Lynch was inspired to make his original video after visiting a Chipotle and seeing a customer ahead of him ask for half chicken and half steak. When that customer got small portions of both, he shrugged his shoulders and walked out of the restaurant, leaving the employee holding a half-made bowl, according to Lynch. Lynch said he also got a small amount of protein when it was his turn to order, but didn’t walk out.
“You want to speak up, but you don’t want to be confrontational,” Lynch said of asking employees to add more to orders. “But when you do speak up, sometimes they charge you double for a regular portion. You just want to be made whole.”
While Lynch has not filed a lawsuit against Chipotle, other chains have recently faced litigation related to food preparation.
In August, a New York man filed a lawsuit against Taco Bell alleging the chain does not make its food the way it is shown in advertisements. The same man filed a lawsuit last year accusing McDonald’s and Wendy’s of selling burgers that were not as big and juicy as advertised. The lawsuit against Taco Bell was dismissed, court records show, while McDonald’s and Wendy’s won its lawsuit against the man. A U.S. judge in August ruled that Burger King must face a lawsuit claiming its depiction of Whoppers in in-store menus made it appear bigger than it is.
In March, a Chicago man sued Buffalo Wild Wings, saying the company’s “boneless wings” aren’t wings at all, but chicken breast tenders. (The case appears to still be pending.) In 2017, a judge dismissed a lawsuit aimed at Subway that claimed the sandwich chain’s footlong subs measured shorter than 12 inches long.
Other brands have benefited from addressing negative reviews head-on. Recently, The North Face turned a viral TikTok of an angry, wet customer complaining that her The North Face jacket was not waterproof, into a win for the brand with a response video and delivery of a new jacket.
For the third quarter ending Sept. 30, Chipotle reported a 5% increase in comparable restaurant sales, pointing to more transactions and higher average check totals.
“Chipotle is doing really well, I think because so many people have adopted it as a healthy, ‘I can’t make dinner’ option,” Lynch said. “It sucks when that relationship sours.”