Chipotle Customer Starts Working the Register to Help Out Busy Restaurant in Viral Video

TikToker @brown_eyed_girl95, who goes by Nikki on the platform, went viral after posting footage of her friend hopping behind the register of a busy Chipotle restaurant in an attempt to get their food more quickly and help out overwhelmed employees in the process.

The food service industry has taken a particularly hard hit with staffing in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many restaurants have reported difficulties in keeping locations staffed with adequate numbers of personnel in order to meet customer demand, and it appears that this is a trend that will continue well into 2023.

It's unclear as to whether or not this particular Chipotle location was understaffed at the moment the TikTok was posted. Nikki wrote in a text overlay of the now viral TikTok clip: "when you dare your coworker to go try to cash people out at Chipotle because it is busy and you want food"

In the second part of the 11-second clip the TikToker writes: "In full uniform from OUR job. nobody said nothing" then capped off the comment with three laugh emojis.

Other users on the popular social media platform had several questions about the industrious nature of the TikToker's friend.

A user by the name of Allie VanWetter asked: "Did any of the workers say anything? because I swear I could work any pos and have tempted to do this so much"

Nikki responded, "no everyone was just looking confused but went with it she just took a couple people & walked away. same I have worked so many places I could do it"

The two TikTok users agreed that working POS (point of sales) systems were generally straightforward affairs and they felt that anyone who worked a cash register in the past could've figured it out. In additional responses to other users, Nikki stated that the two of them "left SHORTLY after that" adding that staff was either "oblivious" to what was going on or they just went with it.

Another TikToker said that at Chipotle locations, employees are expected to swipe their individual cards at the POS systems making it difficult for someone to not eventually notice that someone else had been on the register. However, Nikki stated that even if this was the case, employees at the location probably didn't care.

"I'm sure they did but they left their card at the register she worked at a Chipotle a while ago so she knows the system. but people just didn't care."

Other TikTok users highlighted the repetitive nature of customer service jobs, stating that they didn't blame the food service workers for not noticing that someone else from another job hopped in behind the register to help out: "costumer service jobs like being a robot same thing over and over and nobody has no clue what is going on around them it's said I give a lot of credit"

Others said that they hope the TikTokers "at least cashed in that employee meal."

What do you think? Was it uncool of Nikki's friend to go behind the register like that? Or have you been in a restaurant with staff that's clearly overwhelmed by a large customer demand and wished you could've helped out?