- Chipotle workers say they were overwhelmed with orders during the chain's Halloween promotion.
- Chipotle acknowledged "intermittent issues" with its app but otherwise said the event was a success.
Chipotle moved its annual Halloween "Boorito" promotion online this year, but workers and customers said it was full of kinks as workers were overwhelmed with orders, the mobile app crashed, and some workers even walked out.
Last week, six Chipotle workers around the US told Insider about their concerns around the highly anticipated event. "I was told as early as my first month working here that working on Halloween is hell," a New York City worker said. A manager in Illinois said that he was afraid his staff might walk out when the digital make line, connected to orders from Chipotle's app, got too long.
Some of these fears played out, according to workers who spoke with Insider. "It was as bad as I thought it was going to be," a worker in Ohio said. Though his location didn't run out of food, "as soon as 5 p.m. hit, we instantly got 20 orders due for 5:10, and then 20 more for 5:20, and so on" until the app crashed, he said.
Chipotle said that issues with the promotion were not widespread.
"We saw intermittent issues on the app when the Boorito promotion first launched on the East Coast. The website was not impacted and the teams resolved the app issue and we were fully functioning shortly after. Out of nearly 3,000 restaurants, we had one location in NYC experience an issue with its workers," Chief Corporate Affairs Officer Laurie Schalow told Insider in a statement.
Some Chipotle workers in New York City walked off the job on Halloween in protest during the event to demand better working conditions, Bethany Biron reported for Insider. They joined a rally against the "company putting profits before people," according to a press release shared by Local 32BJ, a branch of Service Employees International Union.
In the past, customers could go to Chipotle on Halloween in a costume and order a discounted entree. The price has gone up over the years, to $3 in 2017, $4 in 2019, and now $5 this year, and costumes are no longer required. Instead, Chipotle limited the offer to its website or app from 5 p.m. to close. Customers could also get codes for free burritos by visiting a virtual Chipotle inside Roblox, which crashed and was offlline for much of the weekend.
Customers said they had issues trying to get their $5 burritos, too.
Customers shared experiences of app outages preventing them from getting their food. With the app down, some customers just went into stores, somewhat defeating the purpose of the digital-only promotion. "We had a line out the door all night," the worker in Ohio said.
Some customers on social media even recognized the harried and exhausted workers. "Shoutout to America's unsung heroes: Chipotle employees on $5 boorito night," one tweet said.
Some customers complained about long wait times to workers, and even started fighting inside the restaurant, one Ohio worker told Insider. She said she wasn't able to leave the store until 1:30 in the morning. Chipotle dining rooms close at 10 p.m.
Do you have a story to share about a retail or restaurant chain? Email this reporter at mmeisenzahl@businessinsider.com.
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