Fast-Food Drive-Thru Lanes Becoming Faster
Fast-food drive-thru lanes are speeding up as fewer customers choose to order their meals and milkshakes sitting in their car, according to a recent study.
Wait times to order have decreased, resulting in shorter total time spent in a drive-thru lane. This year, the average total time spent in a drive-thru lane decreased by 29 seconds, while wait times to order were 25 seconds shorter. The average number of cars in line to place orders also fell significantly from 2.76 to 1.27.
The study, conducted by Intouch Insight, involved visits to nearly 1,500 locations of popular fast-food chains such as Arby’s, Burger King, Carl’s Jr., Chick-fil-A, Dunkin’, Hardee’s, KFC, McDonald’s, Taco Bell, and Wendy’s. Mystery shoppers ordered from the drive-thru lanes during various times from June to July.
Fastest Drive-Thru Times
Taco Bell, KFC, and Carl’s Jr. had the fastest overall times for their drive-thru lanes. However, when their longer average total times were divided by the number of cars in line, Chick-fil-A, McDonald’s, and Wendy’s outperformed all three chains. This implies that Carl’s Jr. and Taco Bell were only faster because their drive-thru lanes were less popular.
Shift in Customer Behavior
Since the pandemic began, there has been a significant decrease in demand for drive-thru lanes. Customers shifted from ordering inside to ordering from their cars, a trend that continued even after fast-food restaurants reopened their dining rooms.
The surge in popularity of drive-thru lanes put pressure on workers to assemble orders quickly and accurately. To address this issue, fast-food chains introduced solutions like curbside pickup for mobile orders. However, this year’s total drive-thru times still lag behind 2019 times by 15 seconds.
Changing Ordering Habits
Many diners have now shifted to ordering online or using self-order kiosks inside restaurants, indicating a change in their ordering preferences.
Ongoing Efforts to Improve Service
Despite the stabilization of drive-thru visits, restaurant companies like McDonald’s and Chick-fil-A are continuously working to speed up service and reduce errors. Some are even testing artificial intelligence software to take orders or constructing new locations with multiple drive-thru lanes.
Special Restaurant Visits
Intouch Insight’s mystery shoppers visited two special restaurants this year. One was a McDonald’s test restaurant outside of Fort Worth, featuring an order-ahead lane and a drive-thru lane. The other was a Taco Bell location in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, with one traditional drive-thru lane and three additional lanes reserved for delivery drivers and customers who ordered ahead.
Both locations outperformed their respective brands’ average service times by approximately a minute. The Taco Bell restaurant also had a higher order accuracy score of 88% compared to the chain’s rate of 85%. However, the McDonald’s test location fell short with an accuracy score of 80%, below the chain’s rate of 88%.
