Time is money, and nowhere is that fact more evident than in a fast-food drive-thru lane.
“You can definitely lose between 5 and 10 percent of your sales on an annual basis because of a bad drive-thru,” says Mark Godward, president of foodservice consulting firm Strategic Restaurant Engineering.
But new technology and building trends are helping operators reclaim those losses and zip cars through the line in record time.
Lose the Squawk Box
The drive-thru speaker box has been the butt of countless comedy routines. But for customers in a hurry that garbled voice that can’t get their order right isn’t funny—it’s downright annoying. A few alternatives do exist, though, including self-service kiosks that allow patrons to control the accuracy of the input themselves.
“Consumers cherish their ability to be in control, and kiosks give them that,” says Stephen Gregorie, vice president of customer experience and marketing for Pro-Tech Kiosks.
He says intuitive kiosk software can lead customers through the ordering process without tying up a crew member, even making suggestions for add-ons or promotional items. But aside from a few successful rollouts, like at Sheetz, the machines haven’t been widely adopted in quick-service drive-thrus. Godward has a theory as to why.
“I wouldn’t want to put the pressure [of completing the ordering process] on a guest in the car,” he says.
Instead, it might make sense to have a kiosk not in the drive-thru lane but elsewhere in the parking lot. Customers can park there, key in their orders, and pick up at a separate window.
Another substitute for the speaker system has been put to use with some success at Java Detour, a Davis, California-based gourmet coffee and bakery concept. At peak times the chain sends employees outside with handheld order-taking devices to move from car to car down the line.
“A [two-window] drive-thru allows you to take two orders; if you have a handheld you can take maybe eight orders,” says Doug Kelly, vice president of Performance POS, a provider of handheld ordering equipment.
The devices, which cost about $2,000 for the equipment and software, can also be equipped with card swipes and portable printers for receipts—eliminating yet another task for the crew inside. The system does have its limitations, however. “This is simply a peak-period tool,” Kelly explains. “It’s not meant to be a replacement, just an added tool to the repertoire.”
A third option for avoiding problems at the speaker box has garnered a lot of attention in the past few years. A number of quick-serves, including some McDonald’s and Wendy’s, have experimented with outsourcing order taking to remote call centers.