Guess what? The fast food drive thru windows originally designed to speed up the service have fallen victim to the deadliest killer of them all – COMPEXITY.
According to the 2013 Drive Thru Performance Study by QSR Magazine (a fast food industry publication) almost every fast food brand has shown a significant slow down in their drive thru service. McDonalds recorded their slowest times in the 15 year history of the study.
The culprit is a creeping complexity of menu items. In order to compete in the market share battles menus have become bloated with more and more items, violating the Elegant Simplicity Law – More is not better and better is not best!
You see, systems have a real and strong tendency to KICK BACK. When left to themselves they will grow to oppose their own proper function. By not paying attention to the system, a system design for convenience and speed, the system is kicking back with high dissatisfaction numbers. These numbers are damn serious to the fast food folks as up to 70% of business can come from that huge line at the drive thru window.
Not only do huge menus, complex items (Taco Bell’s Cantina Bowls can have as many as 12 ingredients) and poorly designed menus cause long waits, they also impact order accuracy. Trying to speed up to meet the demands of long car lines causes mistakes and nothing makes a customer more angry than getting home only to discover an insidious plot to destroy dinner plans has been perpetrated by a completely screwed up order. Accuracy is down to 87.2% from 88.8% in 2012.
The lesson is that you have to PAY ATTENTION to your systems, especially ones that make up 70% of your business. Make adjustments to prevent a complete systems kick back. People want you to do a few things right, especially when its hidden in a bag that isn’t opened until you get home.
Need a systems check up? Give us a call as it is our specialty.
That is why my vehicle never graces the drive-thru line anymore. I get to order what I want, inspect my order, and if there is more than 2 cars in the line, usually receive my order faster. That, and I can sip some tasty, right out of the machine chilled water while I cool my heels.