Report: Most restaurant customers don't want to wait more than 5 minutes for their order
Many restaurants relied on the drive-thru, delivery and takeout to survive the past year and a half, but it has slowed service, with average drive-thru in 2021 speed of service increasing by 26 seconds, according to SeeLevelHX.
This trend has worsened as labor pressures mount and there are fewer employees to fulfill both off-premise and dine-in volumes. The pressures of balancing more business with fewer people has led to a high quit rate, including employees leaving mid-shift, as has been the case at Starbucks and Dairy Queen. At least five workers quit in a single day at a Texas Chipotle because of a surge in digital demand, according to Business Insider.
This shift in consumer demand has led several chains to rethink their operational processes and restaurant models. Wendy's, Taco Bell, Del Taco, Burger King, KFC and McDonald's have started experimenting with drive-thru-only locations, for example. In December, Shake Shack opened its first-ever drive-thru, which features a split-kitchen design with a separate area dedicated to preparing drive-thru orders.
A few chains, including Wendy's and Chick-fil-A, have tried to ease operational pressure by turning to ghost kitchen models to handle delivery orders.
These solutions may not meet the five-minute wait threshold, however, and some chains are adding mobile order-ahead and mobile payment options to hasten service. Such added conveniences may incite additional digital orders, however, which could slow down the kitchen production.
Other operators may not be able to afford to test new brick-and-mortar models or order/payment technology to meet the increased demand for speed, and they will likely be at a disadvantage as expectations change. Two minutes, and even five minutes seem challenging even for fully staffed kitchens. If this expectation continues, automation may become a bigger part of the conversation as 50% of operators plan to deploy some automated technology within two to three years.