Latest news with #EmilyJoyLemus
Fast Company
5 days ago
- General
- Fast Company
TikTok claims there's a hack to get bigger portions at Chipotle: Put men's names on your orders
If your lunch order is a little lacking in portion size, your name might have something to do with it—at least according to some social media users. A viral theory claims that takeout orders from fast-casual chains with men's names receive heftier portions than those with women's names. After months, even years, of gender-related speculation circulating online, one TikTok creator decided to put the theory to the test and conduct a series of experiments. She placed identical orders at Chipotle, one using her own name, Emily Joy Lemus, and the other using the name 'Andrew.' Holding the bowls side by side, to the naked eye there does seem to be a perceivable, if marginal, difference, with 'Andrew's' order piled slightly higher. Still skeptical, those in the comments demanded scientific proof. Lemus ran the experiment again, but this time she weighed the two identical orders on a food scale—one under the name 'Tom' this time, the other under her own name. Subscribe to the Daily newsletter. Fast Company's trending stories delivered to you every day Privacy Policy | Fast Company Newsletters While again, the difference wasn't unequivocal to the eye, the scale told a different story. 'Tom's' bowl clocked in at 714 grams, but Emily's was only 686 grams, a nearly 30 gram gap. 'This is insane that this is a hack,' she said. On Reddit and Threads, others reported that the trick has worked for them, too. 'It's frustrating having to pay for extra portions when men get that much just for being men,' one Reddit user wrote. Some, however, remain unconvinced. 'As a current employee, nobody is looking at names,' one Chipotle employee assured. A Chipotle manager added, 'we make the orders as quickly as possible for anyone no matter what gender you are.' Others suspect it is simply a matter of different employees being more or less heavy-handed with their scoops. But recent research does lend credibility to the idea of an unconscious bias in portion size when it comes to perceived gender. A 2025 study published in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology found participants associated men with larger portions, while women were expected to be satisfied with less. However, the study didn't offer any particularly strong evidence that this impacted behavior. Wanting to further test her theory, Lemus also took her informal experiment to the Mediterranean fast-casual chain Cava. This time, she found the opposite to be true: The order with the woman's name clocked in heavier than the one with the man's. 'What that tells me is that Cava is for the girls,' she said.
Yahoo
10-08-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Women Are Changing Something Very Specific About Their Takeout Orders Because Of A Viral Trend
I've heard of women using male names for their food delivery orders for safety reasons, as a way of signaling to potentially creepy delivery dudes that there's a man in the house. But recently, women online have been talking about ordering under male names for a more economical reason — they believe that men get served more food. The theory was popularized in part by TikToker Emily Joy Lemus (@emilyjoylemus) after she placed identical orders at different Chipotle locations under male and female names. In her small sample-size experiments, the male names were all served between 10 and 30 grams more food. In the comments, some viewers shared that this tip has worked for them as a way of getting more food in their orders: And sharing tales of seeing this effect also play out when ordering in person: They also share other places where they've seen similar effects from either using a man's name or pretending a man is around: But, on the other hand, current and former Chipotle employees and other restaurant workers weighed in on the debate, saying that they doubt men are intentionally being served more food: But could it be unconscious bias??? The conversation is also happening over on Reddit, where a user wrote, "My coworker said that a friend of his started pre-ordering at restaurants under a male name (or a more gender neutral name), and now, she gets way more food than she did before. This intrigued me, so I tried giving it a try... Welcome to getting more food. This really surprised me, so I figured I'd share. I went back to ordering under my own name because I felt bad, but as a petite woman with a very fast metabolism, it's frustrating having to pay for extra portions when men get that much just for being men." Another user shared: "Interesting. We don't do Chipotle but get burritos at a similar local place and…yes. His burritos are always bigger than mine, and we usually get the same stuff. Hmph. I might test this with the online ordering." Another woman shared: "Yep. My husband and I went together through the line at Fresh Market and ordered the exact same thing. He got EASILY twice as much of everything as I did. It was infuriating." And someone else wrote: "My MIL has noticed that cafes will always give my FIL the larger piece if they order slices of cake or other cabinet items. Frustratingly, he also had never questioned this and thought that he should get the larger piece; he applies the same logic at home, where he also takes the largest piece of anything that's been cut. He's not doing it maliciously; he's just so used to being given the larger portion most of his life that he didn't question why it's happening or whether it's fair." Now I'm curious: have you ever tried this hack or noticed a man being served more food than you with the same order? Tell us your thoughts in the comments! Solve the daily Crossword
Buzz Feed
10-08-2025
- General
- Buzz Feed
Viral Trend Has Women Ordering Takeout Under Male Names
I've heard of women using male names for their food delivery orders for safety reasons, as a way of signaling to potentially creepy delivery dudes that there's a man in the house. But recently, women online have been talking about ordering under male names for a more economical reason — they believe that men get served more food. The theory was popularized in part by TikToker Emily Joy Lemus (@emilyjoylemus) after she placed identical orders at different Chipotle locations under male and female names. In her small sample-size experiments, the male names were all served between 10 and 30 grams more food. In the comments, some viewers shared that this tip has worked for them as a way of getting more food in their orders: And sharing tales of seeing this effect also play out when ordering in person: They also share other places where they've seen similar effects from either using a man's name or pretending a man is around: But, on the other hand, current and former Chipotle employees and other restaurant workers weighed in on the debate, saying that they doubt men are intentionally being served more food: But could it be unconscious bias??? The conversation is also happening over on Reddit, where a user wrote, "My coworker said that a friend of his started pre-ordering at restaurants under a male name (or a more gender neutral name), and now, she gets way more food than she did before. This intrigued me, so I tried giving it a try... Welcome to getting more food. This really surprised me, so I figured I'd share. I went back to ordering under my own name because I felt bad, but as a petite woman with a very fast metabolism, it's frustrating having to pay for extra portions when men get that much just for being men." Another user shared: "Interesting. We don't do Chipotle but get burritos at a similar local place and…yes. His burritos are always bigger than mine, and we usually get the same stuff. Hmph. I might test this with the online ordering." Another woman shared: "Yep. My husband and I went together through the line at Fresh Market and ordered the exact same thing. He got EASILY twice as much of everything as I did. It was infuriating." And someone else wrote: "My MIL has noticed that cafes will always give my FIL the larger piece if they order slices of cake or other cabinet items. Frustratingly, he also had never questioned this and thought that he should get the larger piece; he applies the same logic at home, where he also takes the largest piece of anything that's been cut. He's not doing it maliciously; he's just so used to being given the larger portion most of his life that he didn't question why it's happening or whether it's fair." Now I'm curious: have you ever tried this hack or noticed a man being served more food than you with the same order? Tell us your thoughts in the comments!
News.com.au
11-05-2025
- Entertainment
- News.com.au
Woman's free takeaway ‘hack' to score more food divides
A woman has stirred up controversy after sharing her 'hack' to score larger portions when getting takeaway food – and it all comes down to channelling your inner man. In her initial video, Emily Joy Lemus, 26, proposed a theory: that using a man's name when ordering might lead to more generous portions. Throughout the following three videos, she conducted an investigation with a sample size of precisely one to support her theory, and while it seems to check out, it left her followers, both men and women, mad. Things took a turn when she brought out the kitchen scales, attempting to prove her point, but somehow doing the opposite. The takeaway 'hack' Let's start at the beginning. 'I once heard somebody mention that if you put a man's name on your Chipotle order, they will actually give you decent portion sizes,' Ms Lemus began the clip, showing off 'Ryan's' order of a chicken and black bean rice bowl. 'Guys, she's full,' she exclaimed. 'She's overflowing. My little old name could never. This is both amazing and incredibly maddening.' And who doesn't like to get a 'lil extra somethin something when ravenous for some UberEats, huh? So naturally, the video went gangbusters, racking up over 2.3 million likes. Comments ranged from 'This is genius' to 'Brilliant!' and hundreds of viewers vowed to try out the trick next time they order delivery. However, others were less convinced, urging the TikTok detective to take her research more seriously and order one bowl with a man's name and one with a woman's name to show the comparison side-by-side. And she obliged. The experiment continued In her second video, she ordered two identical bowls, one for 'Emily Joy' and one for 'Andrew'. Right off the bat, she noted that the woman's order 'feels decent' but wasn't 'as heavy as the one with a man's name on it'. Andrew's order was indeed visibly bulkier, again supporting her theory. She also noticed there was way more salad on the woman's order. 'This makes me really mad,' she sighed. Time to get numerical But her confirmation bias did not go unchecked by commenters, who told her it was time to whip out the food scales and settle this debate once and for all, which she did. In video three, the scales came out, so you would think that the legitimacy of the study would finally be granted. However, she messed up when deciding to use the name 'Tom Holland' for the man's order, which obviously would influence any Chipotle worker's generosity. She was seemingly unaware of this flaw and continued to smugly show her followers that the woman's order weighed 685 grams and the man's – Spiderman's – was 714 grams. 'The proof is in the pudding, you guys!' she declares, as though she's just cracked a new iteration of gender bias in the world (to be honest, she kind of has, but her execution was questionable). Commenters hit back People agreed that her 'ah-hah' moment didn't land how she thought it would. 'Less than five per cent variance? Very doubtful it's intentional,' someone replied. 'I feel like this is a very acceptable margin of error,' another said. Ms Lemus was determined to prove her point. So in her final video, after filming one more side-by-side comparison where 'Amelia's' order weighed 682 grams and 'Alex's' 690 grams, she acknowledged, 'I know it's not even 10 grams, but I think it gets me that it's always the guys' that are heavier. 'Even if it's a small amount, it's always the guys' that weigh more. I just think that's ridiculous'. As one commenter aptly pointed out, 'This is definitely an issue; however, I think you posting about cases that have such small differences discredits it in the eyes of a lot of people'. So, is this actually a thing? While there's no actual data that backs up her claims, there are plenty more anecdotal reports across the internet of this sort of thing happening. One person even said that changing her name to a male's on delivery apps had more benefits than just getting more food. She used to frequently receive order notes and substitutions, but after changing her name to 'John', this stopped entirely. Delivery drivers also no longer ask 'Is this your home?' when dropping off her order. The woman also received fewer knocks on her door, and the drivers simply left the orders on the doorstep.
