CHIPOTLE Mexican Grill’s CEO has revealed a big change coming to all of its branches.
Scott Boatwright, who took over the burrito chain eight years ago, discovered a vital element was missing and sales were suffering as a result.
Scott Boatwright, Chipotle’s CEO, is focusing on customer service[/caption]
Before taking over, he worked closely with the restaurant’s founder, Steve Ells.
Boatwright claimed that Ells told him that Chipotle didn’t need to be friendly, it just needed to be fast.
However, that way of thinking is changing now, and Boatwright is bringing customer service to the forefront of the business.
“Our team members got so focused on creating the experience efficiently that they can just forget to smile,” he told Fortune.
Employees will be encouraged to use basic greetings and questions like “thank you for spending your hard-earned money at Chipotle” and “what can I make fresh for you today?”
Boatwright argues these phrases won’t slow staff down, and it will do wonders for the brand’s relationship with its customers.
Starbucks is doing something similar after Brian Niccol, Boatwright’s former boss, told employees to leave short, personal notes on cups.
The smile-more campaign isn’t the only change to be hitting the Mexican eatery.
Chipotle revealed its bold plans to sell Mexican food to Mexicans, with its first restaurant expected to open in Mexico City.
While no exact timeline or quantity was divulged for the openings, the CEO noted that Chipotle would work on opening the locations in the country in 2026.
In April this year, Boatwright confirmed that 345 new restaurants will open nationwide by the end of the year.
The restaurant chain’s expansion move is outpacing some top competitors in the fast food industry.
Boatwright told investors the restaurant openings would “surpass the size and scale of most of our competitors.”
While 345 is the target goal, Chipotle noted a range between 315 and 345 for the openings by 2026, with at least 80% including a Chipotlane.
Chipotlanes are notable drive-thrus where customers can pick up mobile or online orders they placed ahead of time.
Internationally, Boatwright also noted that the company will add about 15 to 20 new restaurants in Canada and another five in the Middle East.
Chipotle is testing robots in kitchens to free up more time for staff members.
Dubbed the Autocado, Chipotle’s helper robot cuts, cores, and peels avocados before they are hand mashed to create the restaurant’s signature guacamole.
The company first announced the move last September, revealing it would trial the machine in two California locations.
According to Chipotle, Autocado can cut, core, and peel avocados in 26 seconds on average, halving the amount of time it takes to make guac.
Each year, the chain uses about 5.2 million cases of avocados at its locations across the US, Canada, and Europe.
In an exclusive comment provided to The U.S. Sun, Chipotle revealed the machines have now been removed from the restaurants and returned back to the company’s head office.
The major chain is now working on “optimizing” the robot and ironing out any wrinkles it faced during its two-month trial period.
“After testing the devices in Orange County, Calif. restaurants for nearly two months and gathering valuable insights from our crew members, we’ve moved the device back to the Chipotle Cultivate Center in Irvine, CA, to explore process optimizations as part of our stage-gate process,” the Chipotle spokeswoman told The U.S. Sun.
Autocado is the second robot being trialed by Chipotle after it announced it would test out Chippy, a different bot used to automate tortilla chips.
There will be a change to how staff greet customers at Chiptole[/caption]
