Chipotle Incident Summary

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.

Chipotle (Food Industry) In Chipotle some of the potential hazards include cleanliness and hazardous communications OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) doesn’t have many rules towards food industries but some of the rules are that there most communication of high allergen foods such a peanut butter in the work place. There also no confirmed regulations of wearing latex gloves within the work place due to it be potentially dangerous to workers due to irritation and inflammation. The employers understand that not everybody can use latex gloves and provide latex free gloves to workers. They also make sure to not use high allergen foods such as peanuts and substitute them with other products. Employees should always make sure they change their gloves and keep good personal hygiene. Employees should also make sure with each food they prepare such as foods with tomatoes that they change gloves and avoid cross contamination.

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

Additionally, support for local and organic farming has shown a decrease in fast food sales. Recently fast food giant, Mcdonalds, has had to close nearly 700 restaurants due to lack of sales (Wahba). The general public is speaking out more and is stating they want fewer additives and more “real” food to be convenient. According to the WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION “GMO’s or “Genetically Modifies Organisms” are organisms in which the genetic material has been altered in a way that does not naturally occur”. The actual effects of GMO’s in food have had extensive research done to confirm suspicions that they are hazardous to the human body and are not suitable for consumption. Chipotle was the first fast food chain to disclose any artificial ingredients

The actions taken by Chipotle after the E.coli outbreak can be seen as both exacerbating the problem and finding ways to resolve the problem. However, as the crisis began, leadership coming from CEO Steve Ells and Co-CEO Monty Moran painted a picture of denial. One of the first decisions made in reaction the crisis was to purchase full-paid advertisements. This marketing tactic was done to mask the severity of the e-coli outbreak, sooth investors, and retain loyal customers. In addition to television advertisements, Chipotle decided to advertise using direct mail (Wahba, 2016). This practice does not correlate with traditional chipotle advertising; their last paid advertisement was in 2012. Chipotle has always operated in a fashion that let

Chipotle, ever the noble ambassadors of good burrito will, have been humble and cooperative throughout the investigation. Health officials are giving the company kind words and gold stars (despite, you know, the salmonella). One spokesperson for the department of health said that “Chipotle has been extremely proactive in collaborating with investigators to quickly control the outbreak and identify its source.” Another asserted the Health Department’s confidence that it is now safe to eat at Chipotle, sharing that he had a burrito bowl there last Wednesday.

Chipotle inappropriately handled this crisis because CEO Steve Ells and Co-CEO Monty Moran blamed the Center for Disease Control and the media for exaggerating the outbreak. Creating a public perception of Chipotle’s board members who did not showcase a clear motive for public health safety. After the E. coli outbreak, Moran made statements to Chipotle’s investors at an industry conference: “The media likes to write sensational headlines, you’ll probably see, you know, when somebody sneezes, Ah, it’s E. coli from Chipotle” (Colvin, 2015). Moran made another statement on Twitter ‘saying’ “CDC is working in an unorthodox way” (Wohl, 2015). Moran’s arrogant comments reflected a quality of an unconcerned CEO in the eyes of the public. In one of

This article is about how Chipotle was with a federal grand jury subpoena due to a connection with norovirus in a Simi Valley restaurant. There was outbreak of the norovirus and/or E. coli; thus causing many of the chain restaurants to temporarily shut down. Nearly a month after they reopened those restaurants almost 150 college students had a norovirus after eating Chipotle. Which in result is causing the FDA to use criminal sections on these food safety outbreaks.

Chipotle is facing numerous challenges due to the fact that E. coli outbreak which requires the corporation from the key stakeholders to keep it under control and apply the new food safety protocols which can aid to bring the regular customers back. Although the main cause remains a mystery, Chipotle’s E. coli outbreak has been authoritatively declared officially over by the experts. However, since the poisoning outbreak, the impact of the reduced number of customers affects the profit which the company used to enjoy before such eventuality (Scholes 27).

Chipotle’s kitchen and restaurant design intentionally places employees up front to reinforce a focus on service, through interaction with customers and individual attention by creating one burrito at a time (Chipotle, 2011, p. 5). While Chipotle combines basic ingredients to magnify the flavor they also stick to the basics when staffing their restaurants. Chipotle only has two shifts and cross trains their

The Chipotle Mexican Grille opened its first store in 1993 beginning a new category in the restaurant industry known as “fast casual” (About Us, 2014). This new category featured the “highest quality raw ingredients, classic cooking methods, and distinctive interior design-features that are more frequently found in the world of fine dining.” However, aside from the normally long wait in lines, an order could be taken and served in only a couple minutes. Currently Chipotle operates more than 1,500 restaurants internationally. The following pages will present a balanced approach to the effectiveness of Chipotle’s strategy analyzing financial performance, customer satisfaction, employee/learning and growth, and internal process.

Management is the backbone of any good company. In order for a company to successful, a strong management team is needed in order to meet goals in an effective and efficient manner. Chipotle opened its doors in 1993 when Steve Ells took a chance and began his business in San Francisco. Chipotle is a chain of Mexican restaurants that is based in Denver. Chipotle is often cited as the company that started the fast casual movement where customers can get a healthy prepared meal quicker than other traditional styled restaurant. The fast casual restaurant concept was well received and Chipotle’s popularity expanded all across the United States. Customers could not get enough of the Mexican chain and massive lines could be seen stretching outside the stores all across the country. Along with its popular food, Chipotle Mexican Style Grill is a company that contains a successful management style. Why? What sets this companies management apart from the rest? There are many factors that we could analyze to understand the success of Chipotle, yet for the purpose of this paper, we will look into the cooperate culture of the company, human resource management, their leadership style, and how Chipotle deals with and how the company manages in times of crisis.

One can only assume that Chipotle uses concentration strategies for their corporate level strategies, because they only concentrate on the restaurant industry. Market penetration and market development is their main focus, as they are attracting new customers as they increase brand awareness through their business strategies and their “Food With Integrity” campaign, Farmed and Dangerous live action story-telling comedy series, and Cultivate Foundation, which is a non-profit organization supporting sustainable agriculture, family farming and food education, and they are expanding into new markets with international expansion, so Chipotle can continue “to change the way people think about and eat fast food” (Chipotle, 2015). Chipotle also, uses ‘product development’, but not as aggressively as market penetration. The most recent product development is a meat alternative made from tofu, called “Sofritas”. Chipotle is highly invested in Pizzeria Locale, suggesting the possibility of horizontal integration in the near future, and is using an adjacent strategy with its sister restaurant ShopHouse Southeast Asian

Steve Ells is the founder and CEO of Chipotle. Steve is a trained chef and opened his first Chipotle store in 1993 at a former Dolly Madison ice cream store in Denver, Colorado. His goal was to serve high quality, delicious food quickly and in a “fast-casual” setting (Ells).

This case study is about Chipotle, a young fast food company. In 2012, Chipotle has shown a successful performance with its Grills. Following the path, Chipotle is building a new project which is the ShopHouse. The ShopHouse predicated on much the same strategy with the Grill but it had