Case Study Chipotle

Chipotle ventured into a new territory when it was created, as it had an innovative vision for fast-casual restaurants. By using fresh and quality ingredients, Chipotle raised the bar in their segment. The service line where customers could see their order being prepared enhanced the experience of Chipotle. Consumers who were used to eating at fast-casual restaurants where the food was frozen and made out of sight were able to savor the uniqueness of Chipotle. These differences helped Chipotle become successful. However, as competitors copy the traits that make Chipotle unique, Chipotle must adapt and overcome in order to remain a profitable company.

Where and when did you observe the behaviors? Who made the observations? On 1/28/16, En-Lei observed inside of Chipotle. On 1/29/16 and 1/30/16, Matt observed across the street from Chipotle. On 2/1/16, Dana observed from a window across from Chipotle in the lobby of the Huntington Hall. On 2/2/16, John observed across the street from Chipotle. What behavior categories did you observe? How did you define each behavior category? We observed the outwardly happiness or unhappiness of individuals leaving Chipotle during lunch hours. We defined outwardly happiness as the smiling of each individual leaving Chipotle and unhappiness as the lack of a smile. When and how did you make observations? We used the frequency method of observation during lunchtime

Here, Taco Bell had a customer that started a crisis for their organization, by saying that the hamburger meat used in the ingredient was not real meat. Furthermore, the customer file a lawsuit against the organization. Here, when a crisis occur the first step is to convening with your crisis management team. However, maybe only one team member is present at this crisis, it is their job to assess casualty. Once this done the terms member will contact all other crisis member were they can meet to collaborate a plan for this crisis. If there are any human injury, this step in very important crisis team out to the family member that has love  one involved in this crisis. The organization should be the first one reach to the family this show that

The amazing service that chipotle has is great. The line in Chipotle can be a mile long and it will only take ten minutes to go through the line. Also you can phone in your order it is ready for pickup once you arrive and you avoid the line. The workers are very polite the will most likely clear your table even though you are supposed to do it.

Chipotle, which is still hurting from food safety scares last year. Chipotle is adding four new people to its board as the burrito chain tries to turn its business around. Matthew Paull, a former chief financial officer at burger chain McDonald’s Corp, is on Pershing advisory board.The picks were made in agreement with activist investor Bill Ackman, whose firm Pershing Square is Chipotle's biggest shareholder. The company is in the midst of improving its customer service , a move it hopes will help it win back people.

Chipotle has a fairly large market chain of restaurants located primarily in the United States with over 1900 restaurants, along with other locations in Canada, France, Germany and UK. The company also has two brands under the chain called ShopHouse Southeast Asian Kitchen, serving Asian-inspired cuisine, and Pizzeria Locale, a fast-casual pizza concept. In the U.S. field that Chipotle mainly operates has been experiencing rapid growth with the fast casual concepts in the industry recently, which creates its competitive advantage away from operators such as McDonald’s and

Chipotle opened its first store in 1993, at 1644 East Evans Avenue in Denver Colorado (“Chipotle Story”, 2011; “Our Company”, 2016). The founder/CEO Steve Ells borrowed $75,000 from his father to helped in opened the restaurant and he calculated that to break even we would have to sell at least 114 burritos a day (Stock & Wong, 2015). Over the first few days, since it opened, chipotle made more money than Ells had anticipated and he started to think about opening another restaurant in Denver. Ells father and mother help him raised another $1.3 million from family and friends to help Chipotle grew in 1996. From 1996 through 1998, Ells and his father were trying to get buy-ins from investors with a deep pocket so that they can

Chipotle is classified as a fast-casual food restaurant. Chipotle is one of the most popular fast-casual food restaurants and is growing in popularity more and more daily. Chipotle has achieved popularity by; having a small menu, requiring quality staff, using fresh produce, using non-GMO meats, and not allowing franchises. “One of the keys to Chipotle’s success is its small menu. A smaller menu has three benefits. First, since Chipotle only stock fresh ingredients, there is always a chance of food spoilage. The small menu reduces the number of ingredients needed on-hand, thus reducing the likelihood of waste. Second, small menus mean quick service. At other fast food restaurants, the kitchen can get overwhelmed by the orders and can make mistakes. At Chipotle, mistakes are

Chipotle Mexican Grill was founded by CEO Steve Ells in July 1993 after receiving his degree in culinary. He worked in in a high end restaurant for two years he inspired to create his restaurant from small Mexican restaurants in San Francisco mission district. Steve’s idea is to put his mark on the concept by stuffing tortilla with gourmet ingredients. He used small business loan and financial funds from his father and Steve Ells opened his first restaurant named by Chipotle Mexican Grill in Detroit, Michigan. Steve created an open kitchen to make the customers interact directly with the employees and have control on the food they are ordering. Chipotle Mexican Grill is on of the fast Mexican restaurant chains, with 400 outlets in 20 states.

On February 8, 2016, Chipotle temporarily shut down all their restaurants to have a food-safety meeting. Chipotle had a foodborne illness outbreak including E. coli and the managers knew they had to do something about it. Sales were plummeting and the corporation had loyal customers, very unhappy. The meeting not only addressed the food safety issue, but the co- CEOs of Chipotle, Steve Ells and Monty Moran, also wanted to thank all their employees and encourage them. The CEOs (the managers) made a great impact on Chipotle by closing the stores for a few hours because it worked in the end. Chipotle chose this path because they would address the problem head on instead of letting the problem go. They chose an accommodative strategy of acting responsibly to the problem. Chipotle also made this decision because if their customers saw that they closed their store to have a food safety meeting, it shows they’re trying to fix the problem, educate their workers in hopes that the customers would return.

Chipotle, a national Tex-Mex fast food chain, had a series of foodborne illnesses attributed to their tainted food. Throughout 2015, E. coli, Norovirus, and Salmonella were all found throughout their restaurant chains and sickened many people (Zuraw). The CDC never found a direct link between any menu items and the outbreaks. Chipotle suspected tainted beef; however, the CDC did not find this to be the case (Beach).

The company itself is considered as a breakthrough innovation in the American fast food market. Initially CMG was set to challenge fast food traditional trend and in the end it launched a new industry, and became the top player among the fast food chains (LINK1). Chipotle invented a way to sustain the speed, experience and convenience of standard fast food restaurant but provide a far better quality of the food. Unlike the common perception of fast food industry with reduced “penny-pinching” prices and expanded menus, CMG went opposite direction by providing higher quality foods through the different value equation. Even though the meals are more expensive in comparison with majority of fast food competitor’s offerings, Chipotle still manages

When Chipotle was first initiated it showed a different type of fast food chain that hadn’t been seen before. It offered fresh and organic ingredients and made it accessible to consumers through its quick serving line where they had the option to add whatever ingredient they liked or wanted to try. Throughout the years it built a strong foundation that was backed by McDonalds and other major investors. Even though their biggest investor was McDonalds they kept the promise of serving good and quality food. Ells worked hard to keep the model of “Food with Integrity,” and it remains after 25 years in the business. But the industry is changing, more businesses are coming up with their own ideas of serving organic products to consumers at a lower

General: Identify and address key issues behind recent outbreak and food safety image while maintaining customer loyalty and consumer behavior.

While most companies may only highlight their successes to the public, it’s important to understand that every business has its own group of challenges. The key is to recognize the issues and take the necessary action to move forward.