Chipotle customer attacks employee over double meat - then allegedly made online threats against the staff.
An incident at a Chipotle restaurant in Brentwood, Washington, D.C., resulted in a physical confrontation between a customer and an employee. The altercation began when the customer disputed an alleged mistake in her Uber Eats order and escalated to physical assault. The incident was captured on video and has been widely shared online.
She got mad at the portions they was giving her and went behind the counter at chipotle like omggg…. 😭 pic.twitter.com/OaMiBqpyp7
— NATE (@NATERERUN) December 22, 2024
The footage shows the disgruntled customer pushing past employees behind the counter, filling her bowl with food. When employee Roberto Hernandez attempted to intervene by trying to retrieve the food, the situation quickly escalated. The customer slapped Hernandez, causing food to scatter around the workstation. Hernandez, visibly shaken by the incident, expressed that the video was triggering for him to watch.
According to Hernandez, the customer was dissatisfied with her order, claiming it did not have the double meat she had requested. Despite efforts by Hernandez and his manager to explain that they could not issue a refund and advised her to contact Uber Eats for resolution, the customer took matters into her own hands by going behind the counter to prepare a new order.
When Hernandez tried to stop her, he was met with aggression. Despite feeling upset, Hernandez chose not to retaliate physically, stating, "I was mad, upset. But I’m a man, you know I can’t hit a female. So I walked away." The customer's behavior did not end with the physical altercation; she allegedly made online threats against the staff, causing fear and concern among the employees.
In response to the incident, Chipotle filed a police report regarding the alleged assault, while the customer expressed intentions to sue the fast-food chain. This incident is not an isolated one, as similar violent outbursts have been reported at Chipotle locations in the past. In a separate incident in North Carolina, a worker was attacked by customers over a chicken charge, and in Maryland, two women threw food and a chair at a worker during cleaning.