« Incredible New Short Film | Home | It’s not about you »
Chipotle’s new online ordering falls short
By Charles Martin | April 4, 2009
I ordered last night from Chipotle’s new online ordering system. We love their food. It’s always good. Simple, but good. It’s a nice respite from the usual Friday night Mexican restaurant fare. No margies though.
I ordered online by going through a simple interface that let me name each order for the appropriate person. I don’t know why this was asked only because the food wasn’t labeled when I got it. I could see how it might be helpful in office situations but still, it’s not labeled and if you have a big office, you’re screwed looking at foil topped packages all afternoon. They could take a page from CPK. I’ve watched numerous times as a PA in Hollywood as the order captain went through each order with me and made sure the names they pre-wrote were matched with the food. We did GIANT orders from CPK in Hollywood and the organization was probably a big part of that. The labels may not be an idea and I may not have gotten any (or a handwritten name) because my order wasn’t ready anyway. I’ll get to that in two shakes.
I was asked in the order process about “making sure to confirm my order by calling the restaurant”. I scoffed “NO WAY”.
When I arrived the order wasn’t ready. My output receipt and order chit was still in the back room waiting on the printer. (how come there are no output printers for this on the line?) The place was hopping. I was supposed to remind them that my order was on the back burner? WOW. Nope, not me. I was supposed to call into a busy restaurant and speak restaurant with someone at the busy cash register? Nope, not me. You?
I asked about the process and was reminded that I must remind them. Nope, not me. And you? The manager was actually in defense mode. I could tell he didn’t like the process either. I then reminded them that this was NOT an online order. It was a phone order that I had to do double work on. Nope, not me. You?
The main premise behind good service is “non obtrusive” interaction. This simple premise is built upon the idea that you don’t visit Chipotle to chat with managers, have stress over an order, or be quizzed and cajoled about what you might have forgotten to do. The idea is that the only memory you have is good food. If the service dissapears, then it’s a great experience. If the service is memorable, then you’ve got problems. I learned this from the masters at Houstons and the Ritz Carlton. It seems Chipotle needs a few field trips. It’s a shame too, because for a restaurant of their size and ilk, they have a great website.
And great food.
Go gettem’.
Topics: Big biz, Sales Acumen | 1 Comment »
April 7th, 2009 at 6:12 pm
Chipotle answered us and here are his remarks. There may be editing – I don’t guarantee or warrant content:
Charles,
I am sorry for the inconvenience we’ve caused you. We know this “requirement” is a hassle for our customers and we are working to get it removed. For now, please allow me the chance to explain why this feature was started.
When we first started allowing folks to order from outside of our restaurant, only faxes were used. The fax machines in all our restaurants are in the back of house and usually in the office where our staff should not be spending their time, especially during busy periods. So, we asked customers to call us after their order was faxed so we knew to go retrieve the order from the office. Also the fax technology created issues with transmitting and receiving orders and the follow up call alerted us to a problem if the order was not on the fax machine as it should have been. The call also gave our staff (and it still does) the opportunity to ask questions about the order so we know we’re preparing the food correctly. I hope this makes sense.
Now, with online ordering, the orders are transmitted straight into the POS and the orders are clearly printed out. This minimalizes the troubles we had in the past with having to interpret handwriting and special requests. Now, we’re hoping the confirmation call for orders placed online can be eliminated and are testing it in some of our busiest restaurants to see what affect it has.
We appreciate your patience thus far and thank you for sharing your thoughts with us.
Sincerely,
Dawn Dillon
Mojo Mama
Chipotle