Quick service and fast casual restaurants offer a convenient way for busy families to get meals, snacks, and drinks on the go. For even faster service, customers can use the drive-thru lane.

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, drive-thru service has been even more popular: one report found that drive-thru orders represented roughly 75% of quick-service sales. To stay competitive, quick service restaurants (QSRs) need their employees to serve up orders efficiently and accurately.

Learn more about how QSRs can improve their speed of service to create a better drive-thru experience.

What Is Speed of Service?

When a customer visits any kind of restaurant, they expect to receive their meal promptly. The amount of time it takes a restaurant staff to serve their customers is known as the speed of service (SOS).

In a QSR setting, SOS is particularly important. Benchmarks to assess your drive-thru SOS might include:

• Amount of time a customer waits in the drive-thru lane before placing an order
• Amount of time it takes for a customer to receive their meal after placing an order
• Amount of time elapsed between placing an order and arriving at the pay window

Slow service means customers will become frustrated – and they’re less likely to return to your establishment in the future. To provide the best drive-thru experience, you need to improve SOS.

Best Practices for Improving Drive-Thru Experience

For national chains, average drive-thru wait times can significantly impact their public image. A widely publicized report from QSR Magazine listed Chick-fil-A as the food restaurant with the slowest drive-thru and Taco Bell as the fastest. Arby’s, however, outranked both chains in order accuracy.

QSRs always need to strike a balance between quality and efficiency. You don’t want your customers to wait a long time in the drive-thru, but you also want to ensure their order is correct.

For better drive-thru SOS, try these practices:

Monitor Inventory

You can’t serve your customers effectively if you don’t have all the ingredients you need to prepare each menu item. Keep prep areas and walk-in coolers fully stocked, and ensure each employee knows where key ingredients and supplies are located.

Stock Order Window

Maintaining a fully stocked drive-thru window helps you keep customers happy. At the start of each shift, your team should replenish the pick-up window with items like:

• Napkins
• Straws
• Utensils
• Condiment packets

Employees will have what they need within arm’s reach and can efficiently move customers through the drive-thru line, even when they ask for extra items.

Choose the Right POS System

Point-of-sale (POS) software facilitates transactions and ensures accuracy. QSRs need a user-friendly POS system that’s easy for both staff and customers to navigate.

In a drive-thru setting, it’s helpful to use a POS solution that displays the customer’s order on a screen. The customer can confirm that the order is correct, avoiding delays at the pickup window because of missing or incorrect items.

Schedule Strategically

If one QSR location is consistently slower than another, it may be because of a staffing issue. Each location needs sufficient front-of-house and back-of-house staff to keep customers moving through the line consistently.

Review your staff schedules to check that you have enough staff on hand during busy drive-thru times, such as the lunch hour. Consider adding runners to expedite mobile orders during peak times and shorten drive-thru waits.

Monitor Equipment

Broken or malfunctioning equipment can mean delays and inaccurate orders. Ensure a positive customer experience by testing your equipment regularly. This includes:

• Speaker systems
• Headsets
• Digital displays
• POS terminals

If your menu changes seasonally or features new items, ensure your menu display is always up-to-date. A digital menu board is a great investment because you can update it whenever you need to.

Upgrade Order Technology

Today, many QSRs are accepting cashless payments and offering online ordering options. Contactless options mean customers can pay with one tap quicker than cash or a credit card.

Online ordering also helps QSRs provide faster service and a more positive customer experience. Patrons can order ahead of time on a mobile app, and then pick up their order at the drive-thru window or park in a dedicated pick-up spot. You can set up an alert system so that employees know when a customer has arrived and can bring the order to the customer’s vehicle.

Schedule Refresher Trainings

Even the most experienced QSR staff can always improve. Set aside time to cross-train your staff on different stations so that everyone knows how to operate each aspect of the drive-thru line efficiently. This is especially important anytime you debut a new menu item or implement new software.

Use Your Data

Tracking drive-thru orders offers a wealth of data that you can use to improve employee performance. Take advantage of analytics and video monitoring to identify areas where you can streamline your processes or provide additional staff training. Happy employees lead to happy customers – so be sure to give staff the support they need.

These changes will ensure your QSR offers the best drive-thru service for your customers.

Improve Drive-Thru Speed of Service (SOS) with DTiQ

Drive-thru speed of service can be a major factor in customer loyalty. Don’t risk losing customers because of operational inefficiencies: partner with DTiQ to improve the drive-thru experience. DTiQ’s business intelligence platform offers advanced drive-thru timing and management solutions.

Integrating smart video surveillance and data analytics, our clients gain in-depth insights into their operations. By tracking SOS across your entire enterprise, you can identify trends and flag areas for improvement. And user-friendly reporting tools make it easier to share insights and use data to drive better decision-making.

Learn why more than 45,000 customers around the globe trust DTiQ to help them create a better experience for both customers and employees. To get started with DTiQ, book a demo today.