If they are looking for specific solutions they are nuts. You have no knowledge of specifics...

I believe they are looking more for management philosophies. Problem assessment outlines etc.

Chipotle had those multiple outbreaks of those foodborne illnesses right?

They could be giving away free food and I wouldn't touch it.

Hopefully if you get hired you can unfuck their program. I think a renaming / rebranding would help.

quote:

Originally posted by cparktd:
If they are looking for specific solutions they are nuts. You have no knowledge of specifics...

I believe they are looking more for management philosophies. Problem assessment outlines etc.

^^^This. If I were the recruiting guy, I'd be looking for how much hands on, in the store, time and involvement you'd be willing to commit to untangle the 'root' issues that need to be resolved. Since you haven't worked for them in the past, and have no real clue what's going on with those seven stores, it would be ill-conceived to attempt to provide any specific solutions at this point.

As I tell my guys all the time, assuming you have the stones to do it, making changes isn't hard. Making the 'right' changes at the 'right' time is much harder.

quote:

Originally posted by Photoman:

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.

Oh for goodness sake. He wants to get some idea if the applicant can come up with a marketing plan for restaurants.

To the OP, I can't help. You need to demonstrate that you know how to increase sales in fast casual restaurants.

quote:

You need to demonstrate that you know how to increase sales in fast casual restaurants.

Bingo. We have a winner.

quote:

Originally posted by RHINOWSO:
Chipotle had those multiple outbreaks of those foodborne illnesses right?

They could be giving away free food and I wouldn't touch it.

Hopefully if you get hired you can unfuck their program. I think a renaming / rebranding would help.

It would be difficult to "unfuck" their program from a local store level because Chipotle uses, even brags about, local sourcing of meats and vegetables for a national chain operation. But this strategy complicates their food supply chain, thus opening up many more possibilities of food borne illnesses (they even admitted this in an anuual report a few years ago). They've already had hundreds of cases across the entire country.

A Taco Bell or McDonalds might sound inferior to Chipotle, but these two huge companies use a tightly controlled supply chain system that can detect and quickly contain an outbreak. Using multiple "organic and local" suppliers is a risk most chains will not touch.

Our Chipoltle stores around where I live are almost empty most of the time, it's a wonder they are still open. The old days of lines out the door and water cooler chatter about burrito bowls are gone. I’ve eaten in a Chipotle twice in the last 12 months or so. To me, it was a fad of sorts, the outbreaks came to surface, and now folks have moved on to other places. I agree with RHINOWSO that a different marketing strategy could help Chipotle, what that would be, I don't know.

quote:

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

GOOD LUCK!

not to hijack but you guys have some great gun stores up there, nothing like the crap we have here. I would gladly trade you our chipotle for them.

Ronin, my brother has opened 100+ fast food restaurants around the world and consults for the fast food industry. I have forwarded him the question and asked him for some bullet points. Will let you what he says.

Check your email I just sent all 3 responses. Hope it helps. Good luck.

Dusty,

You went above and beyond. Thank you so much.

More than welcome. Good luck and let us know how it turns out.

quote:

Originally posted by Ronin1069:

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?

have you tried glassdoor.com ? interview questions frequently get covered.

quote:

have you tried glassdoor.com ? interview questions frequently get covered.

I've been all over that, thanks!

Second interview went fantastic today. Round 3 on Tuesday and then to Chicago to meet with senior leadership if that goes well.

Thanks to all for the feedback/suggestions on my 30/60/90 plan. They were very impressed.

Good to hear. Best of luck!

Nice! Knock it out of the park; you seem like the right man for the job!

Awesome congrats

Very best of luck!

Great news! Good luck with this. If you get in, please lower the volume of the music in your stores. The interior design of every Chipotle restaurant I've visited is constructed of hard, flat, sound reflecting surfaces. The resulting cacophony precludes my ever sitting down for a meal.

quote:

Originally posted by Ronin1069:
Second interview went fantastic today. Round 3 on Tuesday

How did it go?