Chipotle employee claims they were fired for “grazing” on shift despite being told to taste test
Joe Raedle via MashedA disgruntled Chipotle allegedly employee was fired for eating tortilla chips on shift, even though staff are supposedly told to taste test food for quality assurance.
An employee who had been working at Chipotle for just over a month was allegedly fired for doing something that staff are told to do, and they are not happy about it.
According to other employees, taste tasting is encouraged by the franchise to ensure that the food is tasting as it should.
The employee made a post on social media asking for advice from other Chipotle employees about whether this firing was fair.
Fired for eating a tortilla chip at work
It was the first time that this person had been “put on chips” and was responsible for frying up those tortilla chips that are essential with any burrito at Chipotle. The person who had worked this station the night before had used the wrong oil in the fryer, and the employee was concerned about how this would affect the flavor of the chips.
DelishThe employee then claims that they were tasting the chips to ensure that they were up to standard, and that their trainer had told them to, “taste every two to three batches to make sure they were coming out okay.”
Based on what they had been told, the employee saw no problem with trying a tortilla chip or two, but was later called into the office by their assistant general manager and fired for “grazing.”
The employee was furious and stated that this had caught them by surprise, alleging that there was, “No warning. No write-up. No nothing.” They then added that their general manager contacted them after the fact and said that they were also being fired because they were “learning too slowly.”
The former employee was distraught and posted asking other Chipotle employees for advice as they claim they were unable to sign up for unemployment benefits because, “grazing is considered theft.” Adding, “What the f**k dude, f**k this place, are you f**king kidding me?”
Another Chipotle employee commented on the post, reaffirming that Chipotle does indeed encourage its staff to try the food:
Although it is not specified whether the former employee was able to get their old job back after being allegedly unfairly dismissed, it is clear that they were furious with the situation and will not make the mistake of getting caught eating on shift again.