Your Favorite Fast Food Drive-Thru May Actually Be the Slowest
In a world that expects instant gratification this could be bad news.
I love a good drive-thru. Really, I do. Get the food in my hand and get it in my tummy NOW. I will also admit that I suffer from being hangry. Of course, for me, the drive-thru is the best option when I'm hangry. Let me drive there, get my food in a matter of minutes, and then snack on a fry or two on the way home.
The drive-thru may be slowing down though.
According to data crunched by QSR Magazine and reported in USA Today, average wait times in the drive-thru rose by as much as 20 seconds in 2019. The average was 255 seconds from start to finish. OK, in all honesty, that's still less than five minutes. I think we'll live.
The data also compared 10 national chains when it comes to drive-thru service. Researchers monitored summer visits between June 1 and August 1 and looked at all times of day. After analyzing more than 1,500 visits they were able to determine which were the fastest.
Of those ten, here is how they ranked by time (I've rounded to the nearest second here)...
1. Dunkin' Donuts at 217 seconds
2. Wendy's at 230 seconds
3. Burger King at 235 seconds
4. Taco Bell at 240 seconds
5. Carl's Jr. at 241 seconds
6. KFC at 244 seconds
7. Arby's at 263 seconds
8. Hardee's at 266 seconds
9. McDonald's at 283 seconds
10. Chick-fil-A at 323 seconds