| Accuracy Excellence | Passing Percent |
|
| Chick-fil-A | 0.952 | |
| Krystal | 0.946 | |
| Bojangles’ | 0.939 | |
| El Pollo Loco | 0.931 | |
| Burger King | 0.923 | |
| 2007 average | 0.893 | |
| Top Speed | Average time (seconds) |
Average number of vehicles in line |
| Wendy’s | 138.2 | 1.68 |
| Checkers | 152.5 | 1.24 |
| Taco Bell | 163.1 | 1.34 |
| McDonald’s | 166.6 | 2.54 |
| Long John Silver’s | 177.9 | 0.67 |
| 2007 average | 200.06 | 1.43 |
When analyzing average service times, the impact of the number of cars in line can’t be overlooked. That metric ultimately affects throughput. Average service times increase as drive-thrus get busier—and not because the line is longer.
“Average service time,” as defined by the 2007 Drive-Thru Performance Study, begins when the test vehicle stops at the order point and ends when the entire order, including change, is received. The wait to get to the speaker box is factored out. As restaurants become busier the increase in service times is mainly due to the operational stress of consistently filling multiple orders over a prolonged period.
The national average, when zero to two other vehicles were in line upon the researcher’s entry was 182.6 seconds. The average service speed when three to five vehicles were in line, however, rose to 258.3 seconds—over a minute longer. When six or more vehicles were in line the average was nearly 100 seconds longer per vehicle, or 282.2 seconds.
Operational efficiency can make a difference. McDonald’s, the chain with the second- highest number of cars in line and the only brand other than Chick-fil-A with an average of more than two other vehicles in line, finished fourth in speed. Church’s, with an average .55 vehicles in line, didn’t make the top 10 in service times. The lesson is if you can keep your team together, you can keep your service times steady regardless of how busy things become.
Although there are other complicating factors, such as the number of vehicles that can be stacked between the order point and the pickup window, a simplistic view of this metric reveals that McDonald’s is able to service almost double the number of customers in less time than most of the other brands. Other consistently strong speed performers like Taco Bell, Burger King, Wendy’s, and Arby’s are also among the busiest restaurants. The financial implications of this throughput capacity on franchisees should not be overlooked.
The average service time when combining results of all chains included in this study was 200.1 seconds per vehicle, up slightly from 198.5 seconds in 2006 and 193.2 seconds in 2005. Why the slight increase despite the new technologies? Perhaps it’s the increase in the average number of other vehicles in line, which went from 1.37 last year to 1.43 in 2007. To process more customers in essentially the same amount of time necessarily means more efficient order fulfillment by the restaurants.