- Chipotle says it has "safeguards" in place to keep customers from leaving unusually large tips.
- The chain says this tipping limit is intended to prevent "human error" and "fraud."
- Chipotle says all tips received through its app go to delivery workers.
- See more stories on Insider's business page.
Chipotle limits how much a customer can tip delivery workers on online orders.
A recent Reddit post shows a screenshot of a customer trying to leave a hefty tip on a Chipotle order. The customer received a pop-up message saying "That is mighty generous of you, but tips can't be more than 50% of your food's total."
Chipotle told Insider that its app has some restrictions around sizeable tips to avoid instances where customers accidentally tip too much, such as by adding one too many zeros on the amount.
"Similar to many retailers, the Chipotle app includes safeguards around tipping to avoid human error, as well as fraud, to ensure its guests provide their intended dollar amount," said Chipotle's chief corporate affairs officer, Laurie Schalow, in a statement. "All tips through the app go to the delivery driver."
Some food delivery platforms have similar policies. Uber enforces a policy that caps tips at double the total order value, up to $200, the company told Insider. It says its delivery workers receive 100% of tips their customers give them. Uber lets customers add, modify, and remove tips during checkout and up to an hour after delivery.
Other delivery platforms don't have tipping cutoffs. DoorDash told Insider it has no customer tip limit and 100% of tips go to delivery workers.
Grubhub also told Insider its delivery workers receive 100% of the tips received. A Grubhub spokesperson told Insider: "Tipping has been an important part of the Grubhub platform since our earliest days. 100% of tips have always gone to drivers, and in the last year alone, we've sent more than $1 billion in tips to drivers - more than any prior year. We have a variety of tools designed to prevent fraud or errors, but we otherwise encourage diners to tip generously."
Chipotle made headlines earlier this month for raising prices on its menu by roughly 4%. The company said it did so to offset an increase bringing its workers' average hourly wage to $15 an hour. Shortly after the price hike was announced, customers accused the company of shrinkflation, saying burritos had gotten smaller even as prices went up.
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