
The Chipotle Emphasis on "Throughput" Is A Recipe for Continued Disappointment - brianstorms
http://brianstorms.com/2014/02/the-chipotle-emphasis-on-throughput-is-a-recipe-for-continued-disappointment-talkin-to-you-chipotlet.html
======
PhasmaFelis
> _The executives describe their business in a thick jargon of corporate
> culturespeak including "our unique food culture" (translated: take Mexican
> cuisine and remove all the rich vibrancy of actual Mexican culture and
> replace with a pleasant, clean, efficient retail ambience right out of the
> movie Her)_

Oh, yes, why don't you start off the article by pointedly reminding us that
you are _far_ too smug to ever consider eating (gag) _fast food_.

Oh, and then why don't you follow up by implying that "pleasant" and "clean"
are anathema to authentic Mexican cuisine and culture. I'm sure that'll go
over real well.

The rest of the article may be packed with brilliant insights, but after that
intro I'm really not interested in finding out.

~~~
andrewflnr
The article is generally mocking, but I think you're taking that quoted
statement a little harder than it was meant to be taken. I think by "pleasant"
and "clean" he means sanitized and slightly boring. It later becomes clear
that the author does go to Chipotle, seemingly on a regular basis.

~~~
brianstorms
This. I go prolly once a week. The Chipotle is in the first floor of my office
building. But the experience is always the same.

I have nothing but respect for the employees. I feel like it's the corporate
level that dehumanizes them and doesn't let them really be empowered, which
would mean make sure the customer's happy and their order isn't screwed up.
Maybe it's a San Diego thing, but at my Chipotle, the order is destined for
screwup unless you watch the folks like a hawk.

------
hobs
Never seen any absurd greeting, and for those who havent been to chipotle, or
those who want to complain about how they order there, follow this simple
guide and you wont have to repeat yourself: tell the person manning the
section what you need from them and nothing else.

1\. You step to the first section, tell them whether you want a burrito or a
bowl and potentially what type of rice/beans.

2\. Next person, next instruction, tell them your meat and possibly what
salsa.

3\. Final person (besides the register) tell them what types of additional
fixings, hopefully in the order they would stack next to your burrito.

This is a simple strategy and the only time I have had to repeat myself at a
chipotle is when they are playing the music too loud.

~~~
joezydeco
The "absurd greeting" thing is a trend in the quick-serve restaurant business.

At first it was the "make the manager loop the dining room every 10 minutes"
idea, then it transitioned into the "Hey, howzit goin'?" opening at the Taco
Bell drive through[2], now it's the sushi-house irasshaimase! being screamed
by everyone when the door opens.

[2] On a recent Ask Metafilter thread, someone was honestly asking if the new
McDonald's drive-thru greeting ("Welcome Back!") was the result of face-
tracking cameras and/or license plate storage being implemented at the store
level. It took a lot of pages to try and convince the OP that this was just
the corporation trying to be mushy/friendly/feely to the customer and nothing
more. I still don't think he was convinced.

------
11thEarlOfMar
I'm not clear on what is broken. The reason Chipotle has become what it has is
because it serves a particular market, and has been optimized for that market.
All evidence points to that optimization being highly successful. A company
can not grow as quickly and deliberately as Chipotle unless it is doing an
awful lot of things right. And frankly, if you asked: What would McDonald's
look like if they wanted to portray themselves as a healthy, eco-friendly,
trend-setting fast food company? The answer would look a lot like Chipotle. So
queuing theory aside, it works well enough to be a major success. So what if I
have to repeat myself to the next server in line? The cost of repetition in
this context is nearly zero.

~~~
pistle
McDonald's became a big investor in Chipotle when Chipotle went from 20 to 500
stores. I'd likely argue that no small part of how they became big was due to
that hand. Then, McD divests and CMG hits NYSE and they ascend from there.

So, when you ask what would McD's look like if? Is that dancing around history
or can I say, "What if I told you...?"

OP got high, got dragged to Chipotle, got all malcontent, and wrote a blog
post on how much better he could run the $13B company. Soooo HN.

~~~
brianstorms
Not really. I'm OP and I go to Chipotle all the time. It just has this
suboptimal experience that drives me crazy.

Speaking of McDonald's, I'll never forget when this Chipotle opened, and a
huge 18-wheeler McDonalds truck pulled in in the alley out back, and unloaded
food supplies into the Chipotle. I had no idea . . .

------
fiatmoney
There's no reason to couple the order-taking and the order-fulfilment. At
fast-food Mexican restaurants which take the order at the counter, give you a
ticket, and hand off your finished product sometime later (I'm thinking of
District Taco in DC or Pancho Villa in the bay area) throughput is noticeably
higher, particularly because they can make more orders at the same time.

The one downside is limited backpressure on the order line, so you can end up
with more people filing in than there are seats (or sometimes even space to
wait for your order). Not as much of an issue for takeout-focused joints.

~~~
shotwell
I think Chipotle, like Subway and other such restaurants, are trying to give
the appearance of freshness and cleanliness.

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gergles
Yeah, I've been to Chipotle probably 30 times in the past 2 years and have
never endured the greeting thing. If it weren't for the photos, I'd have
assumed the author was writing about Moe's[1] and accidentally got them
confused (which is easy, since they're basically the same restaurant, except
Moe's DOES the horrendous annoying greeting thing every time somebody walks
in.)

1: [http://www.moes.com/](http://www.moes.com/)

------
kaila
My real trouble with miscommunication at Chipotle is not that I have to repeat
myself several times because I'm encountering new employees (Chipotle seems to
have done a good job of training me as a customer to know exactly what I need
to say at each section of the line), but that the glass partition is often so
high that I have to repeat myself several times because my voice does not
project over the glass. I'm 5'4", not abnormally short, and even on tip toe
this happens. Having to shout my order is more annoying than repeating it,
imo.

~~~
colanderman
_Chipotle seems to have done a good job of training me as a customer to know
exactly what I need to say at each section of the line_

Hear. "Hi, welcome to Chipotle, what can I get for you?" → "Wheat tortilla.
_pause_ Brown rice." As an engineer I don't mind (I know exactly how their
queue works and when to say what) but the interaction that takes place is
_not_ normal.

------
saurik
I go to numerous restaurants with the same model as Chipotle, and none of them
seem as disorganized as Chipotle. In fact, my friends and I generally like to
make fun of Chipotle for being ludicrously inefficient, in some parts due to
the crazy passing around of people and order components mentioned in this
article, and partly due to the employees not having any real experience
rolling burritos. In comparison, there's a 24-hour burrito place called
Freebirds nearby (related lineage, but yet entirely unrelated to other
instances of Freebirds if you happen to have one near you: the one in Isla
Vista is unique) who have almost an identical mechanic, and yet the staff,
many of whom have been working there the entire 15 years I've lived in this
area, are able to rapidly organize and serve lines of drunk people going out
the door and down the street at 1-2am, and without the burritos falling apart
as you attempt to pick them up. I guess to say: I don't think it is Chipotle
optimizing for "throughput" that causes the problems described here, as these
problems directly and negatively impact their throughput. (Also, for those who
doubt the greeting thing ever happens anywhere: the Chipotle near me
definitely has the "people jump to greet everyone that walks in the door"
property.)

------
Stratoscope
> The moment the fingers of one of your hands touch the door handle of the
> Chipotle store and pull to swing open said door. It is at that very moment,
> allowing just enough nanoseconds for the mere tip of one toe on one of your
> feet to enter the restaurant, that the Chipotle Customer Experience begins.
> That's all it takes. For you have entered more than a doorway. Much, much
> more. You have passed through the Chipotle Greeting Membrane, and like the
> blue humming mist above the egg-pods in Alien, Chipotle has noticed.

> "Huhhhhlllllo," some team member, some member of the Chipotle Crew sings,
> from somewhere in the distance behind the counter far away, as if some
> little buzzer deep underneath their uniform just emitted a gentle Skinnerian
> electric shock against their body because a sensor tripped the moment you
> came through the door, and this particular type of shock was one they've
> been trained to recognize and which makes them mindlessly, instantly sing
> the word "huhhhhhllllooo," or an equivalent sweet nothing, without even
> looking up.

What a bunch of horseshit.

I visit Chipotle often, and yes, I visit much better Mexican restaurants often
too. I do know the difference, but if I'm in the neighborhood of a Chipotle
and I'm in the mood for a quick hearty Mexican-style salad, they've never
disappointed me.

Part of it is I know what to do. Tell the first person "I'd like a salad to go
with no dressing." (Their dressing is some awful sweet thing.) I wait a moment
while they get the lettuce into the bowl. When they look up, I say "with brown
rice, pinto beans, peppers, and chicken."

At this step and the next one, I pace the ingredient requests to match when
they are adding them. It's easier and more reliable to watch and wait than it
is to ask them to think ahead.

After the bowl is passed to the next person and they look up, I add, "I'd like
pico de gallo, medium salsa, corn, and guacamole. I know the guacamole is
extra." (That way they don't have to explain it.)

As the guac goes on, I mention one last thing: "And some lettuce on top so the
the guacamole doesn't stick to the lid."

At this point they smile, knowing that I'm a real Chipotle Expert. (Much
better when the guac doesn't stick to the lid!)

I'm in and out in less than five minutes (or less than ten if there's a long
line) with a delicious salad - less than ten bucks and enough for two full
meals.

Now _that 's_ throughput.

~~~
dangrossman
You've just repeated his thesis. This is exactly what he described. "The
customer is really the boss here."

~~~
brianstorms
Exactly.

------
joezydeco
The author hasn't even begun to describe the mental juggling that you endure
when trying to order for multiple people, especially when you're going off-
menu or asking for omits/adds. Half your order crosses the boundary to server
B and you're still trying to make sure server A has everything down.

With practice (and telling my kids they're locked into their favorite order
for the next 10 years), I've managed to hit 80% accuracy. Short of writing it
down (and no, their fax-in form has no room for customs or mods), I'm not sure
how to get it any better without slowing the line to a complete halt.

~~~
akerl_
Custom... mods...?

This is a fast food joint, not a from-parts computer you're building off
Newegg. If you're expecting to rove off-menu, good luck.

Ordering from Chipotle for you? Obey the One Rule: tell each person only what
they care about. Being as Chipotle is pretty much always moderately busy,
you've got 5-10 people ahead of you, spend 3 seconds and notice who's doing
what. That way you don't have to repeat yourself or waste anybody's time.

Ordering from Chipotle for you and your 10 friends? Order online, show up,
#next.

~~~
joezydeco
Show me where on the online form I can order:

1) a side of white rice with a side of cheese on top (this is not a bowl with
everything else omitted)

2) a chicken quesadilla (yes, this is a thing)

...and the comments/instruction box is just plain useless.

------
mhb
Yes it's _...one big First World Problem type of whining..._

Online ordering is the way to go. There is a huge variation in the size of the
burritos from order to order, but it's not worth writing more than a sentence
about.

~~~
brianstorms
Seems kind of silly that I would have to order online first, considering that
the Chipotle I'm writing about is literally a quick walk down the stairs of my
office building. It's literally right downstairs. I go there often. I always,
always get the doge-speak "hai therez" and "welcomez" as I enter. It's kind of
hilarious. But yeah, I prolly oughta try the online ordering... I'm just
afraid they'll screw up and I won't find out until I'm back in my office.
Oops, that's a First World Problem.

~~~
dogecoinbase
> I always, always get the doge-speak "hai therez" and "welcomez" as I enter.
> It's kind of hilarious.

Hahahah totally agree, people with less education who work in fast food are
basically idiot dogs.

... wtf, man.

------
brudgers
Chipolte's system is focused on food consumers or food consuming consumers.
Its employees don't care because they can't. Care is not allowed. It slows
down the machine. The question "what's good today?" has no meaning because the
brown cardboard boxes from which today's ingredients emerged are
indistinguishable from the brown cardboard boxes from which yesterday's
emerged or tomorrow's will.

The general model of taking orders as people enter and preparing the food in
parallel with their progress toward the cashier is sound. Fortunato's Pizza in
downtown St. Pete uses it and it works well - despite allowing employees to
act dignified instead forcing them to act Disneyfied.

The reason? Fortunato's isn't a franchise and the head of the production line
at its nexus with the customer line was the owner himself. The face of the
restaurant was its most seasoned veteran. He wrote the order down, and if it
was pizza slices dropped them into the machine with the conveyor belt and heat
elements himself. His greeting meant something and more importantly his
customers' greetings meant something to him. They were his customers afterall.

[http://www.fortunatositalianmarket.com/](http://www.fortunatositalianmarket.com/)

------
billsix
I short companies like chipotle. I invest in twitter and snapchat. that is
where value is.

~~~
billsix
apparently my sarcasm is not appreciated.

chitptle has a great business model. and for fast food they are pretty
efficient. I've been a pleased customer for 8 years. on every transaction, I
assume that they made a profit.

~~~
11thEarlOfMar
I laughed and upvoted.

Next time, poke fun at TSLA or NFLX.

------
nilkn
I think this article exaggerates and I hate the smug tone of it all, but
overall I do agree that the Subway/Chipotle model can be annoying at times as
a customer. The problem is just that they intertwine ordering and preparing
the order. I think this caught on because, as a customer, it's cool to see
them make the food in front of you. But overall it causes a few problems:

(1) You can feel pressured sometimes to make really quick decisions because of
a line behind you.

(2) It can be pretty confusing ordering multiple items.

(3) It's not actually that efficient. They'd be better off having one person
take your order and different people, in a different area, preparing the
orders. This would solve all three of these problems.

To make up for the "novelty" (which has died off big time at this point) of
watching them prepare the food in front of you, some places just style the
building interior in a more lively and fun way. For instance, one of my
favorite local Mexican restaurants follows the above model, and the interior
is designed to make it look like you're ordering from a taco cart on a Mexican
street--even though you're actually in a strip center which is extremely
generic looking on the outside.

------
j79
When discussing suggestions for improvements, the author notes:

>When Subway and Quiznos work well, they work well because you, customer X,
and employee A, stick with each other the whole way down the line.

To be honest, this hasn't been my case for any Subway or Quiznos I've visited.
The ones I've visited has always had a manned section, with one employee
responsible for that section (bread, meats, condiments, checkout, etc.)

The difference, I find, is that at Chipotles, they seem to rush you along
between sections. I guess, similar to eating a restaurant where they're trying
to turn tables over...if you're in that mindset (get in, get out), it works.

At Subway, things are bit slower. The employees work together, relaying the
information amongst each other (if possible), or getting that information from
the customer. There's more conversation, I find.

------
gfodor
Or, you could realize how you're supposed to order at Chipotle based upon
experiencing the fail, and do that next time. Don't tell the first person what
meat you want, that's not their job. Know that you'll need to tell the cashier
what your order is so they can ring you up. Don't order weird shit that's not
made up of the basic stuff on the menu, keep it simple.

It's not complicated, the reason their business model works is because their
food is pretty good and for the customer who adapts to understand their
workflow they can get their food crazy fast. Its painless and I'd imagine this
adaptation process where Chipotle regulars "know the drill" and get their food
in like 30 seconds is part of the reason the company is doing so well.

------
calbear81
If a $17B market cap and continued growth is recipe for disappointment, then
keep on disappointing more and more customers
([https://www.google.com/finance?q=NYSE:CMG](https://www.google.com/finance?q=NYSE:CMG)).

I'm a happy Chipotle customer. Fast, efficient, and clean. I like watching
them make my burrito. I like telling them that they're putting too much of
something or to load up more on the corn salsa. I also like that they cook the
steak to a medium.

------
awa
Actually, my experience at chipotle has been pleasant most of the time and I
order out of script stuff("chicken bowl to go with the fajita(veggies) and the
tortilla on the side")

Big orders do throw them off but that's because they are optimized for the 99%
case of 1-2 orders/customer.

------
dmcy22
I went to Chipotle for lunch yesterday and felt really rushed, even though
there weren't too many people behind me. I'd rather wait in line longer and
have a more pleasant experience than to be another customer they just process
through the line.

------
Nursie
They have at least one branch in London now. I've been there. They didn't do
the creepy greeting thing, probably because we'd look at them like they were
crazy and walk right out again. Also they might not find any workers.

~~~
jcdavis
Ive been at least 20+ chipotles in at least 5+ US states and never heard of
this greeting thing.

~~~
protomyth
I've never been greeted like that in MN and would probably walk out after
saying "Yeah... no...". I do tend to go to Panchero's when I'm in the Twin
Cities, MN.

------
jack-r-abbit
Sounds like this particular Chipotle we're talking about here is a just a
shitty one. I've never had an issue with their assembly line process. It works
quite well for me.

------
mikeash
Are there two chains called Chipotle and I've only ever been to one of them?
Because this is clearly not talking about the one I've been to.

~~~
brianstorms
Maybe it's a San Diego thing. This is what my Chipotle is like. Every time. I
go frequently.

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AndrewKemendo
Queuing theory at it's finest! Bravo.

------
transfire
Chipotles is such a hipster crap bucket. I can't believe people actually stand
in long lines and pay good money to eat that wannabe faux texmex at a sterile
no atmosphere cafeteria counter. If you are one of their many lost patrons,
please do yourself a favor and go to a real texmex restaurant (or actual
mexican for that matter) and discover what real food is like.

~~~
positr0n
I like chipotle and I like real tex mex (I live in Texas). Chipotle is a
better replacement for fast food; it doesn't compete in any way with tex mex
restaurants in my mind.

------
CamperBob2
This author needs to visit a pharmacy, not a Mexican fast-food franchise.

------
Fasebook
I really don't care if I have to say "steak" twice. If it was 3 times I would
probably not go there again, but twice is a not a big rock for my wagon.

