15 Questions Chipotle Employees Hate Being Asked

If you ask any Chipotle employee, there are a few questions they'd prefer you not ask. While they're masters of the assembly line, some queries disrupt their burrito-rolling rhythm more than others. Sure, the employees are there to make customers happy, but not every question is created equally. Some of the requests they hate most are for combinations that don't work, or from customers who try to game the system or just aren't paying attention.

Working at Chipotle has its ups and downs. So, if you want to make the Chipotle process run more smoothly for employees, yourself, and everyone in the line behind you, there are a few things you need to know. Sometimes a seemingly innocent question can test the patience of those working to get your favorite Chipotle creation into your hands. Here's what you shouldn't be asking Chipotle employees to ensure the process will go smoothly for everyone.

Since each restaurant only makes a limited amount of Honey Vinaigrette each day, employees aren't all that thrilled when you request extra. It's so addictive that customers sometimes become irate when an employee tells them there's no more left for the day, one worker wrote.

On Reddit, one employee explains that one of the problems with asking for extra vinaigrette is that "I've gone through multiple pans of vinaigrette cause every single person asked for a minimum of four. I'm just like "you know this stuff will kill you right?" It's yummy because it's made with real honey, oil, wine vinegar, salt, pepper, and oregano. However, just two ounces of the vinaigrette is 220 calories with 16 grams of fat, 850 milligrams of sodium, and 12 grams of sugar. It's hardly the diet condiment of your dreams. Knowing the nutritional content of this addition, maybe you'll be less inclined to ask for eight servings of vinaigrette next time and make your servers just a little happier.

Yes, Chipotle menu prices have increased – just like the menu prices practically everywhere else. As of October 2023, the chain had increased its prices four times in just two years. Chipotle has raised those amounts in an attempt to offset inflation and to increase employee wages. Of course, like nearly every other food company out there raising prices, these moves also come with potentially huge revenue increases.

But there's no reason to get upset at employees for a spendier burrito. One Redditor speaks for all Chipotle employees when she says, "Don't complain about our prices to the employees at the store. We literally have no control over how much we charge for your food." It's not like they can magically get the old prices back for you, anyway. Consider that they're likely just as upset at rising food prices when they go out to eat, too.

While you're not expected to have memorized the Chipotle menu, employees hope you'll come in with at least a passing familiarity with Mexican ingredients. This means it can be a little jarring and somewhat confusing for them when you ask for ingredients by odd names.

If you're new to the restaurant, just know that the bread you'll find at Chipotle is a tortilla, not a pancake or a wrap. The white sauces available are sour cream and queso blanco, not yogurt, ranch, Alfredo sauce, or marshmallow fluff, notes one worker. You have a choice of white or brown rice (both of which have lime and cilantro) and black or pinto beans.

The salsas might be a little tricky, too. Fresh tomato salsa is the mild one. The medium ones are roasted chili-corn salsa and tomatillo-green chili salsa. And if you want to go for a hot salsa, you can choose the tomatillo-red chili salsa. You don't have to know those names by heart. Just memorize this easy list: mild, medium, corn, or hot.

As per Reddit, employees get annoyed "[w]hen people think they can fill their salad bowl over the brim with salad lettuce and then add s*** loads of ingredients on top without them falling off." Sure, the ingredients will weigh down the lettuce to a point, but there's a limit to how much will fit in the bowl when it's full of fluffy greens.

Chipotle isn't like a Mongolian BBQ restaurant, where filling the bowl beyond the rim is expected. A Chipotle employee likely isn't going to mash your ingredients down to fit more. And if they can't fit a lid on top, says one worker, that's when they start charging you for extra sides. The better option is to ask for lettuce or super green as a side rather than trying to fit it all into a bowl. That way, you can get everything you want on your salad and be charged for extra greens rather than extras of more expensive ingredients.

If you know you're going to want a lot of a certain ingredient, employees wish you'd ask for it upfront. According to a worker on Reddit, "Don't leave the employee guessing or trying to figure out what you want because no one is a mind reader." If you know you want triple rice or double meat, ask for it from the start rather than eking out your order bit by bit.

Asking for more rice is a particular employee pet peeve at Chipotle because, the more rice they give everyone, the faster they go through it all. Then, they have to go through the process of making more rice. It's all the worse when customers throw their extra rice out, especially when it's for no reason. As per an employee on Reddit, "I heard recently that there's a 'Chipotle hack' that if you get more rice you'll get more meat because everything has to be proportional to the rice. I shut that down real quick but I think that might be why." If you want extra meat, simply ask for extra meat rather than extra rice.

According to one Redditor and Chipotle employee, workers get especially peeved when someone walks in and says, " 'I put in an online order but it says it won't be ready for 30 minutes, can I just get it now?' Sure, let me put your order ahead of the 8 other people who didn't put in their order while they were sitting in the parking lot." Just because you're present in the flesh doesn't mean you can jump the line. Just like everyone else, you still have to wait for your turn in the queue. In other words, ordering online isn't a shortcut to get your faster, as the amount of time estimated on the app takes into account all the orders ahead of yours.

That said, you're often welcome to wait inside in case your order is done early. However, it shouldn't be an expectation, especially if the restaurant is busy.

The assembly line format doesn't work very well if you come in alone with multiple orders to go. It's much better if everyone on your ticket can walk through the line and order for themselves or if you've got everything planned out in advance — and tell the employees at the beginning. 

If you're walking in alone and have more than one order, you should let the employees know upfront (via Reddit). However, if you have more than three orders, it's even better etiquette to order online. Sure, you can make an order for 15 people all at once going through the line and the employees have to make it for you ... but should you? It's more courteous to the employees and everyone else in line to make big orders online, especially if it's busy. After all, you still pick it up in person.