As part of Chipotle’s strategy to eliminate any illnesses caused by the burrito chain restaurant, they have and will be installing a ‘Safety Robot’ at every store location.
From the makers of the Roomba, iRobot Inc. was consulted to make the best food safety robot possible. Nicknamed ‘Chi-Chi,’ the robot is much more than a camera. It observes the entire store through several sensors and can measure airborne illnesses, unsanitary cooking surfaces, and even if an employee fails to wash their hands.
“This is the future of food safety,” said Chipotle CEO Steve Ells. “I get a report every time the robot detects anything at one of our 1,900 stores. If one of our 45,000 employees sneezes, I get a notification.”
Each ‘Chi-Chi’ food safety robot costs $8,000 and an addition $2,500 to install and maintain. So, Chipotle is investing nearly an additional $22 million into food safety which Ells says, “Will easily pay for itself and keep everyone safe, that’s the goal and no price is too high for the safety of our customers.”
Every Chipotle will be closing for a few hours February 8th to retrain employees about safety and finish installing the last 400 ‘Chi-Chi’ safety robots. With the stock price down nearly 40% since July, Chipotle is pulling out all the stops to avoid any further negative publicity or illness caused by any of its stores.
‘Chi-Chi’ is also programed to respond to several greetings while customers wait in line. Will the robot one day be taking and making your burrito order too?