I eat at Chipotle. Too Much.
One time, I ordered 2 burritos for my wife and I. I was standing at the check out and realized that I had left my debit card at home.
Now know this … I’m a regular. I’m the mayor of my local chipotle on Foursqure and I’m the Duke on Yelp. I write gushing reviews for every Chipotle I go to.
Now back to my moment at the cash register….
The teenager rocking the cash register tells his manager. The manager looks at me and uses his magical manager key and comps the food & drinks. 14 bucks they lose (they were gonna throw it away anyways).
I was floored. I felt like giving the manager a hug. He just got back to work.
A few weeks later, I ordered using the Chipotle iPhone app and Chipotle screwed up my order. I didn’t catch it until I was home.
What did I do? Shrug it off.
I will continue to frequent Chipotle. They will continue to hook me up. There is a trust developed between Chipotle’s brand and myself.
Benefits of Trust for Chipotle
They’re not perfect. If they screw up, I won’t care. If I have to wait in line for 27 minutes, I’m not gonna complain. In fact, I’m likely to say a kind word to the workers there in hopes that I can brighten their day.
Speed of Business. It takes Chipotle a WHOLE LOT less time to make me happy. Less work. Less attention from the staff.
Increased ROI. My trust of Chipotle is a multiplier on their marketing efforts. A Chipotle billboard makes me smile. Their bag stories get a read from me each time. An app developed by Chipotle is DEFINITELY on my phone. Each of these efforts cost time & money. The ROI for these efforts is dramatically increased because of trust.
Word of Mouth. I try to talk everyone into Chipotle. Nearly each day at work, I’ll comment, “Some Chipotle sounds GREAT right now.” Most days I don’t each Chipotle, but I spread the word. I argue with Chipotle haters. I push for people to see Chipotle as a healthy diet option. I even write blog articles about Chipotle….
Benefits of Trust for Me
Foregiveness. They comp my meal when I forget my card. Saves me money, time & energy of getting different food.
Enjoyment. My trust of Chioptle makes me enjoy my experience so much more. Appreciation for the speed, atmosphere and attitude of Chipotle increases exponentially.
Invites. So many folks know that I’m a Chipotle nut. I get invited to Chipotle a ton. I get Chipotle gift cards. My wife “treats me” by suggestion Chipotle for lunch on the weekend.
So true. I feel the same toward Starbucks. Rarely do they mess it up. And when they do they have change in their pocket with me.
This post made me laugh a little, but it’s true. I also like Chipotle—okay, not nearly as much as you like it—but that’s kind of how I feel about Starbucks. Now don’t get me wrong, I like to support local as much as the next Columbus resident. But there’s something so awesome and consistent about Starbucks. Rarely do I interact with an unfriendly barista or one who doesn’t know what he or she is doing. Their iced coffee makes me salivate at just the thought. Don’t knock what you love!
Totally agree Jess. Rarely a bad interaction at Starbucks. I DO, however, have crappy interactions with Starbucks customers (same can be said with Chipotle though).
Hi Adam,
This is totally off topic, but I can’t find your e-mail address anywhere (I can help you find some broken links on your websites by the way!). So I just wanted to get in touch because I saw that you’re in Columbus and we’ll be moving there in September. I’d like to ask around about what to do around town, etc.