I noticed the Chipotle thread today about the new restaurant so I tried to get on the MSC's website. They had deactivated my account.

Two months ago I basically said I would not do a certain Chipotle ever again. I felt like I was wasting my time. And although part of our payment was reimbursement for our food, the food situation there was so bad I could not stomach it at all so it went to the dogs or in the trash. That made the shops less valuable to me.

Things I wrote in my report month after month that were totally ignored by Chipotle include:

1. Filthy restroom with paper all over the floor, used feminine products, and puddles.
2. Filthy drink station with trash and dried up food spilled all over.
3. Lack of citrus for my water.
4. Tables left filthy throughout my visit. I had to bus my own to be able to find a seat.
5. Trash cans overflowing.
6. Floors so dirty with trash and spilled food that I had to step over them.
7. Grouchy staff -- very grouchy staff who mostly just grunted at you.
8. Super slow line with customers 25 deep and a 30-minute wait or more.
9. Employees with unrestrained hair hanging their heads over the food.
10. Very understaffed and mismanaged.
11. Very small portions of food topped with large amounts of salsa. In other words they would drown the skimpy portions in salsa to make it look like you had a real portion which in turn made the food cold.
12. Super salty, broken, stale chips.
13. Guacamole with so much pepper in it I saw a child cry from it stinging her mouth. (Stung mine too and I love it hot.)
14. Nasty, nasty parking lot. On my last visit there were hundreds of cockroaches scampering about.

In other words, they did very little, if anything right. Between the filth, the hair, and grouchiness, I just could not do another shop there. I didn't do any shops last month or this month, so I guess I was deactivated.

Since I am no longer doing work for Chipotle, I felt free to see what Yelp had to say. What a pleasant surprise! Yes, everything in my list above was complained about over and over again. Some reviewers even said they went so far as to complaining to corporate. They pasted the response. The company acted surprised by their complaints. (My favorite was finding hair in the food.)

Chipotle spends a lot of money on mystery shopping. That store is shopped twice a month. I wonder if my counterpart took the easy way out and gave them good ratings each month so I just looked like the bad guy.. That is the only explanation I can come up with that makes sense. I was told my reports were good. I was only asked for clarification once or twice and I don't believe it was on that store. And it was super minor as I forgot to narrate that the cashier did or did not ask me if I wanted guacamole.

Anyway, after reading dozens of Yelp reviews that echoed my reports, I feel vindicated. I know I was not being too harsh. Many of those reviewers used much stronger language to describe the filth than I did.

While it appears you were spot on regarding the overall poor performance, I can also see a lot of subjectivity and overuse of superlatives. Understaffed was probably acceptable, but usually saying a store is mismanaged doesn't get received well by either the MSC or client.

Whiterosie, I understand you. I'm also going to believe that you did not use that actual language in your actual reports, but use it here to make your point to fellow shoppers. Since there is a great deal of discussion about this on FB, could you please clarify: did you use that actual language in your reports? Thanks.

It can be frustrating when we feel our efforts are not helping the industry we shop, and unfortunately, taking a break from that MSC must have come across as refusal to shop ( = dismissal). Many of us have taken breaks from specific locations, companies and/or shops. There are several MSCs in my "nopes" folder right now. I may go back; I may not. Nothing wrong with that. Except when you're deactivated and you didn't want to be.

I find that if you write too much negative information in a report that the MSC's do not like it. After many years doing shops, I can be selective. If you do not like the food, then of course do not eat it. You will be reimbursed whether you like the food or not. If I believe there is a problem with a shop several times, I never go back and do it again. Remember, this is your business. Run it the way you see fit to do it. Your efforts are greatly appreciated by all of us shoppers out there. Chipolte would not be my food choice at all.

whiterosie, your statement became reality. Reporting that you would never visit that location again, is now carved in stone. You no longer have the opportunity to report sub-par performances. I realize that if the reimbursement is not appreciated, it has little to no value. I can relate to your frustration. However, you no longer get to pick and choose, try the location again after a period of time to see if positive changes have occurred, and unfortunately, you may have burned a bridge with the MSC.

"Filthy" is a word I definitely used. I've done hundreds of gas station audits for every major brand and this restroom would rival any gas station restroom in filth.

Beyond that, my reports were very PC. I was complimented on one and had no issues other than forgetting to narrate that the cashier did not ask me if I wanted guacamole on one or two reports.

As far as being deactivated, I have no problem with that. Living in So.Cal., I'm used to real Mexican food and Chipotle is anything but real Mexican food. I liked their guacamole and chips when made properly (at other locations) but otherwise really don't care if I ever step foot in another Chipotle.

The schedulers at the MSC are very nice and easy to get along with. That being said, I was not once paid on time. I had to chase payment each and every month. Supposedly, my bank account number was input incorrectly in the beginning and they couldn't seem to fix it. So every month I would have to ask to be paid.

The payment issue along with the long reports and the one nasty restaurant were enough to make me not really want to do the shops. I am curious as to who the new client is but that's okay. I have plenty to keep me busy.

I was just happy that I found the Yelp reviews to validate what I had been reporting month after month. The store in question is super high volume. It caters to travelers, especially foreign, not the locals. It's part of an outlet mall and several truck stops. I guess because it is so high volume, they don't care because many will never pass through there again.

The area has many popular eateries all within walking distance of where the tour buses park. Despite busload after busload of tourists being brought there, I've seen several chain restaurants go out of business while others thrive like crazy. Maybe Chipotle's luck will last; maybe it won't. But at least I know I turned in honest reports that made them aware of the issues. I'm good with that.

Same client company, new restaurant for them. Life's too short to worry about things. Glad you are feeling validated, and hope you continue to find shops you do like.

That MSC has a screen of all the locations and you can simply check or uncheck the locations your willing to shop. They scheduler will only assign you locations that you agree to shop. All you needed to do was uncheck one box and that location would never be offered to you again. I have put things in the report and seen improvement when I make my next visit to the same location. I try not to compare locations, but there are definatly some that you know walking in that they are going to be better than others.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/28/2015 09:13PM by scanman1.

Does it bother anyone but me that the OP was willing to give her dog food that she wouldn't eat? Just sayin'

No. I wouldn't eat my dogs' food either.