This Is the Country's Slowest Drive-Thru

Chick-fil-A, though customers don't seem to mind
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 11, 2022 3:00 AM CDT
And the Slowest Drive-Thru in America Is...
Shown is a Chick-fil-A location in Philadelphia, Wednesday, Nov. 17, 2021.   (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

And the award for the most molasses-like drive-thru line in the US goes to ... Chick-fil-A. The chicken chain came in last in a new study that looked at, among other things, the country's slowest drive-thrus. Though there is a caveat: The study, carried out by IT customer service firm Intouch Insight and restaurant magazine QSR, only looked at the 10 top fast food chains in the nation, USA Today reports. Another caveat: Chick-fil-A might be slower than the rest because it's so popular; the study found it averages 4.74 cars in its drive-thrus, compared to the average across all 10 chains: 2.76 cars. Chick-fil-A also tied for highest marks in terms of drive-thru customer satisfaction, reports CNBC, which has the full list.

The study notes that if the list were arranged in order of the fastest average based on number of cars, Chick-fil-A would actually come in with the lowest wait time, with an average wait of a minute and 47 seconds. As it is, however, Chick-fil-A came in with the highest wait time: an average drive-thru wait time of 8 minutes and 29 seconds. The lowest? KFC, at an average of 5 minutes and 2 seconds—but the other chicken chain also has an average of just 2 cars in its drive-thru lane. The study also looked at accuracy, and ranked Wendy's lowest on that measure, with 21% of orders inaccurate. McDonald's and Arby's were ranked highest at 89% accuracy. Wendy's also ranked lowest on drive-thru customer satisfaction. The other chains studied were Burger King, Dunkin', McDonald's, Arby's, Carl's Jr., Hardee's, and Taco Bell. (More Chick-Fil-A stories.)

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