Twitter Is Furious At Chipotle For Limiting Tips In A Snowstorm

During the snows of early February, one Twitter user wanted food from Chipotle. So they had it delivered. But because of the horrid conditions through which the deliverer would have to transport the meal, @RonBeehive wanted to give them a good tip. The meal cost $12.40 and they decided a $9.88 tip would be fair. 

Chipotle disagreed though. A screenshot that Beehive uploaded to Twitter featured a pop-up message. "Whoa Whoa Whoa," It began. "That is mighty generous of you, but tips can't be more than 50% of your food's total."  Beehive wrote in the post, "It's [futuens] snowing and I want to tip my driver accordingly @ChipotleTweets. Why are you deciding how much tipped workers can make?" The Chipotle social media team actually responded. "Similar to many retailers, the Chipotle app includes safeguards around tipping to avoid human error, as well as fraud, to ensure its guests provide their intended dollar amount," they explained. "All tips through the app go to the delivery driver." This seemed to impress nobody.

In fact, it would be more fitting to say it seemed to infuriate everybody. "I can't even count how many times i have accidentally bankrupted myself at the dunkin drive-thru, so thank you thank you thank you," one person responded to Chipotle with what smacked of withering sarcasm. Others suggested a simple solution to the "human error" issue. "Wrong answer," one such solution stated. "Just ask 'are you sure?'"

While Twitter may have seemed enraged over this tipping policy this weekend, Chipotle has been limiting tips for months. As Business Insider reported in June, Chipotle began capping delivery tips at 50%. When asked, the chain offered the exact same rationale as the social media team. Chipotle's gesture towards the use of tipping for fraud didn't impress much either. As Inc. noted, any money sent through the app would already be tracked by a bank. Cash could be laundered, but that's not Chipotle's issue. "It's doubtful that the local drug kingpin will launder $1 million one burrito at a time," the site added. 

Newsweek gave the people behind the tip capping the benefit of the doubt though. Previously, it had reported on the practice of tip baiting, which is offering a high tip at the outset before dropping it dramatically as the deliverer understandably tries to fulfill the high tip order quickly. However, not allowing customers to tip beyond a certain point is not a serious solution to this problem. One Twitter user came offered a very different take on the situation: "Just seems to me that you are making sure your employees don't make more than what your restaurant is per order. And people wonder why no one wants to work..."