Chipotle Mexican Grill — Restaurant in Lake Oswego

Third time is the charm ...

Choptle has been one of those "go-to" eateries for my family when we order out. The Centerpointe location is both the closest to our house and is about a 15-minute walk from the office for me, so it seems I order around 10-15 individual meals per month on average.

I went there tonight (30 Aug at 5:30 pm) and encountered the worst of a string of recent degraded experiences. The initial server on the line rushed me through exaggeratedly, which I get during a lunch rush, but I was the only person in line. They were running low on several ingredients, so her solution was to add a fraction of the normal amount of each of those ingredients without any attempt to compensate with anything else. The resulting bowl was about half of the volume, compared to what I'm used to. Between seeing my bowl put together and being rushed through the line, I forgot to order for my wife, and I got the last scrap of veggies, so I went to the end of the line, knowing I'd have to wait for the veggies to finish cooking. When the veggies were back up, they moved the incoming customers through the line before processing our orders (there was also a guy in front of me waiting for veggies). They had made the rest of our bowls and put some veggies in a little sauce container that the cashier handed to me after the 15-minute wait with a "There you go." I'd have appreciated some acknowledgement of the wait.

The Lake Oswego Centerpointe Drive location (and Tualatin, which we also go to less frequently) are generally well-run, but I've had a streak of bad luck lately at the Centerpointe Drive location that I want to make the owners aware of. This story starts out on a positive note ... as most Chipotle-enthusiasts know, Chipotle runs out of an ingredient now and again, and a little over a month ago, that happened, and I got a pleasant surprise after the wait when they handed me a 2-for-1 (BOGO) card. Since then, I've gone to Chipotle about four times, and I don't carry the coupon with me. During that time, they are generally out of one ingredient or another. They do a lot of business at lunchtime, so I'm more understanding when there is a lunch rush. I finally remembered to take the coupon with me last week, when getting dinner for my wife and me, and it turns out that the BOGO coupon had just expired and wouldn't be accepted. My bad - need to read the fine print, but still left with the nagging feeling that the coupon was valid for less than a month, so the visit where I received it felt like a double-disappointment.

I came home tonight with my Chipotle bowls feeling dumb for continuing to do business at an establishment with slipping standards. I couldn't find any way to provide critical feedback directly to the store owner, so I present this in the hopes they will get my perspective and check to see if their business is running as they expect. In the meantime, I'll just need to go to other local places to get my Mexican-inspired...

Apparently Chipotle (NYSE: CMG) was one of the greatest retail food investments you could make when they first came out before covid, before the internet. I used to order the enchilada plate and it was… decent. Also there was a surfboard on the wall and beach decorations, like you could eat inside under a thatched beach shade. Real ambiance. Real value at 7pm on a Thursday to eat a real meal on a study break. Anyways, times have changed. I was hungry. I had the post therapy session drops. I walked in. There was a line of people at 1:30pm. More people walked in. A dog walked in. “Hey guys, sorry I’m late for my shift. Could I get an extra beany beef taco with a side-a-guac for my shift meal.” And the boxer just walked into the kitchen, like he was going to work. His name was Brody. It was embroidered on his collar. “Does anyone know who’s dog this is?” says everyone at the same time. Well we make some phone calls . Several of us helpful strangers making that special camaraderie, working together. We didn’t free anyone from a burning car, but we found the owner and I stood outside with the dog, who was so sweet. I would totally take smoke breaks with him (I’m inferring pronouns). Then the owner showed up and was eternally grateful, but I was back at the front of the line. I got spelled by the woman in front of me after she ordered. So I ate on time. My taco chef gave me cilantro. I had to order it off the menu. Literally they snuck me the green from their cooler in bsck because they're not supposed to offer cilantro. Also, no enchiladas on the menu?? They have bowls. I had to order a bowl. Soulless Bowls. Staff were all great. Customers were great. Guac was decent, but I just read about autodefensas in Michoacan last week and how avocadoes (it's not actually avocadoes, it's capitalism and the destruction of the Commons) are destroying indigenous land and culture, so sheesh, I guess I'm home cooking. I started a garden. I cut the spring onions for my buckwheat pancakes...

This place atmosphere is what I believe is filled with super disrespectful, immature coworkers who dont seem to know simple manners. These coworkers where extremely disrespectful by ignoring my own awareness or being there and patently not being very considerate of there costumes. I was standing in line for about 15 minutes to actually get acknowledged for ordering what I wanted. In those 15 minutes of no attention there where 4 young people working back and forth, to try and get some pick-up or delivery orders done. I totally understand that they where really busy with a wide range of orders, but what I found was rude was that they didn't even stop and say, "Sorry, ma'am! Where a little busy today," or "Sorry! The wait will be about 10-15 minutes until we get your order," but no. One of there coworkers blatantly worked in front of us and started us, while she was getting the orders together, without one word! I didn't actually get acknowledged until I asked all 4 of them if, "You guys where all just going to let me stand here patiently until I get respectfully acknowledged". One man answered, with the answer that they where just behind, and a couple minutes he was actually kind enough to take my order. I'm sorry if I may just be over my head, but I have always was taught to treat everyone, with respect and I feel that what those people did was extremely disrespectful. All they had to is notice my presence in front of them and say a couple of polite words. But I do want to say, I have enjoyed many other services from chipotle and do not want to bring any bad vibes to this place, but I just wanted others to be aware that this was...