Chipotle Mexican Grill Is Keeping Your Change — Dollars and Sense
Saying the phrase “keep the change” has been a nice way of tipping a little extra for good service for many years, but recently the gourmet burrito-slinging Mexican grill known as Chipotle has taken it upon themselves to keep it without your permission.
Patrons began noticing last month that their food receipts were not jiving with their calculations. After bringing the discrepancies to the attention of management, they found that the restaurant was rounding customer’s bills up or down to the nearest nickel.
Jayson Greenberg, a West Caldwell, NJ, Chipotle customer, confronted a manager about it who didn’t act like it was that big of a deal.
“He said, ‘Oh, it’s a computer program. It is just rounding numbers. It takes a little from certain receipts and gives a little to others. What do you want? A few pennies?’”
Chipotle representative Chris Arnold says the rounding up and down of their customers’ bills was implemented as a means for keep long lines moving more quickly. However, the company has since discontinued the practice of rounding the bills up, but plans to keep rounding them down, to benefit their customers.
Arnold adds that customers can expect to see the amount that is rounded down highlighted on their receipt to explain why their total may differ from what it would otherwise.
[ABC News]