Top 20 Chipotle Interview Questions

Interviews can be very scary and may give a completely healthy person mini heart attacks especially if it involves Chipotle as your place of your desire. This leading Mexican grill is known to be in the uprising when it come to fast food chains. Additionally they serve tacos,taco bowls, burritos etc. for an interview here the candidate needs to prepare for ceratin questions.

Here are the top 20 questions asked by the employers at Chipotle:

Tell me about yourself and your experience in the fast food industry.

How to answer:

This is a simple yet definitive question that will shape the rest of your interview depending on your answer. Respond by giving them a brief intro of yourself and describe in short how did you end up in the fast food industry.

Answer:

“My name is ( your name). I have been in the fast food industry from the past 4 years. I started by cleaning the tables when i was a student and gradually I moved my way up to junior assistant chef.”

Why do you want to work at Chipotle?

HOW TO ANSWER:

You can state that you admire Chipotle’s dedication to serving high quality food to its customers and that you would very well in a team environment setup.

ANSWER:

“I am very impressed and I find it very admirable of Chipotle and it’s team who are so dedicated to their customers health and well being that align perfectly with what I believe running fast food chain should be about. Additionally, the team efforts and teamwork collaboration is what caught my attention.”

Are you available to work on weekends and evenings too?

HOW TO ANSWER:

This question reflects on how during the weekends and evenings, there is a high chance that they have a higher number of customers hence they require all hands on deck for that time span. They want someone who is responsible and flexible enough to fulfil these needs of them.

ANSWER:

“Of course! I am flexible with my timings enough that I can show up at evenings or the night shifts. Additionally, I am also available on weekends for overtime.”

How do you perform in fast paced environments?

HOW TO ANSWER:

This question tends to understand whether or not you can keep up with the speed or bulk of orders especially for a place like Chipotle where there is constant hustle and bustle. Answer this by pointing your ability to be on the guard 24/7 and how attentive you are during your shift.

ANSWER:

“I actually tend to work better in a fast paced environment. My ability to process orders quick and my attentive nature helps me keep my work in order and also keep the flow of work going on overall in the restaurant.”

What are your strengths?

HOW TO ANSWER:

This is an excellent question to describe them exactly why they should hire you, but beware of sounding too proud or full of yourself. Highlight what your best at in the most decent way possible.

ANSWER:

“I would say my greatest strength is my speed and attention span. I tend to grab multiple orders at once while serving the ones for the previous customers.”

What would you say is your greatest weakness?

HOW TO ANSWER:

This is where you do not want to sound like you are incompetent or unable to fit for the job. Describe your flaw or weakness in a way that shows them that it is minor along with telling them how you are working on it.

ANSWER:

“I would say my greatest weakness is lack of relaxing. Even though I possess a great memory and tend to make every customer happy, yet I do not relax and as a result after a long day at work without taking a breath I may forget to do a few minor chores that are impending. Although, it is not to be concerned about because I am trying my best to keep my restlessness in control by working on my sleeping hours and caffeine intake.”

How would you make a customer’s experience memorable?

HOW TO ANSWER:

Chipotle is well known for it’s high standard of customer service and interactions. It is exactly what they want from their workers as well i.e, an exceptional customer experience. You will convince them by pointing out that you are a gentle and welcoming presence who has great passion for serving customers and it aligns with both yours and Chipotle’s mission.

ANSWER:

“I am very enthusiastic when it comes to customer serving. For me it is  of absolute importance that each customer should feel validated and heard. Also honesty needs to be a major pillar to build a strong relationship with our customer. And the most obvious clear communication should be a must between both parties.”

How would you deal with a situation where time is hort but the orders are in bulk?

HOW TO ANSWER:

So, here’s the thing about this question. Chipotle really gets flooded with people sometimes which can cause havoc in their kitchens at times, however they want someone to control that havoc and have excellent time management skills. You need to answer this by addressing your talent about time managing and also how you posses skills to prioritise your tasks according to their urgency.

ANSWER:

“I understand there is not room for disappointing customers when it comes to such situations, however these situations can be easily dealt with by staying calm and professional. My strategy for this would be focusing on the smaller and less complex order so we have time to move to more complex and larger orders. This approach will not just serve customers but will be time effective and less chaotic.”

How would you keep up with our hygiene rules and also describe your measures to keep them in check.

HOW TO ANSWER:

Thing about Chipotle is that they are very serious when it comes to their hygiene and cleanliness rules because they their customers health and well being very seriously. Start by saying how both you have the same interests in your customers well being and proceed to tell them the cautions you would take to live up to their standards.

ANSWER:

 “I understand the concern for the hygiene protocols due to it directly affecting customers in a serious way. However, I myself am very careful about it and to ensure the protocol implementation, I would use cleaning tools such as sanitizer and regularly wash my hands before and after preparing a meal. I would isolate any contaminated food in case of breach of rules so that there is no chance of cross contamination.”

What would you do if a customer complains about an incorrect order?

HOW TO ANSWER: 

This question directly refers to how you would deal with customers when they get an incorrect order or their order gets mixed up. You will answer this by saying that you would have an apologetic approach and will understand the customers complain while immediately fixing that mistake.

ANSWER:

“I would first apologise to them and ask them what their actual order was. Additionally, I would immediately fix up their order and make their negative experience into a positive one”.

How do you work in a team environment?

HOW TO ANSWER:

Teamwork makes the dreamwork. This commonly used phrase is a commonly applied rule especially at fast food chains like Chipotle where there are 100s of expecting customers waiting to either order or waiting for their order. Chipotle would want someone who can work positively in a team and speed up the process of serving and order taking by being as efficient as possible. This answer needs to be given with a lot of thought and highlight what your attitude within a team is like.

ANSWER:

“I have found myself to thrive in teamwork and am extremely co operative and supportive of my peers. I do my best to keep a positive and healthy relationship with all the staff and workers while also lending a helping hand to any one in need to speed up the process and make them feel comfortable”.

How well do you think your planning and strategy is?

HOW TO ANSWER:

Planning and strategy are two things that are the most vital part of working in a fast food chain. Chipotle employers need someone who is always on their toes and quick to think of strategies and execute them well enough. Highlight your previous experience at some point to convince them of your planning and strategic ability.

ANSWER:

“I would say I am quite confident when it comes to planning strategies and executing them. I have been faced with such a situation once in my previous role, where we were suddenly faced with an outage of power. I immediately knew that we had to switch to manual for the time being and hence we started taking orders manually and preparing them according to their complexity and time while informing the customers when to expect their orders and how much delay it would be. Safe to say, my sudden thinking was successful and saved us a day of disappointed and angry customers.”

How adaptable are you when it comes to changing roles?

HOW TO ANSWER:

Adaptability to new roles not only reflects on your ability to become a different role and live up to it’s expectations but also it reflects the ability to be a quick and efficient learner which is exactly what Chipotle needs.  Tell them that you have always been a quick learner and that you adapt to new roles by engaging with the staff present there and proper research if the requirements.

ANSWER:

“According to my observation, I am a quick learner and have an excellent adaptability to newer tasks. I have always been passionate about exploring newer opportunities which help me settle into my new role and it’s expectations quite well. Additionally, if I feel confused or in the need of guidance I simply research on the role or consult with the other team members about it.”

If you see an employee violating rules and regulations would you stop them?

HOW TO ANSWER:

Rules and regulations is what keeps the biggest of foundations keep going. The same can be said for chains like Chipotle that their success highly depends upon their rule making. In this answer you have to be clear of how you respect their rules and what you would do if you ever knew that your peer has been violating them.

ANSWER:

“I am very strict about rules and conduct during work and if I ever found myself in such a situation with a peer who is going against them, my first action would be trying to talk them out of it and wait for them to mend their ways. If it does not happen then I would have to involve a supervisor or management.”

How do you deal with harsh criticism?

HOW TO ANSWER:

Even though it is hard to keep yourself from getting disheartened and feel undermined due to harsh criticism, yet is not uncommon in food chains to get those comments. This question assess the fact that whether or not you can keep your calm and demeanour and diffuse such a situation if it comes to that.

ANSWER:

“While it is somewhat hard to listen to harsh comments when you work so hard, it also serves as a reality check that you may not be good enough and have room for improvement. For me, personally I do not face criticism emotionally since it is a common occurrence for my role rather I face it with professionalism and try to work on the targeted area of criticism to better myself.”

Name a time when you went out your way for a customer.

HOW TO ANSWER:

Since Chipotle is so committed to their customers they want the same for their workers and expect exceptional service from them. Address this question by saying how important your customers are for you and you tend to make small adjustments to make their experience a better one.

ANSWER:

“I hold my customers very dear to me and I make sure they have everything they need. I can assure this be recalling an incident that once a customer had ordered something for her toddler and she wanted an extra glass of juice since her toddler did not eat but was very fond of the juice that came with his kid meal. Even though it was a meal and it was not possible to bring one without charge so I asked my manager about it and told the customer that I could cover for her extra glass of juice since she did not have the amount for it. She thanked me for it and was extra grateful for my favor.”

How do you contribute to a positive work environment?

HOW TO ANSWER:

It is of dire importance to have a positive work environment to keep a place going and taking care of an employees behaviour and morale. Places like Chipotle really value those who keep the work behind their counters going with their exceptional behaviour.

ANSWER:

“I contribute to a positive work environment by keeping professional and cordial links with all my peers and staff. Being respectful of their boundaries and raising their morale is what makes me a perfect team member to rely on whenever in time of need.”

How did you hear about our empty vacancy?

HOW TO ANSWER:

This is a casual and general question which does not need much explaining. Simply tell them how you found out that they were hiring.

ANSWER:

“I heard about this vacancy through a friend of mine who told me that you are offering this role since I had been looking to move forward from my current position”.

Why are you leaving your current role?

HOW TO ANSWER:

This question is meant to determine your determination and motivation behind applying for this role. You can answer them by highlighting how your experience would expand with them and how you are passionate about the same things as they are.

ANSWER:

“My skillset has been perfected in my current role and I am forever thankful to them for giving me this opportunity, however, I knew I wanted to move on and expand my horizon by getting a new experience and learning more about it. Moreover, I personally felt that even though my current role was a boost to my professional experience, there was not much room for growth and learning anymore since they already had permanent senior roles.”

How do you stand out compared to the other candidates?

HOW TO ANSWER:

Since you are not familiar with the other applicants, do not sound like you are boasting about yourself. Be humble and respectful in your answer and focus on why you are a perfect match.

ANSWER:

“I find myself to be fit for this role due to the fact that I have what it takes for your restaurant due to my excellent time management, co operative teamwork ability and excellent communication skills. Additionally, I have a great appetite for learning and serving people in any way possible which would be highly possible being a part of your team.”

Do you have any questions for us?

HOW TO ANSWER:

This is the final and general question for your interview and you can ask any question you like but remember to be considerate and do not waste your questions by asking irrelevant questions.

ANSWER:

“My question to you is regarding your work environment. How do you benefit your employees for their services and what is the process of applying for a day off?”.

Hope these questions might have cleared your doubts regarding the interview you have at Chipotle. We realise that you might be feeling on the edge of your seat when you think about the interview but do not worry. Keep your mind at ease and make sure to be confident in your abilities and excel this interview. Goodluck candidate!

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