I go to Chipotle a lot and I recently had to get my dinner there after staying really late at work. Like 8 pm. I went to the counter and the young man on the other side got started with my bowl. I never saw him before, but it was possible he has worked here since I don’t come here at this hour. I had to repeat myself once or twice on what rice and beans I wanted. But he probably misheard me, I am usually soft-spoken, so I dismissed it. When I asked for carnitas meat, the guy looked confused and was actively searching for what I meant with his eyes and pointed to something he thought was carnitas.
At this point, I thought he was new because of his unfamiliarity, and I pointed at my choice of meat and spoke more clearly and loudly. Even so, he looked more confused as he slowly scooped up the meat and poured it into my bowl, looking at me all the while. I was confused now, was he unsure if this meat was what I wanted?
“Yes, Carnitas,” I said again. I suppose he mistook my loudness for anger and said verbatim,
“Ma’am don’t be upset, if you have a problem, there is a Chipotle right at 15th street.”
I was extremely perplexed by his statement and was clearly a misunderstanding on his part.
“I am not upset; I thought you didn’t hear me.”
My impression of this guy plummeted to the bottom. I didn’t escalate anything and he wasn’t worth my anger. Regardless, I took extra attention on my food as he prepared the rest and closed my bowl with the lid without writing what was inside on the top of the lid.
Another person I didn’t know was on the register and told him I had a carnitas bowl and I wanted chips. I could tell he was more experienced. I noticed the counter guy that was preparing my bowl also placed an unrelated burrito on my bowl and that led to some confusion. Even I was confused on what meal was mine or the person in front of me. Regardless, after a few moments of delay, he rung me up and I paid with my card. I was ready to go when the cashier guy put my bowl in my bag and placed it on the counter in front of me. But the cashier guy got confused by which receipt I should get.
“Do you need your receipt?” The cashier asked. I noticed he still hadn’t given me everything I ordered.
I said very casually, “No, I need my bowl, and I need my chips”.
“Ma’am don’t get all upset, as I said there’s another Chipotle on 15th street.”
The counter guy had to get involved again. Now, I was getting upset for real.
“I am not upset! I am getting upset because of you saying I’m upset for no reason!” I responded assertively.
Now the cashier told me, “Ma’am, I just wanted to see he didn’t mess up your order. Don’t get upset.”
“I’m not upset!”
“Ma’am you need to chill, don’t come in here being all upset,” the counter guy added.
A few of his coworkers chimed in with subtle comments I don’t really remember. I didn’t really care. I left the store. Now that I am writing this down, this all seems it bit ridiculous. But AITA?
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I go to Chipotle a lot and I recently had to get my dinner there after staying really late at work. Like 8 pm. I went to the counter and the young man on the other side got started with my bowl. I never saw him before, but it was possible he has worked here since I don’t come here at this hour. I had to repeat myself once or twice on what rice and beans I wanted. But he probably misheard me, I am usually soft-spoken, so I dismissed it. When I asked for carnitas meat, the guy looked confused and was actively searching for what I meant with his eyes and pointed to something he thought was carnitas.
At this point, I thought he was new because of his unfamiliarity, and I pointed at my choice of meat and spoke more clearly and loudly. Even so, he looked more confused as he slowly scooped up the meat and poured it into my bowl, looking at me all the while. I was confused now, was he unsure if this meat was what I wanted?
“Yes, Carnitas,” I said again. I suppose he mistook my loudness for anger and said verbatim,
“Ma’am don’t be upset, if you have a problem, there is a Chipotle right at 15th street.”
I was extremely perplexed by his statement and was clearly a misunderstanding on his part.
“I am not upset; I thought you didn’t hear me.”
My impression of this guy plummeted to the bottom. I didn’t escalate anything and he wasn’t worth my anger. Regardless, I took extra attention on my food as he prepared the rest and closed my bowl with the lid without writing what was inside on the top of the lid.
Another person I didn’t know was on the register and told him I had a carnitas bowl and I wanted chips. I could tell he was more experienced. I noticed the counter guy that was preparing my bowl also placed an unrelated burrito on my bowl and that led to some confusion. Even I was confused on what meal was mine or the person in front of me. Regardless, after a few moments of delay, he rung me up and I paid with my card. I was ready to go when the cashier guy put my bowl in my bag and placed it on the counter in front of me. But the cashier guy got confused by which receipt I should get.
“Do you need your receipt?” The cashier asked. I noticed he still hadn’t given me everything I ordered.
I said very casually, “No, I need my bowl, and I need my chips”.
“Ma’am don’t get all upset, as I said there’s another Chipotle on 15th street.”
The counter guy had to get involved again. Now, I was getting upset for real.
“I am not upset! I am getting upset because of you saying I’m upset for no reason!” I responded assertively.
Now the cashier told me, “Ma’am, I just wanted to see he didn’t mess up your order. Don’t get upset.”
“I’m not upset!”
“Ma’am you need to chill, don’t come in here being all upset,” the counter guy added.
A few of his coworkers chimed in with subtle comments I don’t really remember. I didn’t really care. I left the store. Now that I am writing this down, this all seems it bit ridiculous. But AITA?
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OP has offered the following explanation for why they think they might be the asshole:
> Should I have just let the counter guy’s comments go? The way I see it, responding to how he thought I was upset made me look bad. As a person who has worked with the homeless, I could tell this guy was mentally slow. I shouldn’t have taken it out on him. But how can I not respond when this guy is saying stuff like that? AITA for asserting how not upset I am?
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Contest mode is 1.5 hours long on this post.
I’m inclined to say NTA. It sounds like you were giving the new guy heaps of grace as he was still learning, even if he was making a couple of mistakes. We all have to start somewhere.
As someone who unfortunately works in customer service, it honestly sounds like he had just gone through “difficult customer” training and was attempting de-escalation when you weren’t being aggressive at all.
It’s really annoying when someone tells you to chill or calm down when you’re not upset, so I understand the frustration. However if all the staff were making comments, maybe your reaction was a little harsh towards the end.
NTA But next time I would probably go to the one on 15th
NTA. You had a perfectly reasonable reaction to being accused of being upset when you weren’t, which is really upsetting.
NTA. The first time could have been an honest mistake, and you explained that you thought he didn’t hear you. After that, he just sounds kinda rude. There is nothing wrong with standing up for yourself. Somebody might be interested that he’s telling people to go to the other Chipotle. You should probably take his advice and start going to the one on 15th.