Chick-fil-A drive-thrus rated as slowest among fast food industry as wait times decrease since COVID

Speed is of essence when it comes to ordering fast food, and this year, Chick-fil-A has been rated as the slowest franchise among the industry when it comes to drive-thru service, as wait times gradually return to pre-pandemic levels.

The Georgia-based restaurant ranked last with an average of roughly 325 seconds but the fast food chain specializing in chicken sandwiches leads the charge when it comes to popularity, with 16 percent of its lines consisting of 10 or more cars (5.45 average).

The second-most popular fast food restaurant chain is McDonalds with an average of 3.13 cars in its drive-thru lanes, but only two percent of its clientele had as many cars in line as Chick-fil-A.

Taco Bell came out on top when it came to speed of service, with an average time of about 221 seconds, followed by Dunkin’ Donuts (238 seconds), KFC (239 seconds) and Arby’s (261 seconds), but the report did not consider popularity (the number of cars in line) as a factor in that category.

Drive-thrus have also operated more quickly than last year, taking about 10 seconds less than during the pandemic, which can play a big part in a customer’s decision to return, or not, in the future.

The current average still trail’s 2019 data by almost 45 seconds, according to a QSR and Intouch Insight report, featuring data from more than 1,500 drive-thru ‘mystery shops’ across the country.

Chick-fil-A drive-thrus were rated as the slowest among fast food joints in the US, according to a report from QSR and Intouch Insight, but were rated as the most popular in the country

McDonalds came in as the second most popular fast food restaurant chain with the most drive-thru orders this year

These fast food restaurants included Wendy’s, Burger King, Chick-fil-A, Dunkin’, McDonald’s, Arby’s, Carl’s Jr., Hardee’s, Taco Bell, and KFC.

The study also revealed that orders placed with friendly staff are 15 percent more accurate and over three minutes faster than those with unfriendly customer service – and that carelessness can lead to a longer wait time, greater dissatisfaction, and lesser revenue.

Based on the average meal price, ‘unfriendliness can result in over $180,000 in losses annually per store,’ the report stated.

Taco Bell was ranked as the quickest fast food restaurant when it came to fulfilling orders, with an average time of about 221 seconds, followed by Dunkin’ Donuts, KFC and Arby’s

WE HAVE THE MEATS: Arby’s struck gold in terms of customer satisfaction, as it had an order accuracy of 89.6 percent from the 2022 survey

During the peak of the pandemic, Chick-fil-A was one of the first fast food chains to focus on replicating quality service inside its restaurants to drive-thru lanes.

‘We believe that looking eye-to-eye with the customer allows for a connection that happens at the beginning of the drive-thru,’ said Matt Abercrombie, Chick-fil-A’s senior director of service and hospitality, in the report.

Researchers concluded that Chick-fil-A had noticeably improved its ‘check-point system,’ which helps to keep customers engaged with staff through ordering, payment and pick up.

Wendy’s performed poorly in the survey, as it came lass in terms of order accuracy and was ranked 7th when it came down to speed of service

The fast food chain’s consumers echoed a sentiment of satisfaction with its service, as 88 percent rated it as ‘friendly’, while only 1.7 percent of customers gave it a vote of no confidence.

However, in terms of customer satisfaction, fast food regulars said Arby’s was better in terms of accurately processing orders, at 89.6 percent. McDonalds and Burger King came in second and third.

In the survey, Wendy’s trailed in a few categories and was ranked 7th in speed of service. The Ohio-based franchise also came in last for order accuracy, at 79.4 percent.

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