We’ve all been feeling the sting of inflation for some time now, with prices going up again this spring. Some consumers have decided to take things into their own hands at popular fast food chain Chipotle.
These social media users believe their burrito bowls have been getting skimpier. In response, the “Chipotle phone method” video trend was born: while they go through the process of picking their ingredients, customers film the process with their smartphones. Advocates of the method claim that employees will be more generous while being filmed.
“The Chipotle challenge started after some customers complained about shrinkflation, claiming they were paying the same as they had in the past but getting less for their money,” said Inside Edition. “Chipotle’s CEO denies that their portion sizes have gotten smaller.”
People have been complaining about “skrinkflation,” or portion sizes getting smaller as prices stay the same or get bigger, for years. For example, Audacy reported about shrinkflation woes back in 2022.
Last summer, Audacy also warned consumers that Chiptole and McDonald’s shared that they expected prices to rise following the passing of a minimum wage bill in California. According to first quarter financial results from Chipotle, the company’s total revenue increased 14.1% to $2.7 billion and comparable restaurant sales increased 7.0%.
“TikToker and Teacher Miss G (@tik.tok.teacher) has thrown her hat into the conversation about portion sizes at Chipotle,” said Daily Dot. “Her theory? Chipotle managers are secretly encouraging employees to be generous with portions if they spot a camera.”
She also shared a video of her results from doing the “Chipotle phone method” hack herself. People in the comments mostly agreed that it did in fact look like her bowl was fuller than her boyfriend’s, who went ahead of her and did not record with his phone. One commenter said they think Chipotle is “scared” and that they didn’t even need to film to get a generous delivery order.
As for Chipotle, it “swiftly acknowledged the trend on the platform, making itself part of the social media discourse,” according to AdAge.
“POV u work at Chipotle rn,” said the text on a TikTok video from the Chipotle account. It showed a crowd of people lifting up their phones to record the service line.
That video was a joke, but some of the other TikTok videos of the trend didn’t look too far off. User LawrenceFinesso shared a video where he and several others were filming Chipotle employees at the same time. In that case, the workers apparently weren’t taking it, and one even threatened to call authorities. In 2018, The Verge covered the ins and outs of when it is permissible to film people in public and said that it is legal for the most part.