Chipotle Workers Fire Back After Filming Trend Goes Viral

A recent trend on TikTok has convinced users to film Chipotle workers as they made their burritos, bowls, and tacos to seemingly capture them in the act of skimping on portions. It turns out that doing so might actually get you an even smaller serving.

After popular TikTokers like Keith Lee and Jack Goldburg made videos highlighting the seemingly shrinking portions at the fast food chain, the restaurant shut down claims that workers were instructed to give customers small portions. Now, many workers are letting their thoughts be known about the aggressive social media trend.

Atulya Dora-Laskey, an employee at a Chipotle in Lansing, Michigan, told The Guardian that "it’s immediately anxiety-inducing for my co-workers and me" when customers start filming them while they make their food. "[It's] very stressful and dehumanizing."

If you think getting your Chipotle worker on candid camera will get you more meat or rice, you're sorely mistaken. Because the video acts as evidence of their work, employees are more inclined to stick to the prescribed Chipotle portion sizes—which disappoint many visitors—rather than heap on some extra food.

"We actually go lighter on portions, because we don’t want to be on the record violating Chipotle’s proportion policy," Dora-Laskey explained. If workers go over the allowed portion sizes, they might face disciplinary action. "You could get in trouble with your boss for giving a customer too much food," she said.

Related: Chipotle Unveils New Robot, Unlikely to Squash Portion Size Critics

Other Chipotle employees on Reddit added to the chorus of pleas to stop recording them at work.

"Please stop shoving phones in our face," a purported current employee wrote. "Chipotle gets so much free publicity off of this and it makes us employees who are there to make a livable wage to feed our families seem like literal zoo animals behind glass that make bowls until our backs and wrists are gone."

"They’re honestly turning it around on all the employees, making us feel bad," one commenter said.

"We get b----ed at by corporate if we give out too much," another person stated plainly.

Chipotle's CEO Brian Niccol doesn't condone the filming trend, recently telling Fortune that customers can get extra portions by giving the employee making their food a "look." Simply put, whipping out your camera won't get you more guac. A representative for the company told The New York Times "Filming does not result in larger portion sizes."

Next time you're in the Chipotle line, consider a smile and some friendly conversation.