Why are drive-thru lanes so slow?

A recent report is showing something grim within the fast food industry, drive-thru times are getting slower. Why is that?

Drive-thru lanes were made to be a convenient way for us lazy folks who dread actually getting out the car and walking inside a fast-food restaurant to order food. It was supposed to be fast and quick, in and out. However, a report released on a Friday news dump tells a more sobering tale about the modern fast food drive-thru, service is slower and sloppier.

The report, done by QSR Magazine, gave most drive-thru service a big, fat thumbs down. The accuracy for drive-thru lanes overall decreased five percentage points compared to last year.

Not only is the speed going down, but the accuracy took a dive as well, dropping from 89.4% in 2018 to 84.4%. This is not good, and many are wondering why we’re sitting in long lines for a longer amount of time, while our order is messed up once we get to the window.

All of this adds to a ticking time-bomb for both the customer and the employee. Customers are fuming in long lines, and employees are feeling more pressure from those agitated customers, which explains the muck-ups happening with orders.

While times may seem dire right now, some fast-food chains are trying to turn their abysmal fast-food times and accuracy around. Taco Bell is upgrading their kitchen display system so its workers can get a better handle on orders, and Dunkin’ (the chain that’s formally known as Dunkin’ Donuts) has made headways in their drive-thru system, so much so that it took the title as fasted average drive-thru with 216 seconds.

Drive-thru times and accuracy can be turned around. All it takes is a little bit of commitment from both the employee and the customer.