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Chipotle is fixing one of its customers' top complaints (CMG)
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Chipotle says it is addressing a top customer complaint by making online ordering much faster and more efficient.
Specifically, the chain says it plans to erase the long waiting period from the time food is ordered to the time it can be picked up.
"When people place orders at Chipotle, there's a very significant lag between when they place the order and when our restaurants allow them to come pick it up," Chipotle co-CEO Steve Ells said Tuesday.
The company has traditionally let restaurants set that lag time. Now, Chipotle plans to introduce a "smarter pickup" technology that it says will set the lag time automatically based on each individual restaurant's level of demand at any given time.
Many customers complain about the lag time in reviews of the company's iPhone app. Lag time for Chipotle orders is typically 20 to 30 minutes, according to app reviews and our own experience.
We tried to order food through the company's app from a Richmond, Virginia, Chipotle at 2 p.m. on Sunday, for example, and were told it wouldn't be ready for 30 minutes. At the time, we were across the street from the restaurant, so we instead went inside to order. There was no line at the counter.
By comparison, Starbucks mobile orders during peak morning periods are typically ready three to seven minutes after ordering, and Chick-fil-A prepares mobile orders immediately, as soon as customers arrive at the restaurant.
Mark Crumpacker, Chipotle's chief marketing officer, said the company's new ordering technology "means that the customer is always presented with the shortest possible time between order placement and pickup."
The technology will be rolled out nationally by January, he said.
Ordering inside the restaurant will also get easier soon, the company says.
Chipotle is testing tablets that will allow people to order and pay for their food without interacting with employees.
A team of workers will prepare those orders from a prep table in the back of Chipotle's restaurants to avoid bogging down the main preparation line. The second prep table will also be responsible for fulfilling online orders.
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