Chipotle’s CEO announced plans to “retrain” and “re-coach” restaurant operators amid recent criticism over their portion sizes .
“There was never a directive to provide less to our customers. Generous portion is a core brand equity of Chipotle. It always has been, and it always will be,” Brian Niccol, the company’s chairman and CEO, said during a call with investors.
This follows months of growing social media backlash, with users complaining about inconsistent portion sizes and recording their orders to show the smaller amounts they received.
In May, Niccol addressed the issue in an interview with Fortune, saying that “portions have not gotten smaller.”
However, he also showed customers a look they can give to their servers to get “a little more rice” or “a little more pico.”
In opposition to his previous statements, Niccol now appears more open to acknowledging that portions have been inconsistent.
Last month, a Wells Fargo analyst reported significant inconsistencies in burrito and bowl sizes at different New York City locations.
Niccol said that only “about 10% or more” of their restaurants needed to be “retrained or re-coached” to Chipotle’s standards.
“To be more consistent across all 3,500 restaurants, we have focused on those with outlier portion scores based on consumer surveys and we are reemphasizing training and coaching around ensuring we are consistently making bowls and burritos correctly,” he said.
When asked if Chipotle would invest in consumer messaging to highlight these new efforts, Niccol said the company’s actions would speak for themselves.
“I think that the best source of marketing is word of mouth, as people have these experiences with Chipotle,” he said.
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In its quarterly report released Wednesday, Chipotle reported an 18.2% increase in total revenue compared to the same quarter in 2023.
In addition, the company reported an 8.7% increase in transactions and a 2.4% rise in the average amount spent per transaction.
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