The drive thru has historically produced between 70 and 75 percent of sales for quick-service restaurants, but that number rose to nearly 100 percent at the outset of the pandemic when dining rooms shut down. Suddenly, if drive-thru equipment stopped working the implications were more devastating than ever before.
One company that helped operators pivot quickly to the increase in traffic at the drive thru was R.F. Technologies, Inc., a drive-thru headset repair and equipment company with four locations throughout the U.S. R.F. Technologies prides itself on its quick turnaround times: Headsets are repaired and shipped out the same day they are received in order to minimize restaurant down time.
“When restaurants were relying on the drive thru and the drive thru alone, communication was more critical than ever,” says Maurice Vincent, vice president of sales with R.F. Technologies, Inc. “If customers are having to repeat orders, or employees can’t hear the customers, that all costs time. Headsets have to be functioning properly for drive-thru execution to be at its best.”
While capacity restrictions have loosened, drive-thru traffic remains much higher than pre-pandemic norms. Because consumer behaviors have evolved so dramatically over the past year, experts do not expect drive-thru usage to subside any time soon and operators would be wise to prepare accordingly, Vincent says.
R.F. Technologies offers customized headset repair programs for its clients, which offer different levels of service designed for brands with different needs. The company helps operators decide which plan fits best based not just on size but by using data that shows how often repairs are needed.
In fact, one of the reasons operators love working with R.F. Technologies is because the company provides analytics and reporting generated on behalf of the restaurant brand to help make data-driven decisions that keep the drive thru operation robust and efficient. For example, if a particular store has headsets breaking more often, different training can be given.
“We customize the reporting based on the metrics that our clients are looking for,” Vincent says. “That helps calculate the cost savings going back to their bottom line, and we have saved hundreds of thousands of dollars for the groups that we serve. And we have the data to prove it.”
The company manufacturers all of its headset repair parts, which ensures prices are operator-friendly. If something breaks or isn’t working, managers are able to log into an online portal and print labels that automatically ship headsets to the closest R.F. Technologies location to minimize equipment downtime.
“This is our core competency,” Vincent says. “We’ve been doing this for over 30 years. Operators want a good price point, a quality repair, and they want a fast turnaround on equipment repairs. Because we have four locations throughout the U.S., that enables us to get those headsets back to the operator as quickly as possible.”
For more information on ensuring your drive-thru headsets are functioning properly, visit the R.F. Technologies website.
By Charlie Pogacar
