Chipotle iPhone app pulled almost immediately
Customers are generally very happy when their Chipotle meal is ordered, prepared, and eaten in a hurry. They were surprised when the Chipotle iPhone app was removed from service equally quickly.
It seemed like a match made in heaven. The ability to order one’s favorite burrito from one’s favorite cell phone could not possibly be a bad idea. The app would let you custom-build your burrito just as if you were standing in line at the store, then send it to the nearest Chipotle outlet for pickup. News about the app was seemingly everywhere first thing this morning.
Now, the news is slightly different. The iPhone app has disappeared. What happened between the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat? Was the app pulled because it didn’t work very well or because it was too popular? There would appear to be a difference of opinion on the matter depending on whose account you read.
A story by The Motley Fool says, “Whether it was the clunky interface, the drawn-out registration process, or just the pointless task of entering a ZIP code to locate the nearest locations, when most apps automatically detect where a request is coming from, Chipotle probably figured that it was better to pull a program that wasn’t up to snuff than to let it disappoint its tech-savvy fan base. The fast-growing chain should know better. Customers can already skip long lunchtime lines by ordering online through the company’s Web site, so it already has the automation side down.” Was the program really that bad?
On the other side of the ledger, the techcrunch.com Web site story says that the application was so popular it was bringing servers to a crawl at the site of the app’s developer, Sequence of San Francisco. This version says, “As it turns out, the company decided to pull the application after a few hours because of unexpected demand that was overloading its servers. User requests were timing out with enough frequency that the team decided it would rather hold off until it could offer a more enjoyable and reliable experience.”
Since the techcrunch story, and almost all others, has some mention of the very unfriendly user interface, that would seem to be the most likely version of the tale. There is just too much wrong with the app from a usability standpoint. This minor fiasco goes to prove how easy it is to get it wrong. Even with the most popular phone connecting to the most popular burrito, you still have to get the app right.
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January 19th, 2009
LiveOnTheGo.com has online ordering site for the iphone. Works great if you live in southern California.