"People decide whether to come to your restaurant based on how long the drive-through line is," R. Craig Coulter, chief scientist at HyperActive Technologies, [image-nocss] a Pittsburgh-based restaurant software firm, told the newspaper. Often, he said, "If there are seven cars in your line, they will go to your competitor."
More speed can translate into more sales. There's an industry maxim that for every seven-second reduction in drive-through service time, sales will increase 1% over time, Matt Jennings, president of data management at Eagan, Minn.-based Restaurant Technologies Inc., told the paper.
But accuracy is most important to consumers, said Jennings and others in the industry.
Technomic Inc., a Chicago-based restaurant consultant, found in a survey last year that 31% of consumers said accuracy was the most important factor in getting takeout food. Speed was fifth, with 7% saying it was most important.
Most drive-through miscues stem from miscommunication between the order taker and the customer, industry experts said. One of the big technological leaps of the past several years is aimed at cutting such miscommunication: the order confirmation board. At many chains, a customer's order will pop up on a screen at the menu board, allowing for a visual check. Other more recent innovations include digital audio for better speaker clarity and computer systems that generate rich data of drive-through sales patterns, allowing for restaurants to better adjust their inventories.
"There is an incredible amount of science in the drive-through," Robert Marshall, McDonald's vice president of U.S. restaurant operations, told the Tribune.
Drive-through efficiency is important enough that QSR, an industry publication, each fall ranks the best U.S. drive-throughs, and the fast-food business pays a lot of attention. This year's winner was Atlanta-based Chick-fil-A, the chicken chain that has ranked first five of the last six years. Oak Brook, Ill.-based McDonald's came in second.
Drive-throughs constitute about 70% of the industry's sales, up from about 60% six years ago, Sherri Daye Scott, QSR's editor, told the paper. The increase stems partly from a trend in recent years toward extended restaurant hours; late-night business is usually drive-through only. But it's cultural too. "I just think we are busier, and we've become really accustomed to convenience," Scott said. "The idea of people not wanting to get out of their car has become so pervasive."
QSR commissions research of the nation's top 25 fast-food chains' drive-through operations, reviewing thousands of transactions. The publication looks at four factors: menu board appearance, speaker clarity, speed and accuracy. The last two are more heavily weighted than the first two.
Over the years, speed has improved, Scott said, with this year's speediest, Dublin, Ohio-based Wendy's, posting an average service time of 131 seconds. But accuracy fluctuates, Scott said. And improvements in speed often mean declines in accuracy. "It's really difficult to find that sweet spot," she said.
The Tribune offers this vignette: At one Wheaton, Ill., McDonald's, a car pulls up to the menu board, tripping a sensor. "Welcome to McDonald's. Would you like to try a mocha frappe?" the drive-through speaker chirps. It's a recording of a store employee, not a live greeting. "You always get a consistent message that way," Marshall said. Inside the store on this morning, there's a crew of four devoted to the drive-through. One is staffing the register, a computer screen behind him showing pictures of cars. This is a double drive-through-two lanes-so cameras are constantly clicking and matching orders with cars to avoid mixups. Another worker wearing a headset focuses on taking orders.
According to the report, some fast-food chains have started using call centers to take orders; Marshall said McDonald's is in a "very early" call center test, at a small number of restaurants. With a call center, a phone jockey in, say, Fargo, N.D., may take an order for a customer in Wheaton. The concept is in part aimed at freeing workers in the restaurant to focus on meal preparation and delivery.
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