Food Theory: How to Get More Food at Chipotle… for FREE!

🌯 What is YOUR craziest Chipotle ordering story?

Imagine being the Chipotle worker and seeing Mat Pat and theorist team roll in, not knowing how you're going to be experimented on.

I work at chipotle. If it’s really busy the best thing is to be polite and try not to take up too much time because we do have numbers we have to hit. If it’s empty and you’re the only one in there we love it when you talk to us. It makes my day and I would be more inclined to be generous.

As someone who works in retail, I love when people are polite, being able to have short conversations is what makes doing my job worth it. However, there is a difference between a short conversation and a full on one. If it is during the busy time of the day I don’t want to have to be worried about socializing with a ton of people especially if there is a line forming. There is a perfect balance that people need to follow and understand.

I remember I went to a chipotle for my birthday and I ordered a bowl as usual and the woman that dished my chicken out gave me a pitiful serving and the guy that took over went back to give me an extra scoop for a normal serving. I didn’t get to properly thank him, but I still think of that moment and wish him well. Really made my day 😭💖💖 Also, awesome video Matpat!! I’ll miss you lots :D 💕💕

Once we got an entire meal for $0.54 at Chipotle cause the dude working there thought we were chill.

Worked at CFA for 3 years and took thousands of orders. Honestly, it is nice to have people engage with you and joke around, but thats really only nice once in a while. For the most part I prefer short, polite answers that are trying to be as efficient as possible, because I have a line to finish behind you thats stressing me out.

As a Chipotle worker, i have to say avoid coming in right when we open and right before we close. Open because at least at the store i work at, we save the chicken, carnitas, and barbacoa from the night before, so they are all not fresh. Avoid closing because we tend to be grumpy when someone walks through that door just before we close while we are trying to clean. Also the best way to get more food is to be nice we tend to be a bit heavy-handed if we like you. Also, do not order tacos. You will get like a quarter of the food you get in a bowl. If you really want tacos, order a bowl and pay the extra 50 cents for some side tacos shells. You will get so much more food that way. Same goes for burritos. If you know how to roll a burrito, just order a bowl with a side tortilla. You will most likely have enough food for 2 burritos there.

i’ve been working at chipotle since i was 16, im now 19 years old and i can just say that being nice helps. not having a full on conversation, but being nice and joking around a little is so nice. but honestly, the massive thing that can cause things is that people are understanding. What I mean is that if we are out of something or if someone is forced to wait we take accountability and either give them stuff for free or give them a little extra just because they had to wait. all it takes for a little extra at my chipotle is just to be slightly understanding that’s all

As someone who works at a fast food ice cream place, I prefer it when people talk to me, smile, etc. Makes my shift a lot more pleasant 😊

I work in food service and I actually hate it when customers try to engage in a full conversation. It slows down the line and stresses me out because I feel bad trying to rush them along. The absolute best thing you can do is just be polite, say your please/thank you and be up front with your order. I try to keep my service as consistent as possible, but I definitely feel more inclined to treat those who make my job easier. The problem with trying to engage in conversation is also that it’s gonna be really one sided because the worker is paid to be nice to you, it’s usually not as pleasant for them as it is for you because it’s just one more thing they need to focus on doing right

Matt and Steph— before you guys leave i just want to say thank you specifically for Food Theory. I've always been a fan but when I went off to college I got really into Food Theory and binge watched every video. It helped me recover from my restrictive eating disorder. Understanding the science behind food and what makes a healthy diet was so important and healing to see. My relationship with food has improved greatly since I got super into this channel and for that I am eternally grateful and indebted. Thank you so much for unintentional help like that. Congrats on retirement to Matt and Steph and I can't wait to see what you bring to the table (no pun intended), Santi!

I worked at a local supermarket behind the hot food counter for the entirety of my college career. When I started the intention was to keep my head down and just get it done. But there were so many people that were polite to me. Asking how my day was, patient with me when a fryer wasn't working or when I was the only one behind the counter serving a dinner rush (which happened a lot). Polite and kind customers made my time working very pleasant. I remembered more people, and even had folk ask for me by name on my days off or when is was working a different section of the deli. All in all, being polite to people is always welcome imo, it makes those that are less polite a near non factor and I'm personally inclined to bend the rules a bit and hook you up with a little extra.

so i work in food service specifically at burger king and i'll tell you this, i 100 percent appreciate people being nice even if it's busy, some people prefer to just get through but considering most of my shifts i have people who rush through their orders and treat me like i'm not even there...having someone actually treat me like a person always brightens my day

As an actual chipotle employee. My biggest tip is come at opening, everything is freshly made. Be relatively slow about it. Most of us are tired from prep work and ods are kind of stressed. So as a employee the biggest help our customers can be is treating us nicely. I always try to engage with customers and give them a little reward if I feel seen. The opposite is actually true too. If you flip me off for not having Carnites don't expect anything but the bare minimum. It's cool to see this video as an actual Chipotle Employee. Thanks Matpat!

As a former chipotle line member, I have a few thoughts: If you're going to ask for extra meat, wait until they scoop your first portion of meat. If you feel like they're skimping, you can ask for a little more of anything free of charge. Getting your bowl made in person is almost always going to get you better portions. Lastly, long time employees usually have a script that helps indecisive or shy customers decide what they want. Interrupting that with small talk really disrupts the work flow. (And we are randomly timed on the speed of our service so we need all the help we can get!)

Polite social talk while I work is something I usually appreciate, unless it’s during a rush. It’s so kind of you to ask how I’m doing but currently I’m doing busy, I don’t have any other energy to add to that convo. As long as it’s not super in depth though, the friendliness keeps me going :)

I work in food service, and I LOVE it when people are polite and pleasant. Many of my regulars are like that, and I LOVE THEM! However, we do have some as well as other customers that they will hold up lines or slow things down because they want to launch full blown conversations. Small talk is fine since we can still keep things moving. But if you’re holding up the line because you want to tell me about your week in the form of a novel, I’m not going to be quite so happy- ESPECIALLY in fast food! I also have a customer that says ‘thank you’ after every little thing, which is nice, but when you’re thanking us 10-20 times when you’re interacting with us, it’s slows things down and can even seem un-genuine to some because they say it so much! Just as needed is more than sufficient.

as someone who works in the food service industry, literally just smile and be polite. i hate when people try to engage me in an actual conversation, because it really distracts me and throws me off. i can't be rude or brush them off so i end up making more mistakes because i can't concentrate

it always depends on the employee 😂