Chipotle hasn’t exactly been doing well recently, with some restaurant issues running off customers and the return proving slower than some hoped for.
However, Chipotle has a plan in mind that should do the job of recovering lost customers nicely.
It’s a new rewards program optimistically titled “Chiptopia,” and it’s got some noteworthy incentives for those hungering for a burrito.
Chiptopia comes in three levels, much in the same way salsa does: mild, medium, and hot. Those who stop in for a Chipotle meal four times a month are declared “mild” customers and given one free burrito, burrito bowl, salad, or taco of their choice.
Doubling that to eight times makes a user “medium” and provides a second free entree. For those who love their Chipotle sufficient to hit the place 11 times a month are declared “hot,” and yes, that means another free entree.
The program runs through the summer, and the rewards don’t roll over, so those who only eat three times a month will get no reward at all, and that’s a development that may hurt this rewards program before it even gets started.
Granted, the point is sort of to illustrate that Chipotle is perfectly safe despite the health-related issues seen at the restaurant recently, and the only way to desensitize someone is to frequently expose them to whatever’s going on.
The problem here, however, is that Chipotle’s cost for entry is likely too high and its rewards too few. It needed to start a lot lower than that, making the rewards process more intermittent and using more items. Instead of demanding four visits before handing over one entree, it needed to automatically offer chips and salsa or guacamole on the first visit.
That gets the hesitant back in the door. Then, another three visits could prompt an entree. Additionally, a rollover would have been welcome here; adding roadblocks to rewards is not the way to bring back business from concerned former customers.
Chipotle’s reward program is well-intentioned but poorly executed, a bad idea for how it does the job rather than what job it wanted to do. Hopefully it will work nonetheless, but only the end of summer will tell how it goes.