About this role
Our restaurants are only the tip of the flame! If you’re looking for a fast-paced, innovative and welcoming workplace then a career with our Familia is right for you.
What’s in it for you!
• Hybrid work schedule
• Competitive pay and bonus
• Medical + Dental + Vision Insurance
• 401(K) Plan with match and immediate vesting
• HSA savings accounts
• Vacation + Sick Pay + 12 Paid Holidays
• Amazing office culture
• Free El Pollo Loco food (Dine Out Card) + Restaurant Discount
• Discounts on theme parks, movie tickets, sports events, hotels and more…
POSITION PURPOSE:
The Senior Customer Experience Specialist serves as a strategic leader and subject-matter expert within the Customer Experience (CX) team. This role represents the voice of the guest and is instrumental in translating customer insights into impactful operational, brand, and process improvements across the organization.
The Senior Customer Experience Specialist leads the resolution of complex, high-impact customer cases, and performs advanced analysis of customer trends to identify risks, opportunities, and systemic gaps. This role partners closely with cross-functional leaders to influence decision-making, strengthen guest loyalty and protect brand reputation.
This position also supports CX leadership through reporting, actionable insights, and strategic recommendations while driving the evolution of tools, workflows, and best practices that enhance the end-to-end guest journey.
ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
• Serve as the primary escalation authority for complex, sensitive, or high-risk customer cases, ensuring timely resolution aligned with brand standards, risk considerations, and operations realities.
• Model and champion El Pollo Loco’s CARE model at an advanced level, transforming challenging guest interactions into opportunities to strengthen trust, loyalty and brand advocacy.
• Exercise independent judgment in determining customer resolutions that may have implications for brand perception, financial risk, or operational practices.
• Lead analysis of CX data across food quality, service, digital ordering, delivery, and location-specific trends to identify root causes and systemic opportunities.
• Translate guest insights into clear, actionable recommendations that influence operational improvements, training strategies, and policy updates.
• Develop and deliver recurring and ad-hoc reports for CX leadership and cross-functional partners using advanced Excel skills (pivot tables, XLOOKUP/VLOOKUP, trend analysis).
• Partner with the Customer Experience Manager to define KPIs, track performance, and measure the impact of CX initiatives.
• Act as a strategic liaison between CX and Operations, Risk Management, QA, Marketing, Digital/Product, and Regional Leadership.
• Proactively surface emerging guest trends, risks, and insights to Operations Leaders to support timely, informed decision-making.
• Support enterprise initiatives by providing the customer perspective during pilots, rollouts, or process changes.
• Oversee and continuously improve administrative workflows including complaint tracking, documentation accuracy, follow-ups, and reporting consistency.
• Identify and drive enhancements to CX tools, templates, and knowledge base content to ensure consistent, high-quality responses across all channels.
• Maintain ownership of omnichannel customer interactions (email, phone, web, mail) as needed.
• Other duties as assigned by supervisor
QUALIFICATIONS – EDUCATION, EXPERIENCE, LICENSE/CERTIFICATIONS:
To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to satisfactorily perform the essential functions of the job. Reasonable accommodation will be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the job. The requirements listed below are representative of the education and/or experience required.
Education/Work Experience:
• High School Diploma required; Bachelor’s degree in Communications, Business, Hospitality, or related field strongly preferred.
• 3–5+ years of progressive experience in customer experience, call center, hospitality, or restaurant support environments.
• Demonstrated experience handling escalations, data analysis, and cross-functional collaboration.
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:
• Advanced knowledge of customer experience principles, service recovery strategies, and brand reputation management within a multi-unit, consumer-facing organization.
• Working knowledge of operational processes, risk considerations, quality standards, and regulatory or compliance implications as they relate to customer interactions and resolutions.
• Strong understanding of customer data analysis, trend identification, and root-cause methodologies across service, food quality, digital ordering, and delivery platforms.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to influence outcomes, cross-functional partners, contribute to strategic initiatives, and present findings to leaders with clarity and credibility.
• Ability to proactively identify emerging trends, risks, and opportunities and take initiative to escalate, recommend, or implement solutions.
• Ability to adapt high level of independent judgment and approach based on evolving business needs, guest expectations, and organizational priorities. Advanced proficiency in Excel and comfort working with CX platforms and CRM systems.
• Ability to evaluate competing priorities and determine appropriate courses of action without reliance on detailed instructions or constant oversight.
• Strong attention to detail with the ability to see both the big picture and root causes.
• Ability to work flexible or rotational schedules (e.g., 8:00 AM–5:00 PM or 10:00 AM–7:00 PM).
• Ability to work on-site at the Support Center as required and in alignment with the hybrid work policy.
Our Company
In 1980 the first American El Pollo Loco opened on Alvarado Street in Los Angeles, quickly becoming a destination for the best citrus-marinated, fire-grilled pollo in town. Over the past four decades, El Pollo Loco has grown into more than 490 restaurants across 7 states, becoming an L.A. mainstay and cultural benchmark along the way. And today, we continue to work just as hard to always provide customers with fresh and innovative L.A. Mex from our famous family dinners to Mexican entrees.
The pay range identified is the hourly or salary rate El Pollo Loco expects to pay for the posted position. This range does not include any benefits or bonus opportunities that might be available for the position based on position and eligibility criteria. Individual pay will vary based on a variety of factors including years of experience, industry experience, education, geography, etc.
#LI-Hybrid
What’s in it for you!
• Hybrid work schedule
• Competitive pay and bonus
• Medical + Dental + Vision Insurance
• 401(K) Plan with match and immediate vesting
• HSA savings accounts
• Vacation + Sick Pay + 12 Paid Holidays
• Amazing office culture
• Free El Pollo Loco food (Dine Out Card) + Restaurant Discount
• Discounts on theme parks, movie tickets, sports events, hotels and more…
POSITION PURPOSE:
The Senior Customer Experience Specialist serves as a strategic leader and subject-matter expert within the Customer Experience (CX) team. This role represents the voice of the guest and is instrumental in translating customer insights into impactful operational, brand, and process improvements across the organization.
The Senior Customer Experience Specialist leads the resolution of complex, high-impact customer cases, and performs advanced analysis of customer trends to identify risks, opportunities, and systemic gaps. This role partners closely with cross-functional leaders to influence decision-making, strengthen guest loyalty and protect brand reputation.
This position also supports CX leadership through reporting, actionable insights, and strategic recommendations while driving the evolution of tools, workflows, and best practices that enhance the end-to-end guest journey.
ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
• Serve as the primary escalation authority for complex, sensitive, or high-risk customer cases, ensuring timely resolution aligned with brand standards, risk considerations, and operations realities.
• Model and champion El Pollo Loco’s CARE model at an advanced level, transforming challenging guest interactions into opportunities to strengthen trust, loyalty and brand advocacy.
• Exercise independent judgment in determining customer resolutions that may have implications for brand perception, financial risk, or operational practices.
• Lead analysis of CX data across food quality, service, digital ordering, delivery, and location-specific trends to identify root causes and systemic opportunities.
• Translate guest insights into clear, actionable recommendations that influence operational improvements, training strategies, and policy updates.
• Develop and deliver recurring and ad-hoc reports for CX leadership and cross-functional partners using advanced Excel skills (pivot tables, XLOOKUP/VLOOKUP, trend analysis).
• Partner with the Customer Experience Manager to define KPIs, track performance, and measure the impact of CX initiatives.
• Act as a strategic liaison between CX and Operations, Risk Management, QA, Marketing, Digital/Product, and Regional Leadership.
• Proactively surface emerging guest trends, risks, and insights to Operations Leaders to support timely, informed decision-making.
• Support enterprise initiatives by providing the customer perspective during pilots, rollouts, or process changes.
• Oversee and continuously improve administrative workflows including complaint tracking, documentation accuracy, follow-ups, and reporting consistency.
• Identify and drive enhancements to CX tools, templates, and knowledge base content to ensure consistent, high-quality responses across all channels.
• Maintain ownership of omnichannel customer interactions (email, phone, web, mail) as needed.
• Other duties as assigned by supervisor
QUALIFICATIONS – EDUCATION, EXPERIENCE, LICENSE/CERTIFICATIONS:
To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to satisfactorily perform the essential functions of the job. Reasonable accommodation will be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the job. The requirements listed below are representative of the education and/or experience required.
Education/Work Experience:
• High School Diploma required; Bachelor’s degree in Communications, Business, Hospitality, or related field strongly preferred.
• 3–5+ years of progressive experience in customer experience, call center, hospitality, or restaurant support environments.
• Demonstrated experience handling escalations, data analysis, and cross-functional collaboration.
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:
• Advanced knowledge of customer experience principles, service recovery strategies, and brand reputation management within a multi-unit, consumer-facing organization.
• Working knowledge of operational processes, risk considerations, quality standards, and regulatory or compliance implications as they relate to customer interactions and resolutions.
• Strong understanding of customer data analysis, trend identification, and root-cause methodologies across service, food quality, digital ordering, and delivery platforms.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to influence outcomes, cross-functional partners, contribute to strategic initiatives, and present findings to leaders with clarity and credibility.
• Ability to proactively identify emerging trends, risks, and opportunities and take initiative to escalate, recommend, or implement solutions.
• Ability to adapt high level of independent judgment and approach based on evolving business needs, guest expectations, and organizational priorities. Advanced proficiency in Excel and comfort working with CX platforms and CRM systems.
• Ability to evaluate competing priorities and determine appropriate courses of action without reliance on detailed instructions or constant oversight.
• Strong attention to detail with the ability to see both the big picture and root causes.
• Ability to work flexible or rotational schedules (e.g., 8:00 AM–5:00 PM or 10:00 AM–7:00 PM).
• Ability to work on-site at the Support Center as required and in alignment with the hybrid work policy.
Our Company
In 1980 the first American El Pollo Loco opened on Alvarado Street in Los Angeles, quickly becoming a destination for the best citrus-marinated, fire-grilled pollo in town. Over the past four decades, El Pollo Loco has grown into more than 490 restaurants across 7 states, becoming an L.A. mainstay and cultural benchmark along the way. And today, we continue to work just as hard to always provide customers with fresh and innovative L.A. Mex from our famous family dinners to Mexican entrees.
The pay range identified is the hourly or salary rate El Pollo Loco expects to pay for the posted position. This range does not include any benefits or bonus opportunities that might be available for the position based on position and eligibility criteria. Individual pay will vary based on a variety of factors including years of experience, industry experience, education, geography, etc.
#LI-Hybrid