Chipotle Cheating by Rounding Customers' Bills Up
A popular nationwide eatery has come under fire recently after reports surfaced that charged the chain was adding pennies to customer's bill without them knowing.
Reports indicate that Chipotle locations throughout the country- especially in the chain's busiest markets- have been rounding a customer's bill either up or down depending on where the total falls to the nearest quarter amount, according to The Star-Ledger.
"The idea is simply to limit the possible combinations of change on cash transactions to keep the lines moving quickly in high volume areas," Chipotle spokesman Chris Arnold told NJ.com. "It was never our intention to have a policy that was confusing or misleading,"
Get Our Latest News for FREE
"The way it works is that prices auto-round to the nearest quarter and that's indicated on the receipt," he added.
This has created a debate amongst consumers and business in the area over how to tally a customer's bill accurately while keeping customers happy with short, quick lines during checkout.
A spokesman for Chipotle said that the practice that had been used in the New York and New Jersey markets as well at various locations around the country. However, they will no longer round up a customer's bill, opting to round it down as a way to keep customers happy.
To make sure the chain applies the new policy, Consumer Affairs will continue to monitor the situation.
"We will follow up to ensure that the restaurants' actual practice matches this stated policy," Eric Kanefsky, acting director of Consumer Affairs, told NJ.com.
"Consumers should be aware that New Jersey law requires businesses to provide consumers with clear and accurate information about the prices they charge for goods and services," he added.
