Drive-Thru Order Centers

Wendy's and McDonald's are testing outsourcing drive-thru order taking via an order center (See CNNMoney). Photos will also be taken to match a given car with an order. Restaurant employees are then left to cook, pour drinks, deliver the food and mop floors. So why outsource? The aim is to process customers more quickly and to reduce incorrect orders, such as from distracted teenage employees. It was suggested in Blue MauMau quite a while back that quick service restaurants would increasingly look at alternatives for drive-thru support, including voice-recognition technology that could further drive down costs.

McDonald's has some 60% of its revenues come from its drive-thru customers. Motley Fool states that McD scores poorly in customer accuracy; but 86% of drive-thru customers place order accuracy as their highest priority, right below good food.

Here are the economics of why there is such a race to improve drive-thru efficiency and accuracy. According to QSR surveys:

• 48% of consumers base their decision on where to eat at least partly on the availability of a drive-through option.
• 39% of consumers use a drive-through at least once a week. (A spokesperson at Dairy Queen said that 70% of its customers use the drive-through to some degree.)
• While half of respondents prefer to eat in the restaurants, another half say they rarely go into a restaurant to order food to take out.

What do consumers want when they use a drive-through? Good food, of course, but beyond that, they seek order accuracy (86%), easy-to-read menu boards (79%), good customer service (77%), fast service (74%), and a short line (71%), among other things. (What was low on the list? Credit/debit card acceptance (28%), for one thing.)

Quick-serve restaurants have heard consumers' cries, and more than 80% of them have initiatives under way to improve their customers' drive-through experience. With any luck, if you're a drive-through enthusiast, you'll encounter fewer muffled sound systems at drive-throughs in the years ahead. Some two-thirds of companies have recently redesigned drive-through menu boards, and 26% have changed food or drink packaging to make it better for drive-through customers. [via Motley Fool]

With the new order centers, it seems the future has arrived. Let's hope the customer experience will be better.

Other readings:

• Get Ready For A Quantum Leap in Drive-Thru (Blue MauMau/Trends)