fed a pure vegetarian diet) than any other restaurant in the world. All of our cheese and sour cream is made with milk from cows that are not treated with the synthetic hormone rBGH (used to stimulate milk production in dairy cattle). And an increasing percentage of the beans we use are organically grown (increasing as additional supply becomes available). And we keep pushing ourselves to learn more about all of the ingredients we use and how we can improve them. It's one of the ways we're changing the way the world thinks about and eats fast food. As for our portions, we definitely have not decreased them. They’re still the same, and we aim to keep it that way. While it’s true that occasional employees and restaurants of ours can make temporary mistakes, this is not something we have decided to do on purpose or anything insidious like that. We would be happy to discuss your concerns with our team at whichever restaurant you normally frequent, since again, there should have been no decreases in portions. Can you tell me please which of our restaurants this would be (I’m assuming it’s somewhere in the Tampa area)? We’ll get this fixed. And while it’s true that “double meat” will alas cost extra, a normal portion of meat should never cost extra, and you should be able to get as much cheese as you want without trouble. I hope these things make sense, and we also hope you’ll give us another shot. Sincerely, Joe Stupp Chipotle
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It's really too bad. Chipotle's food used to be of such a high quality (and quantity). 2 years ago, I went to the one on Westshore (for the first time eating at the chain) and was really surprised by both the value and the taste. I'd been there a few times since and have noticed the same trend you have. At this point, I end up going to Moe's for their $5 Mondays and have been passing Chipotle by. It's too bad, really. I know Joe Stupp says that they haven't decreased serving size, but he's absolutely wrong. The last several times I've been there, the servings have been getting smaller and smaller. I'd dare say the burritos are 20% smaller than they were even a year ago. Is 20% worth bitching about? It is when you're paying 10% more.
A few months ago my friend Matt and I tried the Bradenton Chipotle for lunch. It was okay, but nothing special. And on our way beck to my house Matt commented, "We passed by three real Mexican restaurants on the way there. Why didn't we go to one of them instead?" Good question. And we actually passed by four, but one of them (the best IMO) was/is hidden in the back of a little strip mall. There is no reason to go to Chipotle when you have Tacqueria Ranchita (or equivalent) nearby. Yes, you either need to order in Spanish or point unless one of their few English-speakers is on duty, but so what? Everyone who lives in La Florida should speak at least enough Spanish to order in a Mexican restaurant, right? :)
PS -- all of the local owner-operated Mexican restaurants I favor charge less than Chipotle, and they all give you free chips as soon as you sit down.
I find it interesting that Joe Stupp didn't touch on the cameras on the employees. Even if Chipotle has told employees to keep portions the same, employees will be on the cautious side if cameras are watching.
real niggas dont care if a camera is watchin or not i bellieve in servin the right amount thats why i dont go to chipolte and never been, cuzz when i see other peoples food from there it looks like alot of rice and lettuce but no meat on there for real, i go to real mexican resturants like el rancho where the food is great and u get good portions u never leave disappointed
I'm so happy I found this thread. I just had to call the Marlton, NJ Chopotle today because:
1. They charged me for a burrito that I never ordered.
2. I ordered rice and beans only for my daughter, and when we got home and opened the lid we all gasped. Seriously? literally about 15 little beans.
3. When I called the store, someone answered with "hello" only and sd they were the manager and they couldn't speak a lick of English to understand what I was so upset about.
I had my first Chipotle experice in Columbus, Ohio, 5 yrs ago and as far as I was concerned, it was the BEST at the time. I moved to the East coast and the portions are horrible....and if you ask for a "little more" they literally give you a "little". If Chipolte would just keep their portions the way they used to be, there wouldn't be a discussion about the increase. I'm a firm believer in getting what you pay for. Sooner or later, Chipolte is going to ruin a good thing and people are just going to get sick of it. They shouldn't think that some where, some how, another "great idea" food chain isn't gonna top them. So Mr. Stupp, instead of talking circles....listen to what the public is saying. After all, is is US who are making your pay check happen. If you want to continue getting it. Serevice your customers first.
The portions definitely have been cut back at the Chipotle on West 46th St. in Manhattan. Even in salads, a small handful of lettuce and 3/4 serving spoon of black beans. The kids who serve look guilty just doing it. It's happened to me on every visit the last couple of months, and the measures are very exacting. You have to ask for extra meat just to fill up. Crossing it off my list.
I agree with the article fully; i haven't been to chipotle in the summer but starting of the school year in the austin area near the campus I went and the servings are the same way that jersey girl said; it is so few and usually one would fill me up but now it does not;when i got the burrito it wasn't even filled up at all (it was like i was mostly just eating the tortilla part of the burrito) and i didn't even ask to put as many things as other people and yet the servings were so small. the prices have gone up and servings less; you can't do both things to keep happy customer; maybe if you did one of those i wouldn't be typing in this blog about this; i believe it is just cheaper to make a chipotle burrito on your own just get the ingredients and you can put as much stuff you want and less expensive; i know i won't go to chipotle as frequently(more like i will now go once a month or less) as i went before because lets just face it; it is too expensive and there are cheaper places to eat that gives more quantity and that have the same quality of food and at least i won't have to ask them to give me more of something to put in my burrito; that's enough of my spiel on chipotle
A chicken burrito from chipotle has 38 grams of fat, and close to 1000 calories if you get rice, black beans, cheese, sour cream, lettuce and tomato salsa. If you get guacamole, its well over 1000 and like 51 grams of fat. They're doing you a favor.
I have always loved Chipotle but as of late they have become very stingey when it comes the the portion of meat they give you here in Western MD. I know were in a recession but come on. No one wants to pay $7+ for a burrito filled with rice and a tablespoon of meat. I'll be taking my business back to California Tortilla where the portions are worth what you pay for.
Simply put, as a company you DO NOT raise prices while simultaneously decreasing the amount of food you serve! One or the other but not both!!! Especially when you are known for your large portions. I do not care what is happening with the economy! When I go to Chipotle I order a veg burrito bowl with no cheese and no sour cream. I have to ask for extra beans, veggies and rice just to fill up the bowl. And then they go and charge extra. Seriously, no meat cheese or sour cream and I'm getting charged extra. Its a joke! It's almost humorous when they put the rice in the bowl - instead of two heaping spoons full you get one little dinky scoop and it looks lost in the bowl! Watch, instead of correcting their errors here, Chipotle will just make the burrito bowl containers smaller!
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