They’re having a Crunchwrap crisis.
A wave of anguished posts on the r/TacoBell subreddit has pulled back the tortilla wrap on Taco Bell turmoil, with gutted schedules, panicked staffers and a business reeling from the fallout of a Taylor Farms lettuce scare — even after quickly and responsibly pulling the produce that may be causing a nationwide cyclospora outbreak, which causes terrible diarrhea and dehydration in its victims.
“I absolutely hate how every single article about Taylor Farms is mentioning Taco Bell and it’s affecting our business when at least in my area we removed the lettuce as a precaution weeks ago,” one self-identified manager vented in a popular post.
The manager said the fallout has forced them to deliver a brutal string of bad news to employees about shrinking hours — right in the middle of what’s supposed to be a “core season” for the beloved fast food chain.
“I’ve done nothing but deliver bad news to my employees about their hours all week and for the next week and it is completely stressing me out,” the alleged manager wrote, adding that shifts are running “extremely low and shorthanded,” so even the rare rush hour turns into a slog for whoever’s left on the clock.
It’s bad enough, the manager said, that senior leadership is drawing comparisons to the darkest days of the pandemic.
“I know that eventually, the public will trust Taco Bell again and everything will come back for the time being it is extremely slow and from what I hear from more of the senior management is that this is how Covid felt except at least there were more DoorDash orders,” said the online post.
Behind the scenes, the human toll is piling up. The manager described being flooded with texts from employees warning they can’t make rent on reduced hours — even on a day off.
“I feel like I should be at the store helping them, but also I know that I need to rest because I worked the last eight days straight covering for the employees that were sick or helping out a staff that was less than ready to run that short,” the manager wrote. “I love my job. I truly do, but right now it honestly just feels bad all around.”
The post struck a nerve, drawing thousands of upvotes and hundreds of supportive replies — enough that the manager returned to add a grateful edit: “Thanks all for your thoughts and kind words. I didnt [sic] expect it to blow up but I’ll be sure to keep yall [sic] kind words with me through the rest of this craziness.”
The Redditor signed off the post with Taco Bell’s famous Spanglish slogan: “Live Màs,” which translates to “Live More.”
The lettuce panic comes as Taco Bell workers are already adjusting to another timely threat: artificial intelligence. In early July, the Irvine, Calif. chain expanded its AI ordering system, letting bots take orders at nearly 900 restaurants across 38 states.
At the time, Taco Bell insisted the bots weren’t turning nacho cheese into not-yo-job, saying in a statement that the AI integration helped “ease team members’ workloads and provide them the flexibility to engage with customers in a more meaningful way.”
The chain even pointed to higher employee retention at AI-equipped locations. And the system isn’t foolproof: Last August, a customer tried to order 18,000 cups of water — and the robo-restaurant workers tried to comply.
The Post has reached out to Taco Bell about possible worker cutbacks and is awaiting comment. But the home of the Chalupa Supreme insists its food is as safe as it is delicious, saying in a statement that all lettuce has been completely removed from its menu “out of an abundance of caution.”
Which means if a Cheesy Gordita Crunch upsets your stomach right now… well, that’s between you and your microbiome.
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