7 Things You Didn’t Know About Fast Food Restaurant’s Drive-Thru

Almost all fast food restaurants have one thing in common- a drive-thru. The drive-thru option at fast food restaurants makes eating more convenient and provides quick customer service. Today I am going to share seven facts you might not have known about them. Let’s get started!

The first drive-thru restaurant opened in 1947 in Baldwin Park, California- known as In-N-Out Burger. This fast food eatery strictly started out with five cooks working behind a glass wall assembling take-out meals for motorists. A huge “NO DELAY” sign in the restaurant promised what it delivered.

McDonald’s did not have a drive-thru until 1975 and they were actually one of the latest fast food restaurants to get one… surprising right!

So when is the best time to use the drive-thru? After some research and actually testing this out myself, the quickest and friendliest time to go through a drive-thru is early afternoon. The window between lunch and dinner makes it easier to get your food FAST!

Speaking of speedy service, Wendy’s has the fastest average drive-thru time- 169.11 seconds. Some of the other fast food restaurants with close drive-thru times include Burger King, KFC, and McDonald’s.

So which fast food restaurant is the most accurate in drive-thru orders? Chick-fil-A comes in number one for this category. They nail 92% of orders. This one is no surprise to me; I can count on Chick-Fil-A drive-thru to never leave out a fork, straw, or dipping sauce.

Next, about 70% of the fast food business is sold through drive-thrus. This makes a lot of sense because most of the time when I pick up fast food in a drive-thru I am either in a hurry and have no time to go inside or wearing pajamas at an outrageous time of the day. Drive-thru you save me!!!

The last drive-thru fact I will talk about is the design of the menu. The appetizing photos of combo meals on drive-thru menus are featured to upsell customers and make the ordering process easier and quicker. Next time you go through the drive-thru, notice that most of the combos are placed dead center. The reason, according to restaurant experts, is because that is usually where the customer’s eyes go first!

I hope you have enjoyed reading my blog post today, and continue to stay tuned to future posts! Now, time to go through the drive-thru in my pj’s!