![]() ![]() "The problem with doing it through a drive-thru or dedicated window is most of the quick-service restaurants and even the fast-casual guys still have a very low digital percentage penetration," Saleh said. However, it's still not a huge portion of restaurant sales. The digital dilemmaĭigital ordering, orders made online or via a mobile device, have become a bigger piece of restaurant industry sales in the last few years. So, Chipotle has had to staff its restaurants differently to meet this new demand. While some of these digital orders will come in during the lunch or dinner rush, folks who are ordering online often order later in the evening or heavily on the weekends. However, when the orders come from people who aren't in the building, managers have to rely on data to know how much food to prep during different times of day.Īnother pressure point that Chipotle has encountered is that peak hours for mobile orders don't always align with peak hours in-store. Normally, kitchen managers man the grill, cooking up chicken and rice based on the line that forms behind the counter. the back of house has to predict volumes."ĭunkin' Donuts opened a mobile order pick-up lane in February at its Quincy, Massachusetts, location. "You can get as many orders as fast as you want, but you have to build the capacity in the kitchen to handle it. "You have to be able to have a balance," Daniel Bendas, managing partner at Synergy Consultants, which worked with Dunkin' in designing its mobile lane, told CNBC. "One of the problems that companies have struggled with for a long time is having digital orders or any sort of out-of-store order come in and interrupt the flow on the main line that is servicing customers in person."Īt Chipotle, mobile orders have created a new problem for kitchen mangers - invisible demand. "The second 'make' line is one of the aspects of Chipotle that I think is a really significant competitive advantage as it relates to digital, Garner said. ![]() The line is about 8 feet long and 2.5 feet wide with heated shelves and an area for food storage. These lines are manned by two employees, instead of the typical five to seven that a front line would have and are situated near the grill. To meet this demand, Chipotle has installed second food lines in the back of all but about 100 of its stores. Garner said Chipotle receives thousands of digital orders before its restaurants even open as people reserve a lunchtime slot to come in and grab their burritos and bowls. Although, those who use the app can order a meal hours in advance, selecting the specific time they want to pick it up when they place their order. For these diners, it is more convenient to place an order via an app or website and stroll in or drive by to pick it up.ĭigital orders typically take about 12 minutes to be filled, Garner said. "The idea of having a mobile pick-up station or a dedicated lane makes a lot of sense because anything that makes it more convenient for the guest has been proven to drive sales," Peter Saleh, analyst at BTIG, told CNBC.įor many Chipotle customers who have sampled the restaurant's menu and have a go-to order, the experience of walking down the line and picking out burrito toppings is no longer an amenity, but an obstacle, Garner said. There are two stores in Ohio, and single stores in Tennessee, Texas and Massachusetts. So far, Chipotle has five of these locations in the U.S. But as we've looked at access, we've also looked at it in terms of different restaurant formats and these mobile drive-thru pick-up restaurants are part of that." There are plenty of places and occasions for us to continue to grow into. " Brian has said very well that Chipotle has this huge opportunity ahead of us as it relates to access," Curt Garner, chief digital and information officer at Chipotle, told CNBC. Here customers don't order their food through a microphone, they do it ahead of time through Chipotle's app or an online form.ĭiners are provided with a pick-up time once they place their order and can drive through the mobile order lane to grab their meal without having to go inside the store. However, these drive-thrus are a little different from the typical fast food order and pick-up lane. Personal Loans for 670 Credit Score or Lowerĭrive-thru windows are cropping up at Chipotle restaurants across the country, allowing customers the option of staying in their cars to get their burritos and bowls. Personal Loans for 580 Credit Score or Lower Best Debt Consolidation Loans for Bad Credit
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