I am interviewing for an area manager role and really want this job. Would like to discuss something that happened during the last interview.

Email in my profile if you have work(ed) for the company and are willing to discuss a few things with me.

Thanks much....

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Ronin1069,

good luck, Ronin.

If you get the role please use your powers to get a Chipotle opened in Snohomish County, WA -- east of I-5.

GOOD LUCK!

A "just in case" bump....

Ronin,
Was it something specific to Chpotle? Lots of us on here do some interviewing and may be able to shed light if we had a better idea what occurred.

I'm guessing they asked you to bump up your Tatoo, piercing and gauging budget. :-)

quote:

Originally posted by Powers77:
Ronin,
Was it something specific to Chpotle? Lots of us on here do some interviewing and may be able to shed light if we had a better idea what occurred.

I'm guessing they asked you to bump up your Tatoo, piercing and gauging budget. :-)

Okay, I'll play. Interview went very well, to the point where the recruiting manager told me to have a nice weekend and not worry about waiting to hear back, he was moving me forward to the next round.

Then he gave me a scenerio:

You have 7 restaurants. 3 "C" 2 "D" and and 2"F" stores. Write a 30/60/90 plan to address sales/profitability/guest counts in the 7 stores and how you would bring them up to a "B" level.

Guys, I have been through a lot of interviews in my day, and given a few as well, never heard of this type of 'assignment' during the interview process. I Googled the hell out of it and could not find this type of process specific to Chipotle.

My initial thought is that he was thinking of 7 specific stores in my area that I might get; he wants to know if I am just talking a good game or if I really know what I'm doing.

Next interview is on Thursday or Friday and I am putting together a written plan based on the info that he gave me.

Chipotle has been a "grail" company for me for many years, I very much want this job and to work for them.

Thoughts?

quote:

Originally posted by Ronin1069:
My initial thought is that he was thinking of 7 specific stores in my area that I might get; he wants to know if I am just talking a good game or if I really know what I'm doing.

Interesting. It almost sounds like he is "data mining" for solutions without having to pay for them.

p.s. Please become the manager of my local store and tell them to turn up the warmers. I'm tired of eating cold food there.

No suggestions, I guess all in my area are A's. I've stopped eating there. The whole purpose of fast food is to be fast. I will not wait in line for 20 minutes to order fast food.

If a stores problem is long lines here's my super obvious advice. Overlap shifts from 11-2. If there's any DC Metro Chilpolte managers reading this. Staff your store adequately please.

Hope you hit it out of the park Ronin, good luck!

Don't over think it, I would find out why the low rated stores are low rated (cold food,cleanliness, CS etc) and then figure how to improve

quote:

Interesting. It almost sounds like he is "data mining" for solutions without having to pay for them.

My thought as well

quote:

Originally posted by nasig:

quote:

Interesting. It almost sounds like he is "data mining" for solutions without having to pay for them.

My thought as well

1. Agree.
2. Strategize how to answer the questions well enough for an interview to get the job yet give answers that leave them wanting more... so they have to hire you to get the job done.

I don't work for Chipolte, but assume they are veteran friendly to bring you along in the interview. Not to turn it into a combat op but think how you handle group performance issues from your training

A. I must have proper intel on each situation in order to craft workable solutions.
B. I cannot stay at HQ, or behind the lines if I really want to know what's going on. So I'll spend time at each store observing from the customer's vantage - perhaps as a "secret shopper" if the employees don't yet know who I am. I'll sit with my food in the dining area and make my observations/notes for later review with staff.
C. I'll speak with or survey customers on their likes, dislikes and how strongly they feel about returning for a future meal - perhaps with coupons or a drawing as incentive.
D. I'll look at what the stores that do things right do, even if that means being a customer in another sales region where there are "A" stores and learn from them.
E. I'll consider "loaning" lieutenants who perform better to stores that need to learn to come up to par.
F. Are there ways to address underperforming employees to seek effective means for changing the motivation of each?

As a structure for the 30 60 90 look at PDSA cycle and see if it helps you rough out a timeleine LINK and see if it helps structure your thoughts and plans. Remember to break the work and plan into small, measurable and obtainable goals. Time from door to order, order to food, etc.. LINK

If you have to hand this in in writing, don't make it something so cookbook that they can do it without you. Make it implicit that they need to hire YOU so that this clever plan you've devised can work.

Ronin, best wishes for this to work out the way you want it to.

quote:

If you have to hand this in in writing, don't make it something so cookbook that they can do it without you. Make it implicit that they need to hire YOU so that this clever plan you've devised can work.

Thanks for this part. It is something I have thought about.

I'd tell him he'd have to hire me to find out.

It sounds like a lousy interview question. It's a loaded question that has many variables and frankly, the company should have a process in place to fix it, not some guy coming in for an interview.

If you want a serious answer I would have said training. If training can't fix these stores then the problem transcends anything you'd be able to do.

quote:

D. I'll look at what the stores that do things right do, even if that means being a customer in another sales region where there are "A" stores and learn from them.

ChuckFinley

Much of what you wrote in your post I have already incorporated into my plan. What's quoted above I had not considered, but is brilliant. As the "newb", of course I would want to visit/work at an "A" store for a day or two and get a feel for what's right. Thank you!

To those who think the company is 'data mining', maybe? But in the end, it doesn't really matter. I've been trying to get this role with them for years, I'll play the game. Their ball, their rules.

You might want to visit each store before the interview, order food and sit in the dinning area and observe the interaction of the staff/management/customers.

Location and staff can make or break a store.

30/60/90 day plans are very common in my industry as part of the interview process. Basically it's an opportunity to show that you understand the industry/job and can prioritize the important task that need to be completed to get off to a good start and begin to solve problems and accomplish things that are important to reaching goals.


What do I need to accomplish in the first 30 days:

Onboarding
Training
Analyse P&L for each store
Visit all stores personally
Meet all staff
Etc...

Next 30 days:
Evaluate staff for long-term placement/replacement
Plan to hire new staff
Gap plan for P&L shortfalls and action plan for short term results
Etc....

Next 30 days:
Complete performance reviews with each staff member
Implement plan to drive traffic based on evaluations from the first 60 days
Etc...etc..


You dont need a novel, simple bullets that you can talk throuh and expand upon in a follow up interview. Ours are typically presented to a panel via PowerPoint. I have no familiarity with your industry or role and pulled the above action items out of my backside so ignore the content....its simply a template for what a 30/60/90 day plan looks like. Don't pack to too much into the first 30 days as you will look delusional. Acknowledge that there will be time spent doing onboarding type activities and training as it will show that you understand the importance of I reheating into the culture and doing things right from the start. Use the 2nd and 3rd 30 day blocks to demonstrate that you know how to identify problems and implement plans to correct them. Also demonstrate that you understand the industry or job by prioritizing the more critical issues in the 30-60 day block.

Ronin, i don't think they're "data mining" at all. It sounds more like an MBA assignment and they want to know how you'll problem solve multi-store issues.

Bring in your plan in bullet format with calendar goals (first six months, second, etc). Be cognizant of monthly changes in sales for the region.

In technology, we throw scenarios in interviews all the time. Sometimes a past problem, sometimes a current. The idea is to see how you approach the problem, how your thought processes work. What questions get asked about the scenario ( or if you ask any ), if/then branching in the plan, depth of knowledge around the subject matter...

I'd run with it. If they get an answer from you for free and don't hire you, you didn't want to work for them.

Fascinating information, gentlemen.

I'm taking notes and learning even though I'm not in this situation.