Manager of 6 people refuses to get 2 burrito bowls for 1 employee: 'I... called HR'

Author image for Remy Millisky
Remy Millisky • Writer and Editor
Dec 30, 2025 11:00 AM EST

Special requests for your workplace lunch are all well and good, but this team member may have taken it too far with her lunchtime request. 

There's been a rising tide of disinterest toward the slop bowl economy, and I think you're all wrong for it. Slop bowls are incredible, timeless even; in the same way one can drink coffee every day and never tire of it, some of us will always adore our bowls of mixed veggies, proteins, and rice. I mean, no one likes paying those rising prices on burrito bowls… but sometimes you have no alternative. 

If you're the right amount of hungry, you can eat your bowl over two meals, which is awesome. Or, you can half of eat your meal at 12 PM, and then eat the other half at 1 PM. It's a matter of willpower, but sometimes that second half of the burrito bowl is just calling your name minutes after you've finished meal #1. Anyway, this person got a free lunch at work — score! She could've easily split her burrito bowl over 2 meals, but instead, she had a different idea. She decided to push the boundaries of workplace niceties, but in her case, it didn't work out quite as planned. 

The worker found out that a company lunch was planned, and asked her manager for a burrito bowl, but added "2x" alongside the written request. Hmm… an interesting strategy. You take a risk with a move like that, because asking for 2 bowls of food brings up a few questions that aren't necessarily polite to ask a worker you're in charge of, such as, "Why do you need that much food?" I probably would've just gotten 2 bowls if the company was paying for it… but I also would side-eye that worker if she didn't eat 2 entire bowls of food at lunch. We all know that by ordering 2 meals, she was most likely planning to take the extras home with her, either for an extra meal, or as a meal for a spouse. If the company is paying for it, I guess it's fair game, but it's just a bit odd, isn't it? Not to mention that in this case, the manager was personally paying for it, so that should be the manager's choice whether or not to indulge her. Plus, if this person had ordered her 2 bowls, it could've made the other workers wonder why they couldn't get 2 meals worth of food. I mean, some people really do just have outlandishly large appetites… but this is the kind of gluttony that squashes company lunches right in their tracks. 

Check out the full story below and see what you would've done in this situation: would you buy a 2nd lunch bowl for a coworker, or to ignore the request? 

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  • 01
    Man with ponytail wearing blazer with laptop in front of him looks at woman in front of him with concern
    via Getty Images For Unsplash+

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • 02
    I manage a team of 6 people, we are now coming back to the office one day a week. I decided to get lunch for the team to show that I am appreciative of everyone coming back to the office, eventually I can use the company card
    via u/throwBack524
  • 03
    but for now I used my own cash. Well I ask everyone to write on this sheet of paper what their order for Chipotle is, and I was going to pick it up. Well, one of my team members
    via u/throwBack524
  • 04
    call her Cathy, puts her order down and then puts 2x. I was like this is odd but when I went to Chipotle I just got one bowl for her, as I did for all my other coworkers. I didn't want people to think I was being unfair or anything.
    via u/throwBack524
  • 05
    Well when I come back I give everyone their bowls / burritos and Cathy flips. out. She says why I didn't get her two bowls, I said I wasn't sure. She then starts raising her voice, I tell her we can speak in my office but then she goes onto rant saying
    via u/throwBack524
  • 06
    that I am giving her an eating dindor, that she isn't going to starve herself. I stepped away to my desk and called HR. She went to their office and then someone had a phonecall with me.
    via u/throwBack524
  • 07
    Besides what happens with HR, on a personal level was I wrong here? I didn't want to be unfair to my other team members that I get one person twice the food.
    via u/throwBack524
  • 08
    I can see myself being the asshole here because I should have tried to contact her before I went to get the orders.
    via u/throwBack524
  • 09

    Commenters supported this manager's choice

    FuriousPI... NTA. Those bowls are large and they're expensive. It's bold of her to assume she could get two. Eating just one is not going to starve her. It would be unfair to let her have twice as
    via u/FuriousPI314
  • 10
    much food when most likely, that second bowl is going home for next days lunch or dinner. Maybe set a budget for each person in the future to prevent this kind of thing and recommend/allow
    via u/FuriousPI314
  • 11
    anyone who wants extra to bring their own extra or their own cash to pay for it.
    via u/FuriousPI314
  • 12
    NTA- I believe when someone offers to buy you a meal, you need to be respectful of what you order. I try not to order the most expensive thing on the menu and I
    via u/rsvp_as_pending629
  • 13
    would certainly not order 2 bowls. I don't even order two bowls if I'm paying for myself. If she wanted an extra bowl, she can use her own money to buy it instead of taking advantage of your kind gesture.
    via u/rsvp_as_pending629
  • 14
    Bianchi-B... Sounds like Cathy is setting it up so no one gets Chipotle in the future. I'm sure she'll be super apologetic when HR decides that
    via u/Bianchi-Birder
  • 15
    managers cannot treat their employees as someone complained when a manager did. NTA.
    via u/Bianchi-Birder

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