Chipotle workers say they're overwhelmed by surging demand for online orders, which has led to delays and angry customers, according to a report

• Chipotle staff told MarketWatch their restaurants were struggling to cope with a surge in digital orders.
• Some said their restaurants had shut their dining rooms early so they could focus on online orders.

Chipotle employees have said that surging demand for online orders through the pandemic has wrought havoc on their work life, according to a report.

They told MarketWatch that the rush of digital orders was leading to delays, which was frustrating customers and staff alike.

"It's like being ripped into two," Patrick Rodriguez, a Chipotle worker in Manhattan, told the publication.

More and more Chipotle customers are placing orders online. The company said that digital orders made up 42.8% of all third-quarter sales.

Meanwhile, the US is suffering from a huge labor shortage as record numbers of Americans quit their jobs in search of better wages, benefits, and working conditions. Restaurants have been especially hard hit.

In an earnings call earlier this month, Chipotle CEO Brian Niccol said: "I wish all our restaurants were fully staffed and I know we're missing sales because not all of them are fully staffed."

Andrew Luettgen, a former employee at a Chipotle in Bloomington, Indiana, told MarketWatch that on one occasion, his restaurant was so busy it had to close to walk-in customers at 7 p.m. to focus on online orders instead.

Luettgen, who quit his job in March, said his restaurant "kept losing people left and right" and he was being asked to work extra shifts as a result.

Pranav Iyer, who works at a Chipotle in Davie, Florida, told MarketWatch: "We often have people coming in saying, 'the app said my order was ready' then getting annoyed when they have to wait for their food."

An employee at a Chipotle restaurant in Vallejo, California, told MarketWatch: "We're consistently dodging what we don't have. We're told if we have no steak, give them chicken."

Laurie Schalow, chief corporate affairs officer at Chipotle, told MarketWatch that the chain was "seeing increased staffing needs," and noted that some restaurants had made temporary adjustments to make up for their worker shortfall, including changing their opening hours and closing their dining rooms. She added that Chipotle had seen a "steady influx" of job applicants.

Weightlifters, among whom the chain is popular for its customizable bowls and clean ingredients, previously told Insider that they thought their Chipotle portions were getting smaller.

Chipotle had experienced only "isolated incidents" of supply shortages, Schalow told MarketWatch.

One way that restaurant chains are balancing demand for digital and in-store orders is by opening ghost kitchens, which only cook food for delivery and collection. Chipotle is also turning to the strategy: the chain opened its first ghost kitchen in New York last November.

Do you work at Chipotle? Got a story? Email this reporter at gdean@insider.com.