Pros
The best parts of this job had to do with people and my hands on training; I was able to easily make friends with nearly everyone on my crew, even managers, but beware in doing this as it can cause some conflicts of interests (e.g. insubordination issues, even if joking, with managers, etc.) I got to know many of the regular customers and their orders by heart and seeing them always made my day a little better. I also learned some very useful kitchen skills such as food safety, proper knife handling and care, cutting various types of food. A vast knowledge of the menu and food, allergens and the sustainable practices will be very helpful when on the line and dealing with customers.
Cons
My first and foremost complaint is the lack of recognition of real skill and desire to advance- upon hire I was promised these opportunities ("you could make kitchen manager in six months, if you try hard enough-" and boy did I try, in vain!...) Priority to train and promote someone hired at the same time as me was placed above my own advancement, possibly because they had more kitchen experience than I did (but in my interview, I was told that prerequisite skill, education and job history would not be a determining factor in my success... this was obviously not the case.) Management can be conflicting and, at times, very hypocritical; it is hard to finish a task when two people are telling you to do two very different things. There was definitely some favoritism in the management and crew as well and this would cause resentment among and crew and create a negative atmosphere. Even the district manager had, at most, 2 meetings with me during my lengthy 5+ months of employment, and those were in my first month or two, only. There is never a dull moment at Chipotle, unless you're in throughput and there is no one in line- in which case you are literally just standing around, waiting to serve food. Often times those who are great at customer service end up stuck in the front of the house, sweating as they work feverishly on the line scooping rice and beans, and burning their hands on tortillas, while those with seniority are given the freedom to roam the kitchen looking for odd tasks, or take their time cutting bell peppers. The amount of work you do, even considering the generous increase in starting wage compared to minimum wage, is simply not worth it. I had no free time, I was called in on almost all of my days off and usually felt too guilty not to come in- I ended up constantly picking up the slack of low performers, staying to help when I didn't need to, and busting my behind for a company that, when given the opportunity to promote me, gave the opportunity to someone else, equally or less deserving, and never even considered me.