While some brands are swapping out humans for computers and automating the drive-thru ordering process, others are ensuring guests still pull up and interact with a person—face-to-face and not through a speaker box.
Sending employees to take orders directly from cars offers a few key benefits, says Mike Roman, vice president of field operations at Portillo’s.
“One, it’s about bringing hospitality from inside our four walls to all channels,” he says. “Two, we know that speed is always an important factor, and having people outside keeps that front and center.”
The fast casual helped pioneer the use of outside order takers. Over the years, the tactic has helped it match the swift service typically associated with fast food, resulting in drive-thrus that average around $4 million in sales alone.
Portillo’s has been taking a closer look at its approach lately, though. This summer it reported that drive-thru times were lagging behind 2019 levels by nearly a minute. The company at some point “got a little complacent” with how well it was performing in the channel, CEO Michael Osanloo told investors earlier this year. Stores also got slower in assigning a second person as an outside order taker during peak traffic periods.
Onsaloo spent time observing and participating in operations across the system and concluded that processes for measuring success relied on too many metrics and prevented GMs from paying attention to the guest experience. Since this observation, Portillo’s has realigned its GMs to focus on factors that matter when driving transactions and sales, including real-time coaching “for the speed and sense of urgency that we’re known for, especially in our drive-thrus.”
With that shift, speed improved 15 seconds year-to-date in a matter of weeks, he said during the company’s mid-year earnings update in August. Most of that came from a renewed emphasis on training and ensuring that employees are properly deployed along the lane.
“It really comes down to having fundamentally strong training, both at the hourly and at the management level,” Roman says. “We also require the management team to be outside because that’s one of the best ways to keep an eye on our team members.”
Having a managerial presence outside also helps ensure those order takers are equipped with the tools they need to deliver a friendly and more personalized experience, he adds. To that end, Portillo’s has continually upped the game on creating a safe and comfortable environment for team members. It pays a premium for people working the drive-thru in inclement weather. It went cashless in the channel last year, a move that Roman says was made “100 percent for team members.” And it’s always looking for opportunities to retrofit existing locations with fresh amenities.
From fans and heaters to rain pods and longer canopies on the building, those types of investments are table stakes for restaurants looking to send employees outside.
“Whether you’re in New York and it’s snowing, you’re in Florida and it’s pouring down rain, or you’re in Texas where it’s 115 degrees, weather is the biggest challenge that we’re constantly trying to overcome,” says Makayla Moore, franchise coach lead at 7 Brew.
Outside order takers armed with iPads—dubbed “texters”—are a core part of the drive-thru coffee chain’s operation. These employees aren’t just there to input orders. They’re specifically trained to make friendly eye contact and spark conversations with customers.
Start to finish, Moore says the experience is focused on eliminating tension and removing friction while also fostering “genuine human connection.” The company drills that mindset into employees from the interview process onward.
“It’s about being as honest as we can with them,” Moore says. “It’s not always going to be 70 degrees and sunny. You have to be OK with working in the rain. You have to be okay with working in the snow. You have to be OK working with when the wind is blowing right in your face. Of course, we’re going to do everything we can to rotate you from outside to inside, but setting that expectation from the start is really important.”
From there, it’s all about equipping them with the confidence to strike up conversations and make those face-to-face connections.
“We actually bring baristas to our headquarters and train them at our corporate stands,” Moore says. “It’s easy to talk about it and say, ‘OK, we really want you to have a good conversation with the guest.’ But when they can actually see someone else do it and see the impact it can have on a customer, it really clicks in their brain and makes a big difference. We want each conversation to be personable. We don’t want it to be scripted. Not everyone’s comfortable doing that at first, but we will stand side by side with you and train you and help you facilitate those conversations.”
Multiple points of contact are another pillar of 7 Brew’s drive-thru model. Guests are greeted by the texter. A minute later, they’re at the lane table having another conversation. A minute after that, someone is bringing out their drink. By breaking up the customer’s wait time with these interactions, the process feels smoother and quicker.
Outside order takers also help guide guests through the menu. That’s particularly valuable given the extensive range of customizable beverages and over 20,000 drink combinations that are available at 7 Brew.
Moore says the biggest benefit is the added efficiency since baristas inside the store aren’t waiting for a customer to pull up to the speaker box to start preparing their order
“If you can stack 10, 15, 20 cars in your line, it’s only going to make you faster because you can constantly be working ahead,” she says. “You’re never bottlenecked by the amount of cars that fit between a speaker box and the drive-thru window.”
To elevate the drive-thru experience further, 7 Brew is focused on leveraging technology through its loyalty program. When customers drive up, they’re asked for their phone number, which automatically enrolls them into the program. With more than 3.2 million loyalty members across 200-plus locations, 7 Brew tracks 92 percent of its transactions through customer IDs. The result is a more personalized experience, with employees able to pull up recent orders and make suggestions based on customer preferences.
That process is becoming even faster and more seamless thanks to the introduction of the 7 Pass, a QR code sticker that guests can stick on their cars for employees to scan. It’s especially popular with frequent guests who stop by on their way to work or school as part of their daily routine
“Those regulars have a lot of customizations, so when we scan that pass, we can see exactly how that special drink was made last time,” Moore says. “It allows you to have an even more genuine conversation because you can just talk to them about how their day is going while you’re pulling up their previous order history.”