Chipotle has removed the ability to order single tacos from its mobile app after a viral $3 burrito hack slowed down workers handling digital orders.
“Guests are currently unable to order a single taco from our online ordering systems… The current social media trend is resulting in a poor experience for our food, our employees and our customers waiting for orders,” Chipotle Chief Corporate Affairs Officer Laurie Schalow told Insider.
Tacos were removed from the store’s mobile app and online web ordering on Wednesday. Single-serve tacos are still available in physical Chipotle restaurants.
The hack consisted of ordering a single-serve taco with a choice of meat, and then ordering a tortilla on the side for 40 cents. In addition, consumers could get the toppings they wanted for free if they ordered them as sides for the taco.
All in all, consumers were gaming the system and getting the ingredients to assemble their own Chipotle-sized burritos for slightly over $3.
Workers dealing with preparing these digital orders were incensed. One Chipotle service manager in Ohio told Insider that customers would get aggressive when they compared the proper taco-sized side portions for toppings, given the burrito-sized sides influencers touted on social media.
“It was horribly obvious what [customers using the hack] were trying to do and it was just annoying for everyone trying to just do their jobs,” the manager said.
The orders were complicated, and filling separate plastic cups with toppings was time-consuming. The entire assembly line began to be delayed at Chipotle locations as workers had to devote time to completing the hack orders.
“We literally do not have the time for this,” a New York Chipotle employee told Insider.
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