Job Description

Chipotle Grill Crew Member

Nothing is certain, except death and ‘guac’ being extra. But, an opportunity exists to become immortal from the chains of the avocado. As a Chipotle Crew Member all the food, including guacamole, is free! I had this divine power for one summer a few years ago, but you too can achieve this enlightenment with the following position.

A Chipotle Grill Crew Member has the responsibility of preparing, cooking, and maintaining all the hot food at the restaurant. You must collect all your ingredients, follow recipes, and use the culinary equipment of the store to fill the containers and stomachs of the customers with delicious Mexican cuisine. Along with this, you will communicate with your fellow Crew Members what type of food needs cooking and when. At the end of the day, you and the crew will clean up your respective stations.

To better understand the requirements of this position there are three illustrations of the tasks of a Chipotle Grill Crew Member:

• Not missing your exit
• Bookkeeping
• Real Life Texting
  

 

Not Missing Your Exit

You’re on the road listening to your navigation and hear that your exit is coming up soon. Since swerving across four lanes of traffic is too dangerous, you decide moving over a lane every couple of miles and paying attention will help you catch your exit and get you to your destination. Time management while grilling at Chipotle is no different. When you’re driving on the freeway and miss your exit, or mismanage your cooking at Chipotle the aftermath is:

• Extending everyone’s time in the car, or at the restaurant
• Your car, or your mind shifting in different directions
• Your passengers, or customers (especially children) begin to get fussy

 

On the job, I watched the clock tick. The afternoon dragged and the line of customers shortened. But, with weeks of experience, I knew the scene fooled me. With no customers waiting, me and the rest of the crew members completed our tasks at a quicker pace. Then as the clock struck 7 o’clock the customers stampeded through the door, and as the line grew so did my confidence. Having prepared for the large number of customers coming for dinner, I ensured there was enough chicken, rice, and the rest to go around without having too much leftover. Preparing and cooking the right amount of food takes excellent time management so you can feed all the customers and take your exit without a scratch.

Bookkeeping

The amount of books at a library can be intimidating, but organizing them is not. Every book sits in a specific spot, on a specific shelf. If you follow the organizing criteria, a jumbled basket full of books becomes a stacked collection. Chipotle’s food bursts with flavors but the grill person follows a checklist of tasks and puts the right ingredients in the right spots. Each item has:

• It’s own step-by-step recipe
• Ingredients in specific parts of the kitchen
• Containers with it’s measuring tools included
  

 

I stare at the rice, skeptical that I’ll never figure out the right combination of flavors to add to make a tasty starch. Then I gazed at the pantry and at a piece of paper on the wall. The managers at Chipotle already created the recipe and set up all the ingredients! I grabbed the portioned-out bowl of rice, the salt with a tablespoon, the cilantro with a half-cup scoop, and the lime juice container with tick marks on the side. I took each ingredient one after the other and put them together as the recipe said. Then voilà! The perfect rice for any burrito. At Chipotle, by following the recipe and putting the ingredients in the right place, I became the librarian of food.

Real Life Texting

You’re running late for your meeting and your coworker texts you “Where are you?” Your thumbs race as you type “I’m coming soon, the elevator is taking a while…” You turn the corner to the conference room, continuing your typing “Now I’m walking to the room…” As you finish writing “Okay I am here” and are about to hit send on your lengthy message you notice the executives in the room give you a displeased stare. Redoing the situation, once your coworker texts you, you immediately send a “OMW!” text. You catch the elevator quicker and make it to the meeting on time. In both situations you get your message across but one was more efficient than the other. At Chipotle you get to text out loud as you communicate with your fellow crew members. Like texting, at Chipotle you want your messages to be:

• Concise
• Minimal
• Clear and directive
• Need the least amount of interaction

 

I look over to the counter and see a customer waiting, I yell “line!” This indicates there is a customer at the front waiting. My coworker scurries over to take their order. As the customer selects the items for their burrito I hear the clanking of a spoon on a metal container, my coworker exclaims “chicken!”. They are indicating that the food line is low on chicken. I say in response “heard!”. I made sure my coworker knows that I am starting to cook more chicken. As the chicken finished cooking, I announced “working!” to let my coworkers know the chicken is on its way. Efficiently, my coworker’s and I texted out loud to communicate with one another.

If you can do these three tasks of the job, being a Chipotle Grill Crew Member is right for you and your free guacamole will taste extra special.