For Chick-fil-A customers, slow drive-thrus are worth the wait
ATLANTA — Time, it turns out, is relative at Chick-fil-A.
For clock watchers, drive-thrus at the Atlantabased chain remain the slowest among major fastfood brands, most of which have seen wait times grow during the pandemic, according to a new annual study.
But Chick-fil-A customers aren’t buying it. They give the chain’s drive-thru speed of service the best ratings of any of the brands tested, a separate new survey shows.
And packed drive-thrus at the chicken sandwich stop continue to gather top rankings in other measurements — perhaps making waits more tolerable.
Many restaurants around the nation saw business plummet amid coronavirus concerns and governmentset restrictions early in the pandemic. Plenty of dining rooms have yet to reopen. But restaurants with drivethrus had what turned out to be a strategic advantage in an era of social distancing.
Chick-fil-A, one of the largest U.S. restaurant chains by revenue, had some of the highest perrestaurant sales in its segment last year. It hasn’t publicly disclosed how its business has fared in recent months, but long drive-thru lines that were common before the pandemic are still evident at some of its restaurants.
Among 10 large fast-food chains, total drive-thru times this summer averaged 5 minutes and 57 seconds, half a minute longer than a year ago, according to SeeLevel HX, an Atlantabased market research firm conducting its 20th annual review. The time spanned from when a tester pulled into line until they received their food.
Chick-fil-A’s average total time increased just two seconds, but it still had the longest waits — 8 minutes and 9 seconds. Arby’s, which is also based in metro Atlanta, had the secondlongest average time: 6 minutes and 34 seconds, almost 90 seconds longer than its mark a year ago.
The shortest average waits were at KFC, at 4 minutes and 43 seconds, though it ranked last for customer service and accuracy. McDonald’s, Taco Bell and KFC each had shorter average waits from a year ago Chick-fil-A spokeswoman praised the chicken chain’s operators and workers “for their dedication to customer service and resiliency during what has been a challenging year for all. They have worked tirelessly to share a smile through a mask and deliver a seamless, contactless experience, primarily in our drivethrus.”
One likely reason for Chick-fil-A’s longer waits: Its restaurants tend to serve far more customers, with testers counting nearly three times as many other vehicles in the chain’s lines than the industry average, SeeLevel HX found. Both Chick-fil-A and the other chains had more vehicles in line than were counted a year ago.
SeeLevel HX’s mystery shoppers gave Chick-fil-A No. 1 ratings for order accuracy, customer service and taste.
Chick-fil-Ais less focused on timing than other attributes consumers value, said Lisa van Kesteren, SeeLevel HX’s chief executive.