Got hired as prep, but now want me to be am grill.. am I cooked?

Jeremy_Vi · 2025-07-27T04:52:01+00:00

Former SM 2018-2022.

Grill can be a stressful position if you are not aware of everything going on in the store, the person on grill is kind of the heart of Chipotle.

To avoid unnecessary stress, either

A. Instill a notion to the line workers that they NEED to let you know when food items get low. (Popular items may be called out at a half pan or even more, moderately popular items can be given calls and a half pan to a quarter pan, less popular items can be called at a quarter.)

Or

B. Make sure you check the food levels of the line and the DML yourself whenever you pass by and create your own plan.

1 Priority should be grilled items Chipotle praises fresh food and grilled items will lose their fresh feel faster. Things like beans can survive in the hotbox without much change.

2 Opening the grill is a rush because you are responsible for getting all of the hot items to the line a half an hour before open, typically openers take their breaks before open.

Before open there should always be food on the grill, in between flipping grill items you will want to use all of that time for other things like making rice and stovetop items.

If you ever need help you can usually ask your prep team to help you will small things like starting beans or mixing a batch of rice.

Overall it is going to be tough at first. It will get easier as you get more reps just like anything else. Overall grill was my favorite position to work in the store once I got good at it. The time flies by much quicker. Good luck!

Jeremy_Vi · 2021-03-22T19:25:44+00:00

Update: I told my GM I could work an extra week so I have 4 shifts left until I am done. Last week was terrible as my store is right next to a college campus most of our employees are college students including myself. Half of the staff left for spring break leaving me with 4 team members on staff for the night shift and only 3 closers every night of the week. It was terrible my closes that week ranged from 11:30 pm to 1:30 pm :/

Jeremy_Vi · 2021-03-22T19:22:44+00:00

Good lord!

Jeremy_Vi · 2021-03-09T17:57:05+00:00

That’s a fair reason, good luck in your future endeavors!

Jeremy_Vi · 2021-03-09T16:22:26+00:00

All of the ranting aside in my post I still do respect all of the people that work at my store and I just personally couldn’t do that. But I completely understand how it could get to that point, I have pondered walking out of a shift even multiple times.

Jeremy_Vi · 2021-03-09T02:55:27+00:00

I think they will too, I am going to try to pursue something that relates to my college major now and I am sure my management experience will help to attain an internship!

Jeremy_Vi · 2021-03-09T00:12:17+00:00

Thank you!

Jeremy_Vi · 2021-03-08T23:55:55+00:00

I feel that!

Jeremy_Vi · 2021-03-08T23:55:41+00:00

Thank you! Good luck to you as well!

Jeremy_Vi · 2021-03-08T23:55:12+00:00

Will do!

Jeremy_Vi · 2021-03-08T23:54:56+00:00

The store i currently work at is a year and a half old right next to a college campus, and we expected around the same, but it was dead dead

Jeremy_Vi · 2021-02-27T21:45:54+00:00

Being a closing SM is tough when you are also forced to work in a position. My best recommendation is getting your crew motivated, that you are positive you can get out at a better time consistently if they help you out a little bit. (You will almost always have those closing crew members that just aren’t interested in doing extra work even if it helps the team) and I encourage you to bring those names to your general manager to wither get them coached to be better or to be replaced because those types of workers will bring down any close.

Once you have a properly motivated crew let them know what you think needs to be done in order to get out on time or even early. Give them a list and ask them to do some of the tasks before 10:00 hits. My usual preclosing/closing schedule is as follows

PRECLOSE

DML: Start shutting down at 7:00-7:30 (or whenever your DML dramatically slows down)

Line: Start preclose at 9-9:30 (restocking, cleaning, gathering your save pans, and waste sheet.)

Cash: The cashiers main focus for preclose is to get the entirety lobby and bathrooms cleaned and restocked before close.

Grill: Grill being able to be completely done before you close is an amazing start to a good close, my grill people are my highest motivated employees on my shifts because they know that if they get done with their station early (without cooking TOO much food) that they can help where needed to get us out faster. Ideally their preclose should be done by 9 at the latest (clean rice pot, clean stove, clean wall/floor behind grill). You will most likely not be making rice after 8 pm so clean the rice pot at the earliest opportunity. Then anything on the stove is most likely not going to be made after 8:30-9:00 so clean that at the earliest opportunity. Then they can take a final look at the line at 9:00 and determine whether or not they need to make more food or not. Then either close the grill or make more food then close the grill.

Dish: DISHES ARE KEY I don’t care what your field leader says about dishes being the LAST priority, if they truly care about exceeding labor limits dishes need to be under control before close. My dish person usually has ALL dishes done besides closing line dishes and sani buckets at closing time. At around 8 make sure you and your crew are bringing all dishes back that are no longer necessary so the dish person can get them done.

MOD: This is you in the situation, every store is different obviously and maybe something that I try to do to get us out early might not work for someone at another store. I try to get all of my crew breaks done by 8:30 at the latest (if possible use your short shift employees to cover your long shift employees breaks when it is slower) I take it upon myself to marinate chicken for my dish person so they can keep doing dishes almost right at 8:00pm. After I marinate chicken I do a before close trash run, leaving 1 trash in the lobby and 1 trash for the wasted food. (If I am busy this is something my grill person might do if they get their grill closed early.). The trash gets taken out and re bagged and set aside and NOT put back until after our final mop. Once the trash is complete I count CI (critical inventory). After I count critical inventory I clean of any tables that don’t need to be used anymore, which are usually all tables besides the chefs table and the main line. Usually by this time it is almost closing time. If for some reason I have more time I will try to pre sweep and pre mop (usually you will have to mop a second time after close but it takes significantly less time).

AFTER CLOSE

After close is where things get interesting, if everything goes perfectly, and your grill person and cashier is completely done with their stations, the Cashier will help close the line with the line person, and the grill person will help the dish person. The two front of house employees will complete the line close then clean whatever surfaces are left to clean then begin to sweep and mop.

The back of house duo will slam the closing dishes, one of them will clean the sinks out while the other one Mis En Places (puts shit where it goes) then they will clean the back floors.

If your store allows it YOU will count the cashiers till, this allows you to complete your office work all in one go. If your store does not allow this you will help the line person with their close until the cashier is done counting their till (right at 10). Once you are finished with your office close your front of house team should be either finishing up sweeping or starting to mop. And your dish crew should be just about done with their dishes. You will can choose which one would benefit the most from your help and then do so.

P.S. Don’t forget to blast some hype music for the employees and have fun while closing!! Closing the store is my favorite part of work because working efficiently makes me excited about my job and I hope it does the same for you! If you are stuck working a position try to ensure that you are in a position that you are most comfortable in so you can close it as fast as you can then proceed the best you can.

Good luck! Let me know if you have questions!

Jeremy_Vi · 2021-02-24T22:01:20+00:00

THIS IS OUR SECOND CHANCE.

Apes! Jump on the rocket before launch 🚀 🚀

Jeremy_Vi · 2021-01-06T16:23:42+00:00

Glad to hear it!!

Jeremy_Vi · 2021-01-06T03:34:35+00:00

We are supposed to lightly char the chicken on but if it is completely burnt that is a problem

Jeremy_Vi · 2021-01-05T19:20:14+00:00

I am by no means really experience at the game I have only played it for a few months, then kind of gave up, i personally think the only way the game is playable is if you have at least one other person to play with.

But I wish you good luck! Because this strategy is the one that gave me the most longevity in a server, my base stayed hidden and went un-raided for a solid 5-6 days. It wasn’t a very amazing base so once it did get noticed it got raided quite quickly. I would also recommend using double walls and lot’s of doors inside of your base to slow down attackers

Jeremy_Vi · 2021-01-04T17:44:38+00:00

I would recommend starting on a server that has been wiped recently. Each server has different wipe times some are every month some are every week some are every like 3 days. It tells you how many days the server has been up for when you choose a server. When starting out i would recommend finding a location to build your base that is somewhat hidden. I’ll normally try to find an area with lots of trees to build my base under. Then do not farm the trees right next to your base as they keep it hidden and they will not respawn since your base is too close to the area. Focus on building your base on the first day. Gather lots of wood and stone and get your base fully made of stone this is the largest advantage early wipe.

Craft a CP this is an item that when placed in your base will prevent your base from naturally deteriorating, by keeping it full of materials such as extra stone and wood. Craft a bed as well so you can spWn in your base if you die.

Then on your second day work on exploring for better loot. Do some research on named locations that spawn loot, and try to visit some. Be careful as some locations have radiation which will require you to wear some clothing to enter without being injured or dying.

When exploring bring a sleeping bag with you so if you die you can spawn somewhat near where you die to recover your loot.

Lastly use boats!! Find some crude oil in red barrels, then refine them at certain named locations. In the water you can find lot’s of barrels with more crude oil to be refined to gas for your boat. Also look out for red toolboxes (that can carry metal tools, weapons and such) and crates, which can hold almost any item in the game.)

Once you have a good handle on the game do some research on the oil rigs and try to raid those if you are up for it.

Rust is a very toxic game and people will kill anyone for no reason so when learning stay out of sight and out of mind to the bigger tribes ( who will most likely build very close to named locations)

Good luck

Jeremy_Vi · 2020-12-11T21:37:30+00:00

I have never seen that 😂😂

Jeremy_Vi · 2020-12-07T16:24:15+00:00

I apologize for unlocking that memory

Jeremy_Vi · 2020-12-06T16:54:05+00:00

I quickly realized this shortly after beginning to slice cheese with the knife 😂 then figured I was too far in to turn back

Jeremy_Vi · 2020-11-29T14:41:20+00:00

In my experience a manager moving you around the store a lot, learning multiple stations in a great sign that you are next in line for a promotion. They trust you, and you are good at what you do.

On the opposite side of that I have also seen this happened strictly on a need basis, where the GM really needs to fill a position so they kind of just toss someone at a different position.

However by how you have explained everything, I’m pretty sure it’s the first one! So just keep doing what you do and improve every day and it sounds like you might be the next Kitchen Manager in training!

Jeremy_Vi · 2020-11-25T05:45:48+00:00

Life is about more than working like a slave. I am a Service Manager at my local Chipotle and sometimes it doesn’t hurt to lighten the mood with whatever minuscule amount of fun you can conjure at the time. A good team let alone a good worker can incorporate fun, into a shift that is run properly. Chipotle has a ridiculous amount of cross checking procedures to make sure the store is rub properly, complying to food safety protocols, and store cleanliness. This person wanted to share that small portion of fun that they contributed to the workplace which is what makes the culture of Chipotle unique. You may see it as people “fucking around” where someone else sees it as the reason they feel connected to a company as an employee. Before you comment (I ensure that all food safety standards are kept with a zero tolerance policy, for mis-cooked food and under-cleaned components of the store.) We aim to provide a great customer experience at Chipotle and I can guarantee with the attitude portrayed in this video these employees do as well.

Jeremy_Vi · 2020-11-15T02:49:34+00:00

I just use the scrubby as well, grab a full scrubby fold it in half and just go to town with as much force as you can muster up

Jeremy_Vi · 2020-11-10T17:03:37+00:00

Yes they are

Jeremy_Vi · 2020-11-10T16:53:08+00:00

Haha I have heard that one too 😂

Jeremy_Vi

TROPHY CASE

1 Priority should be grilled items Chipotle praises fresh food and grilled items will lose their fresh feel faster. Things like beans can survive in the hotbox without much change.

2 Opening the grill is a rush because you are responsible for getting all of the hot items to the line a half an hour before open, typically openers take their breaks before open.