Dive Brief:
- Chick-fil-A leads QSR chains in drive-thru satisfaction, with a score of 98% despite having wait times that exceed seven minutes — the longest fulfillment time recorded in InTouch Insight’s annual QSR drive-thru study.
- Taco Bell has the best drive-thru speeds of the 13 brands included in the report, with an average total time of four minutes and 16 seconds.
- Post-pandemic improvements to speed of service and satisfaction have largely stalled. The increasing complexity of drive-thru interactions, which often include loyalty app scans, mobile orders and customization, make it difficult to find drive-thru efficiencies, the study found.
Dive Insight:
Though Chick-fil-A came in last for drive-thru times, that changes dramatically when adjusted for the total number of cars in the drive-thru — a way of accounting for traffic. When grading on that curve, Chick-fil-A and Dutch Bros have the fastest drive-thru times, with both slightly above 2 minutes, 30 seconds.
These performances aren’t especially surprising, as both Dutch Bros and Chick-fil-A emphasize the drive-thru in their operations and design. The coffee chain and Popeyes follow Chick-fil-A in terms of overall satisfaction, with scores exceeding 96%.
Over the past year, average drive-thru times among QSRs increased 6 seconds — though this increase disappears when controlling for the addition of Popeyes, Dutch Bros, Starbucks and Tim Hortons to InTouch Insight’s comparison base.
Taco Bell, Arby’s, Tim Hortons KFC and Wendy’s all had average total times faster than five minutes, but when adjusting for the total number of cars in the drive thru, they posted divergent times. Those chains with less than one car in the drive-thru on average had slower times, while brands with more than one car in the drive thru on average had faster times.
Controlling for a constant comparison base, drive-thru speed improved modestly by three seconds, but this is the smallest improvement in speed since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Digital touchpoints and other changes could be responsible for the slowing improvement.
“While fewer cars line up today, each transaction is more complex—often involving mobile orders, app payments, and customizations,” the study found. “The challenge is no longer just speed, but balancing efficiency with the growing complexity of the modern drive-thru.”
One potential way to improve efficiency, according to the study, is drive-thru artificial intelligence. Intouch Insight measured 120 total orders across three brands that included an interaction with drive-thru AI. The study found that service times — total time from the start of an order to the receipt of food — were 21 seconds faster in AI-assisted orders than in other orders.
Speaker clarity and suggestive selling were also substantially higher on AI orders, and main item temperatures met expectations somewhat more. However, Intouch Insight found that consumers had to repeat themselves 34% of the time for AI orders, compared to 22% for the study’s average, suggesting that program comprehension remains an issue.
Likewise, friendliness scores and order accuracy were lower. About 72% of drivers rated the AI interactions as friendly, compared to 78% across all orders. Order accuracy dropped from 87% to 83%. But these shortcomings did not seem to weigh on customer satisfaction in AI-assisted ordering.
“The gains in speed and efficiency appear to outweigh service shortcomings, suggesting that customers are increasingly valuing convenience and speed as top priorities,” the study found, noting that 97% of consumers were satisfied with AI orders, compared to 91% in the study’s average.
Despite those findings, major brands haven’t embraced the tech with alacrity: Taco Bell has tested it at hundreds of stores, but The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this summer that the brand is rethinking its drive-thru strategy. McDonald’s ended a major drive-thru AI test with IBM last summer.
Intouch Insight based its analysis on 165 mystery shopper occasions per brand, and also analyzed 120 total interactions with drive-thru AI.
