The location I worked was extremely busy constantly and we hardly ever had time to breath.
The staff was constantly changing as people would only work for a few months before quitting so we were constantly training new people.
You might pick up a few necessary skills for restaurant experience but it was nothing I didn't already know.
The people I worked with were for the most part great. There was a lot of conflict between managers and it could be a very dramatic workday. The GM and apprentice aka some of the only real adults were considerate and good to me. Most of the workers were either teenagers or in their early twenties, hence the drama.
There was definite favoritism at my Chipotle. If the bosses liked you, you could take more food, take some drinks (which isn't allowed if its not fountain drinks), take longer breaks, eat in the office, have sway in what position you work that day, etc. I was a favorite.
How do you become a favorite?
Be good at your job, make sacrifices (that are not worth the job), and also be lucky. It is not worth it being a favorite. I am an extremely hard working person but I know my worth. I am willing to make sacrifices, come in on my days off, work efficiently and reliably, and hardly ever call out. Instead of favoritism a raise would have been great.
I will say that upper management beyond the GM is absolutely atrocious. The field leaders and such have no care whatsoever for the employees who actually work the stores. They only care a
There are four positions that I work:
Opening prep
Closing prep
Opening grill
Closing grill
When working prep, I always start by filling out the prep sheet. The prep sheet is basically a chart that tells me how much food we have, what we need to have for the shift, what I prepare for the next two shifts, and our sales projections for the shift.
The food I prepare varies by shift. With opening prep, I prepare everything for the day within three to four hours and then I go up to
the grill to back the opening grill person during the lunch rush. My shift starts at 6:30 am and ends at 2:30 pm.
In closing prep my shift starts at 4 pm and I need to be done by 7 pm at the latest. I prepare everything for the next two shifts. That means I marinade between 200 - 400 pounds of meat, I cut 30 pounds of bell peppers, and 20 pounds of onions. I also block 80 pounds of cheese. When I'm done I go, and break the grill person for thirty minutes. When he's finished at 8:30, I go on break. I come back and begin to clean the back of the house. I have two and a half hours to scrub the floors, clean the sinks, take out the trash, do the closing dishes, bleach the cutting boards, and then deep clean the dish pit. On a good night, I have almost no dishes to clean. On an average night, I'm cleaning at least 40 pans, and on a bad night I'm in the dishpit for over an hour.
In opening grill, I come in at 7 am and connect the gas lines to the rice cooker, grill, range, and deep fryer. I then begin by
Prosfree food when working, half off on days off, paid breaks, free uniforms
Simultaneously the most organized and disorganized place I’ve ever worked. It’s mind boggling.
Never written a review on here but here’s a job worth warning people about. Started working here a little over a month ago. My particular location is a newer one with a new manager that’s never worked at a Chipotle until now, my position is on grill. Overall I’ve worked worse jobs but not many. I joined because there are some pretty good perks (free food whenever you work, 30 minute paid breaks, after 4 months they’ll help with tuition assistance if you’re going to school) but beyond that it’s just been an unhappy experience. There are tons of guidelines in place for health and safety, I’m guessing because there have been so many illness outbreaks at Chipotles (if you didn’t know this look it up) and they are even stricter during COVID. I wouldn’t have a problem with it if it weren’t for the fact that my location has a new GM and I get conflicting information on company protocol All. The. Time. They’ve apologized to me several times for failing to explain everything from how to properly sanitize their bag openers to how to cook steak, but a month and a half into this job they’re still coaching me during my shift on things I didn’t know I was supposed to be doing since day one - and this happens EVERY DAY. It’s like being gaslit on my own job training. I’ve had numerous encounters where a manager would come up to me, watch me do something I’ve been trained to do that I’ve been doing for weeks and weeks, only now to tell me that I was doing it the completely wrong way. Then, wh
ProsFree food when working, tuition benefits, learning lots of cooking skills, decent employment security
ConsBad management, disorganization, terrible training, pressure from corporate, unnecessary stress for a minimum wage job
managers take advantage of hard workers and make them do the work the managers should be doing. part of chipotle employment is connecting with your people, which they think they do by having "one on ones", which really is just an excuse to get out of actually working for a half an hour or more and just talking bad about someone or something. Yes they could possibly be talking about ways too improve your performance, but stuff like that doesn't require sitting down with them and having a pointless, waste of time meeting. part of being a crew member at chipotle requires that if you see something being done incorrectly, you should point it out to either the person doing it or someone who can find out who did and correct their mistake. seems like a good way to keep everyone on the same page, unless the manager doesn't agree with what you pointed out, then it doesn't matter, even if it is against policy. Once you're a manager, youre set. they cant get fired uness they get caught stealing or something ridiculous, which still they probably wont lose their job. I had this manager who was supposed to open one day, we get there at 8, some at 7, and she didn't even call to say she was coming until almost 11, which is when we open, so the whole crew was waiting around for her for almost 2 hours. finally the GM shows up before the opening manager and they don't get the store open until 1!! and absolutely nothing happened to the opening manager...why? because the reason she was so late and
Prosfree food
Consbreaks as soon as you come in, horrible management, special treatment
Any given day working at Chipotle is different with just one common factor: customers want their burrito and they want it fast. It all depends on which position you are scheduled to work, and the only position I was never assigned to work the Grill. I worked the Tortilla station, Salsa Station, Cash register and Food Prep. No one person can do it alone, a team is required to make a day go by smoothly, like a well oiled machine. It starts with the prep person who makes the meat marinade at the begging of the night shift so that it is well seasoned for the next day's burritos. Every morning tomatoes are diced, jalapenos and salad lettuce is cut, cilantro is chopped, cheese is grated and fresh salsa and guacamole is made. Nacho chips are put in the fryer a batch at a time and salted to perfection. Salsa, Guacamole and chips are often made multiple times in one day so that the stock stays fresh. Each crew member needs to know about all of the food products sold so that they can give a customer a description of how everything is made and what it tastes like. Portion sizing is very important a chipotle, not only does it help customers be able to count the calories of how much they are getting in their burrito but it helps reduce waste at the end of the night. It is important that when working on the line a crew member is able to wrap a burrito so that the tortilla doesn't break or the contents later spill out into the customers lap. At the Cash register it is important to smile and
Exaughsting, okay pay, quick paced, REALLY depends on specific location and who you work with
It's great if you are just entering the workforce and are desperate for a job while finishing college! (Like helping you pay for college and paying you for the work you do).
It is very labor-intensive, just like many other food-service jobs; it's just how it works. You will get burned (physically - it's a kind of "right of passage,") because all of the pots and pans don't guard against heat when you're handling metal containers with fresh meat in them. It's also a very tight and compact environment, like most food-service positions. However, being very hot and exaughsted is just something you have to get used to, as well as being very mentally tough to make it through each day, if you want to survive. Some people have high egos and treat it like a toxic dog-eat-dog entitled environment, while others are so so very kind, and considerate, not to mention flexible with scheduling and training you how to accomplish everything the right and efficient way. If you can't rise to the occasion and deal with multiple tasks and people at once, then don't even apply. You know how long the chipotle lines usually are - people are working harder than customers think they are, some just don't care to notice.
Most of the people I worked with were really amazing, helpful friendly and outgoing. Your experience really depends on who you are working with though. Some managers have been awesome, as it's a very tiring and draining position with many responsibilities. If you're not careful or
ProsFree meals while working - 1/2 off while an employee but not on shift, compensatio raise with every position you move up into, hefty paycheck, free smells!
Conscompact environment, draining, very hot and crowded, unrealistically high expectations for one person, poor management sometimes
I was lucky to get employed at a grand opening for a new Chipotle and therefore had excellent training during an NRO (I honestly don't know what that stands for) week. Prior to working at Chipotle, I had no experience in customer service or working in fast food. I felt very timid about slowly learning how to do all the tasks, however, within two months I really got a decent grasp on how to do a lot of tasks and could teach others a thing or two. If you're open to learning more tasks, they'll get you trained on all you want to learn for the most part. If you don't get along with at least one manager or your peer crew members, you're going to have a very difficult time. When I started off as crew, I had many enjoyable days with my team. Management at Chipotle fluctuates very rapidly. The management of management want the highest standards done with as few workers as possible--and that makes for a very stressful time. So, if you're not homies with some people you work with, dealing with customers and management is going to be really tough on top of not getting along with the team. Chipotle is not just another fast food restaurant--it's a physically demanding, fast pace restaurant business and they take food quality and food safety seriously (as it should be). There are many rules/standards set in place for food and health quality, but on most days it is impossible to follow standard to the book--so if you're a stickler for rules, this will be tough to comprehend. If you do not
ProsFree food during break, health benefits, training, quick advancement
Consmanagement, dml need I say more?, cliquey, cannot trust anyone
When I first started at Chipotle, I absolutely loved it. After working there for nearly 4 years, Ive had enough. The people Ive met there are the only thing keeping me from walking out the door.
Lets start with the good. Chipotle will give you a free meal every shift you work. You also get 50% off if you want to get food on your day off. (This is only at your restaurant, however. So expect to pay full price if you travel and stop for lunch.)
Chipotle has the best sense of community out of any other job Ive worked. I’ve met some of my best friends through this company, and I wouldnt be the person I am today without them.
The company gives you a free Christmas gift every year. Ive gotten a duffle bag, a speaker, a portable charger, a pair of socks and a travel coffee mug.
If management likes you, they will fill your head with plans of moving you through the management pipeline. They will really push you, unless you have solid boundaries and know how to tell them what you do/dont want. If you work hard, you will be recognized. If you want to be a manager, do what they ask and you should have no problem.
However-
The management introduction and training process can take forever. Im talking months, or longer. For example, after I dropped out of college in December and went home to my Chipotle (which I had been working at for nearly 2 years at the time,) I was told I’d be promoted to Kitchen Manager by February or March. They did not start my training until late June. I w
If you like a toxic workplace, you'll love this job.
The entire three months I worked there, we were understaffed just about every single day after my first week. A lot of employees (including myself) have quit due to the pure bitterness, lack of communication, rudeness, poor decisions and high-school mentality of the management.
If you weren't good friends with the managers inside and outside of work or if you weren't a manager from another location coming in to help them get their stuff together, they'd just treat you like dirt and put you below everyone else and assign you to things they didn't want to do while they hid in the office or talked to each other in the back. They are extremely cliquey and biased against anyone below them. It was an every day occurrence where I'd hear them talking trash about another employee while said employee wasn't there. On some occasions, I could hear them talking down on me as if they had no clue I was even there. Some of the stuff I've heard them say about my other co-workers was absolutely disrespectful. From questioning someone's sexuality to mocking an employee's mental illness, the list can go on.
On top of that, they were ALWAYS denying breaks. I've had this issue with them a few times and I've seen it happen to others all the time. It is absolutely unacceptable and illegal for ANY employee who comes in to be denied breaks. ESPECIALLY if they are coming in for over eight hours every day. The managers would also get extremely hostile with anyone who even dared to mention that.
Opportunities & Paychecks/No Balance or Appreciation
Working at Chipotle was intended to be just a job while I was in college, however it turned out to be much more. I started my journey with the company as a grill cook with no aspirations to do anything but get a paycheck. However, one day shy of a year after my first day of employment I was the general manager of one of the busiest stores in the Pittsburgh area.
My career with Chipotle was beneficial to me in many ways: professionally I learned much about how to run a business, how to run a kitchen, leadership, recruitment, and innumerable other things. For my mental health, Chipotle was a detriment. There were long, thankless hours spent in restaurants, as the market at the time was rife with call-offs and understaffing. Despite those challenges, a major recovery effort was underway at every restaurant as field leadership attempted to reverse years of damage caused by our predecessors. At the time there was also aggressive expansion in the Pittsburgh area as well, and we were frequently opening restaurants which immediately struggled due to the fact that we did not offer competitive pay to crew members, and we were not able to establish management teams capable of handling the intricacies of a NRO. I was consistently working and upwards of 90+ hours a week; never less, and certainly always more, resulting in anxiety and depression, as well as general low-grade illness due to stress.
The culture of Chipotle is what drew me in, and is what made me stay for so long (even lea
ProsFree food, discounts, growth opportunity
ConsLong hours, no appreciation, difficult bonusing metrics
Questions And Answers about Chipotle Mexican Grill
How often do you get a raise at Chipotle Mexican Grill?
Asked Oct 2, 2020
not often
Answered Jan 31, 2023
Rarely
Answered Jan 31, 2023
What is the promotion process like at Chipotle Mexican Grill?
Asked Nov 22, 2020
Terrible.
Answered Jun 4, 2023
Quick
Answered Jun 4, 2023
What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Asked Apr 2, 2020
Hectic but good
Answered Jun 4, 2023
Stressful, either understaffed or busy working with poorly trained crew members.
Answered Jun 4, 2023
What benefits does Chipotle Mexican Grill offer?
Asked Jun 17, 2016
free food
Answered Jun 5, 2023
College tuition assistance, health, dental, and eye insurance.
Answered Jun 5, 2023
What is the best part of working at the company?
Asked Nov 23, 2019
being on line
Answered May 14, 2022
Free meal with every shift and 50% discount when not working
