Chipotle Mexican Grill — Restaurant in Middletown

9.10.24 - I ordered in the Chipotle App for a quick pick up. I was tired and hungry and just wanted to be home with my feet up. My order would be ready for pick up in the Chipotlane at 8:20 PM at the Towne Blvd Middletown location. When I pulled in, I noted about 10 cars in the lane. Even tho it was only 8:12, I got in line. And there. I. Sat. I crawled closer to the pick up window, but not very swiftly. After 35 minutes, I was stuck in the number 2 position. I have no idea what was going on inside the restaurant, but i knew if my food WAS ready, I didn't want it after sitting for so long. My chest began to hurt. I was hyperventilating, and wow, having a panic attack! All because I was trapped in the drive thru line with no way out as long as the car in front of me wasn't moving. I called the restaurant and went theu a bunch of automated stuff, but then was somehow answered by someone who I assume was inside the restaurant. I told them I was sorry they were slammed... I really was... but I was having a panic attack and I needed out of this line. The person said something vague about getting things moving. And hung up. Another 10 minutes passed. I began to blow my horn. I honestly felt like I was gonna have a heart attack because I was so stressed about being trapped. Someone came and looked out the window hollering they were trying... I hollered I am having an attack! MOVE THAT CAR!!

Remarkably, they asked the car to move out of the way and I left the line and the restaurant. No refund. No understanding of where 50 minutes of time went and no dinner.

While I was in that long line, I tried repeatedly to get help from the chat. After 3 tries and three times being dumped by the chat bot, I gave up. When I got home, I called Chipotle again, hoping to talk to the store and ask for a refund. I wanted to tell them I am sorry for the stress of their evening, but I wasn't OK being stuck in that line. After a lot of nonsense with the automated system, a live person in another country answered. I advised her what happened and she wanted to compensate me with a free meal. She refunded my order... in 3 to 5 business days. I said NO to the free meal, I want to talk with someone about how this was handled. Have someone call me back about this tomorrow dueing regular business hours. They couldn't promise that.

I believe the manager should have shut the restaurant down. They obviously could not deliver the product or service as would be expected by any customer. I feel like this was quite poor judgment on the manager's part. I actually considered calling 911 because I was in such serious shape with the attack.

If I don't hear back from Corporate, that will be the end of Chipotle for me. The place is failing and has been for a long time. The same issues continue to plague the restaurant mostly having to do with quality. If corporate won't listen to the customer when we are telling them areas that need improvement, they will fail. No question! Listen to your customers, Chipotle! Or lose us, one by one.

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I wish I could give 5 stars. I love Chipotle and eat it usually once per week. The reason I can't give that 5th star? Overcooked steak. It happens pretty much at all locations and is so disappointing. Is there any way you guys can fix this? Steak isn't very good when it is charred. It is meant to be tender, not tough. Otherwise, this visit was good. Picked up our mobile order in the drive thru and took it to the park for a picnic. Yum!

Update: I can't eat as much as I used to so i got a taco today. Perfect amount of food for me and a great price. Unfortunately, they still can't figure out how to cook their steak without overcooking. Inwent at lunchtime... should be fresh... no reason for hard, chewy meat. I KNOW how it CAN taste. I've had it cooked fresh and juicy and properly cooked... not overcooked. It is delicious that way, and I wish they could serve it that way every time. Lost a star because they can't...

I used to love coming to this chipotle for lunch. I work nearby, and picking up an online order in the drive thru used to be quick and easy. I’d be out of the line in 5 minutes. The last two times I’ve been there have not been the case. And I typically order one bowl and a bag of chips, so nothing crazy.

The first time I waited in the DT line for 20 minutes before I got to the window. When I got to the window the cashier proceeded to tell me they were about 20 minutes behind on online orders. So I’d have to come inside and they would make it real quick. So after waiting in the drive thru line, I’d have to wait in the indoor line too and they could just make my food. If they were that far behind I didn’t understand why they weren’t just making the food to order at the window at that point. But I ended up telling her thank you, but I need to cancel my order. Unfortunately I didn’t have anymore time to wait. My lunch break at work was over and I was already late getting back to work. She said are you sure we can make it real quick if you come inside. And I said no I don’t have more time to wait, I need to cancel, I am already late getting back to work. Even though the line was moving slow and I thought something was up, I waited in the DT thinking maybe my food would at least be ready by the time I got to the window. Bc when I got to the window, it was also 20 minutes past the time they said my order would be ready. So I was able to cancel this and get a refund online. I waited a few months before trying to come back again. Because everybody deserves a second chance right? Maybe it was a one time thing.

Today I placed another online order to pick up in the drive thru. It was a very similar experience. The line was long and in a span of about 15 minutes only one car had moved. I knew I didn’t have time to wait at the rate the line was going, otherwise I’d be late getting back to work again. So I was able to turn around and get out of the drive thru this time. And I was able to get my order cancelled online. I thought maybe it was a one time thing bc this location used to be really fast. But it appears this is the norm now, given that other reviews I’ve read, people have had similar experiences. I’m not sure what happened, but I will be avoiding this location from now on. It’s extremely disappointing to place an online order, to wait a long time for it, for it to not be ready after the time it was promised, when the online ordering is supposed to be faster. What’s the point of having a DT when it’s probably faster to go in the store. Idk if you don’t have the staff for it maybe turn off online ordering for this location? Just overall a disappointing...

As someone who has worked in food service, I hate to leave a bad review,, but when it’s an every single time issue, it can’t be ignored. The first time I went here I was so happy to find that the chipotle I moved nearby was good! And then everytime since then it’s been horrible… without fail!!! I have not had a singular time where I try to give this location a chance and say maybe it’s a bad day, without getting the most poorly cooked rice. At one point I had to contact customer support to get a refund because the rice was so bad it almost hurt my tooth from biting into my food. The line is always disgruntled and dirty looking, empty, and constant waiting for food items while getting side eyed for not wanting to go down a line with only 3 items available. The person who keeps getting put on greeter when I happen to end up there isn’t great at their position at all, they will give horrible portions, sing to themselves while serving you (today was a Lady Gaga song?), and again make you feel weird for wanting to wait for an item you came there for. There is a manager (?) who likes to be on their phone, make comments about the other staff, and then find something random to do. I felt bad for the young lady on the cold toppings section today because she was the only one on front that seemed to even be involved in her job. Now this is not to say every staff member is bad at their job/customer service, I wish I knew the names of the few who do wonderfully, but their hard work is so blinded by how bad this location and the food quality is that it’s a real shame. Tired of having to go out of my way to contact customer support for rice that is barely cooked. Sucks that we have to go out of way when this location is only a few mins by my home. I don’t even feel secure eating at this location because god forbid the next thing they aren’t trained to properly cook or properly clean makes someone seriously ill!!!! If I can get the names of the good staff and edit the review to shout them out I plan to do so because gosh knows they need their flowers for being able to put up with the wreck that is...