Chipotle Mexican Grill — Restaurant in Charlotte

At lunch today, I witnessed an incident that I wanted to share with someone higher up the food chain (no pun intended) at Chipotle. I sent this to them directly, but am posting it here as well with the employee's name redacted. I don't know all the details of what happened, but some sort of altercation occurred in the line between two other customers (a male and female) while I was sitting in the dining area. X, who was operating the register at the time, told the male customer "We will not serve you, please leave" and began to escort him out. The man seemed as if he was entertained by the distress of the female customer, who was on the verge of a counterattack and taking out her anger on X (despite her efforts to help). When he dragged his feet and continued to loiter, X placed herself physically between the two customers, told the woman to "stop" and "stand back", and kept repeating "Get out" to the man until he finally left. She advised everyone to stay inside for their safety until he drove away, then apologized to all the customers after it all ended. This is not something I see every day. So many people would simply turn a blind eye and refrain from getting involved. Instead, X put herself in harm's way for a woman she didn't know. She remained calm, kind, and firm through the entire thing, despite the creepy defiance of the male customer and the angry distress of the female customer. X bore it all and kept her focus on making sure everyone was safe. Chipotle HQ - Please ensure that X is appropriately recognized for this incredibly brave and selfless act, and please put measures in place to protect her and other employees as much as possble. While I am unlikely to visit this location again, I hope you know what a gem you have in X and ensure that she is well taken care of...

It really sucks to sit and type this review because I truly use to love this location, especially when it first opened! I just knew they were gonna keep up the amazing work but no, not at all. The service was the worse! Not only that the staff was RUDE! And liars. I came in to order two bowls to go at 8:52pm & they were out of almost everything! Barely in brown rice, no veggies or gauc! Not to mention I asked the guy that made my food for a salad dressing and he LIED to me and said they were out but when I got to the register I asked the next guy and he said he would check for me and gave me one with BARELY anything in the container? Mind you I got two bowls… so I asked or another dressing and he told em they were out but as I walked over to the drink station to gather my utensils and napkins I overheard the person behind me ask for a salad dressing and they gave one to them… but yet told me they were out for the night… MIND YOU it was only 8:50/9:00pm! Seems like the night staff is more worried about getting people out of the building and cleaning up to go home rather than pleasing the customers and that’s BAD FOR BUSINESS… and I expected greatness out of this location being Chipotle is one of my favorite...

I was originally going to leave a bad review for this location, but by the time I left, things had turned around.

At first, I had a frustrating experience with an employee who seemed to have an attitude. When I asked for the Chipotle Honey Chicken, they immediately cut me off and said they were out of it—without even asking if I wanted to wait. I had to speak up and say I could wait, which turned me off right away. As someone with a lot of customer service experience, I found that interaction rude. It felt like they were blaming me for wanting something they sell—if it’s that popular, why not prepare more in advance?

I also noticed they were making way more of the regular chicken (which wasn’t running out) instead of the Chipotle Honey Chicken, which didn’t make much sense. This is the second time I’ve had a disappointing experience at Chipotle when I was excited to get something I enjoy. If this keeps happening, I might start taking my business to Moe’s or Qdoba, where I’ll hopefully find a friendlier staff and better service.

However, since things improved by the time I left, I’m giving this location 3 stars instead of a...