USA TODAY International Edition
COVID- 19 prolongs the wait at fast- food drive- thru windows
Chains try to balance speed with satisfaction
The coronavirus pandemic has led to longer waits at fast- food drive- thrus this summer.
According to the 2020 SeeLevel HX Annual Drive- Thru Study, the average drive- thru wait at 10 top fast- food restaurants this summer was 5.95 minutes, about 30 seconds longer than a year ago.
At Wendy’s, Baconator and Frosty fans waited 5.98 minutes on average, a minute longer than last summer, according to SeeLevel HX, an Atlantabased consumer research firm that has been doing the review for 20 years.
The fastest chain was KFC, where diners got their orders in 4.72 minutes.
On the other end, by a wide margin, was Chick- fil- A, where drivers waited an average of 8.15 minutes, according to SeeLevel HX.
One simple reason: Chick- fil- A restaurants serve more customers, with testers counting nearly three times as many vehicles in the chain’s lines than the industry average. Both Chick- fil- A and the other chains had more vehicles in line than a year ago, according to SeeLevel HX.
Chick- fil- A is less focused on timing than other attributes consumers value, said Lisa van Kesteren, SeeLevel HX’s chief executive.
“It pays off because Chick- fil- A has a cultlike following,” she said.
Most of the fast- food chains have struggled to keep up with pandemic drive- up demand. Long lines have been a regular feature at drive- thrus since coronavirus has kept many customers out of restaurant interiors. SeeLevel HX found that the time between ordering the food to getting it was actually 17 seconds faster this year than last, meaning all the extra wait is before ordering.
“The pandemic is continuing to have a massive impact on QSRs ( quick- service restaurants) from a spike in traffic and stricter safety standards and protocols to a substantial increase in staffing
turnover and training, so I’m not surprised to see a dip in speed of service,” van Kesteren said.
But, as the survey shows, speed comes at a price.
While Chck- fil- A might take longer to get food into customers’ hands, patrons were happiest with what they got. Chick- fil- A ranked the highest on the study’s three other measurements: customer satisfaction, the accuracy of the order and – most important of all – taste.
KFC, on the other hand, might get food to customers the fastest, but customers said the Colonel’s restaurants had the worst customer service and were most likely to get the order wrong.
Wendy’s didn’t fare much better. Of the 10 restaurants studied by SeeLevel HX, Wendy’s came in ninth in order accuracy, and seventh in customer service and taste.
Wendy’s pointed to other surveys that showed a much higher customer satisfaction. In a study commissioned by QSR Magazine, Wendy’s ranked sixth in overall customer satisfaction out of 17 restaurants examined. The chain fared well on most measurements, including speed of service, quality of food, order accuracy and availability of menu items.
Chick- fil- A again scored the highest on the QSR study, with Popeye’s pulling up the rear.