"White or brown? Black or pinto? What kind of meat? (and now...) Would you like queso with that?!"
That is the long awaited question every Chipotle lover has been dying to be asked while ordering their burrito.
If you were one of the millions of people who waited 24 years for Chipotle to finally serve queso, then you're probably ecstatic that the time has finally come. But was it really worth the wait?
Most customers are giving that question a big, fat no. If you feel the same way, you are certainly not alone. Many Chipotle lovers have had less than flattering things to say about it. These are just a few people's reactions:
Mass amounts of people flocked to the front doors of the nearest Chipotle at 11 a.m. in hopes of being one of the first people to try the long awaited cheesy dip, only to be immensely disappointed.
Cleary the queso wasn't all that everyone was dreaming of, so what does this mean for Chipotle economically?
Only 15% of orders included queso now, and after the first week of the big release, queso-related traffic started to diminish. But this has not taken a hit to Chipotle's financial state. According to Business Insider, though it hasn't been a massive success, the queso has still boosted sales for the beloved Mexican restaurant even despite the claims that customers are "overwhelmingly unhappy with the final result" and that they "have not met one person who liked it."
The main problem that customers are having with the queso is the texture of it. Some say it is too chunky and almost resembles hummus. The texture-related problem is pretty prevalent when it's used as a dip, but Chipotle is pushing customers to use it inside their burrito or bowl, as a compliment to the shredded cheese. This is one way the restaurant is looking to redeem itself during this queso fiasco, primarily because the problem isn't the taste, it's the pretty much just the texture and look of it.
The executives at Chipotle expected their queso launch to be what helped bring them out of a rut they've been in over the past few years, but that doesn't look like that is the case at this point. Though it has not necessarily hurt them financially, it has not benefitted them as substantially as they had hoped. It looks like the only silver lining to this situation would be if an increasing number of customers continue to order the queso inside their food as opposed to getting it on the side as a dip for their chips.
So next time you get asked if you would like queso with your order, instead of automatically saying no, give it a second thought. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad inside the burrito.
