- The first person I spoke to is my roommate Josh, who I always go to Chipotle with. I told him about my belief in this opportunity and he agreed with me. However, he explained to me that it did not necessarily annoy him as much as me because he usually just orders a bowl and a drink, both of which can be carried with ease. What he did say was bothersome is the fact that he has to make two trips to also grab forks and napkins. He told me that he experiences this need all the time, but he knows a way to resolve it himself. He orders his Chipotle to go so they give him a bag in which he can throw his forks and napkins in. He claims he is satisfied with the solution he created.
- The second person I talked to was a customer that was standing in line behind me when I was ordering my Chipotle. I asked the man about the opportunity in hand and he completely agreed with me since he also orders a tortilla on the side which burns his hand when he carries it. He says that he experiences this need all the time and all he does is place the rolled tortilla on his food. He says he rather not have a piece of tin foil sitting on top of his guacamole and sour cream, but he has no other choice but burning his hand. He claimed that he usually never deals with this at any other Chipotle and this is fairly new. He told me that he was very unsatisfied with this unmet need.
- The third person I spoke to was someone fairly new to Chipotle and rarely goes. She claimed that she never realized that they gave out trays before and that it did not really bother her when she picked up her food. Just like Josh, she does not order a tortilla on the side. I asked her if she then thought a tray would help and she said it would definitely help out more especially when getting napkins and utensils. I feel like she became aware of this need due to the fact that I told her about it and that might have lowered the level of her satisfaction with Chipotle.
- I learned that Josh does not understand how bad the opportunity is since he never orders a burning hot tortilla on the side. I've also learned that Josh's resolution is not really the best because it causes more trash and waste coming from the bag and the lid on the bowl when you order it to go. In my second meeting, I really got some very good clarification of the extent of the opportunity. I was surprised to find somebody that actually was as outraged by this as I was. Finally, in my last interview I was able to understand that a need for trays is present however some people can be just fine without them. I was surprised to hear that the she did not remember a time when they gave out trays for every meal because that really could have yielded a different outcry.
Moreover, most of my original opportunity is still present after interacting with these customers. I do believe that my opportunity is more accurate now because there are people that could handle not having trays. However, I still believe that the cons significantly outweigh the pros in not having the trays because the level of customer satisfaction significantly decreases. I believe customer feedback is one of the most important measures in running a business properly. Entrepreneurs should always use customer feedback to help them appeal to the consumers of their business as well as make it more functional. Adapting the the changing environment and consumer behavior is a big reason why some business tend remain while others are shut down.
Hi Teddy!
ReplyDeleteI really liked the opportunity you came up with. I appreciate your ability to stop and recognize a small occurrence in daily life with something like a Chipotle tray and see that there is actually a really big need that can be met for consumers. I also thought your take on the customer feedback idea was interesting, because you applied it to the business itself rather than your solution.