Chipotle Mexican Grill — Restaurant in Wheeling

One of the worst Chipotle stores and worst experiences I've had (which is sad, because this used to be one of the better stores). Restaurant opens at 10:45, and I enter slightly before 11. There were two people ahead of me waiting for the register to be prepped so they could check out. Only one person working the food prep area and also the register, and supplies (taco shells) for my order were not available and had to be fetched from the back room. Register was not prepped until after the server prepared my food, I was waiting a couple minutes behind the other two customers who were obviously waiting longer. After being checked out, I went to the soda dispenser to fill my cup, but the nozzles were not on the dispenser and soda sprayed out everywhere. Had to ask to get this resolved and wait to get my drink. During all this, two employees were sitting at booths eating, not caring about the unprepared register, waiting customers, or soda dispenser. When I entered the restaurant, the dining room music was not playing. This was not turned on until after I started eating. However, the radio in the kitchen was turned up so loud, it was drowning out the dining room music. Overall, the employees did not seem to care about the customer experience. Not that my expectations are high for a fast food joint, but I think a minimum expectation for any restaurant is that it be ready to serve customers when the doors open, not prep things as needed, or worse yet, as customers discover the unprepared facilities. No excuse for unprepped register and soda machine after being open...

I'm done! I live across the street but I will now drive the extra 2 miles to the next nearest Chipotle for my burritos. I used to go there at least 4 times a week but they've lost my business. Everytime I go, there is always a problem. Whether it's a poorly wrapped burrito that is falling apart when I get home, a burrito full of bean juice and Pico de gallo liquid that again causes the burrito to fall apart or now today my burrito had a huge whole in it which is definitely something they should have rewrapped. I order burritos not burrito bowls. I've repetitively given them a chance even going in and telling them to drain the liquids, how to layer the ingredients and even in which direction to fold and wrap my burrito so I'm not getting a mouthful of a single ingredient every bite. No one likes that. It's unappetizing and disappointing especially every time. I don't order alot of ingredients either for them to be bursting out so it doesn't make sense. All my friends "warned me" about this chipotle when I moved here a few months ago but I figured how bad could it really be...HORRIBLE! It really just seems that the employees don't care and should be retrained. They should learn the value of making good food and pleasing customers or be replaced by people who care. I grew up working in restaurants from serving and bartending to line cook and expo and I know I loved to see my customers smile. I digress, avoid this location if you want a good meal. I've included a picture of their work so all can see how they prepare...

I'm not one for leaving reviews but this was a pretty bad experience for how much we paid. -Side of Queso and utensils were missing from our bag -Poor customer service. Chipotle app said our order was ready for pick up and on the shelf but it wasn't. It was on a table beyond the boundary where customers are allowed. In waiting for a customer to finish paying, I waited behind them to ask for our order, but instead the employees ignored me and decided to help people who came in way after me. -Food quality was way below average. Brown rice was way too hard and unpleasantly crunchy. I don't mind crunchy bits but every bite? No thanks. Also, I'm not sure who enjoys finding huge bay leafs in their food, but it's pretty off-putting when it's semi-hiding in a spoonful of food that's already tough to enjoy. In another burrito bowl, the Smoked Brisket was overly sweet, some bites were straight fat and others were so dry I seriously started questioning what I was even eating.

It's really sad that THIS is the highest rated Chipotle in the area (by a lot). Chipotle has unfortunately gone through serious Ensh*ttification over the years. You used to be worth the money we pay, and now it feels like customers need to be the ones getting paid to enjoy your food 😐 Used to be so good, but I seriously doubt we'll be coming back...