Once upon a time, there was a young lady who lived to eat food. When she grew up, she got a job eating food. Then, things got weird.
The pandemic booted me out of my cushy job as a fast-food taste tester and forced me to address the difficult reality that restaurants everywhere are facing. I pledged that I wouldn't order from a chain restaurant during the pandemic because independents just need the support more (although many franchisees are small business owners).
However, work is work. And when Chipotle released official TikTok menu hacks, I was confronted with two familiar nemeses: cheese, and Gen Z — both of which Chipotle have mastered. The chain's "Culture Hunters" use influencers and guacamole to generate massive buzz on TikTok for its brand. Yes, the Culture Hunters are watching you.
I fired up the rusty ol' Chipotle app on my phone and followed the ordering instructions on the TikTok videos. The three dishes on the menu are DIY nachos, extra dip (with the slang usage of the word "extra"), and a taco salad.
The first thing I noticed when I was trying to figure out how to order is that TikTok videos move way too quickly for my millennial old fart brain. I had to pause every second to make out the instructions, and the ASMR-style taco salad video was especially hard to follow because not only did it move too quickly, it also had no words.
Is Chipotle becoming too cool for me? Am I becoming too uncool for Chipotle? Do people even use the word "cool" anymore?
Read the original article on Business Insider