Drive Thru Symptoms, oops, I mean Systems

A few educated ramblings to all you fast food owner operators out there:

No, I don't want a Value Meal. I don't want some new high profit coffee drink, and no, I don't want fries with that.(!)  Thankfully, that last answered question has finally gone away, at least for NOW.

Ok, just what the hell DO I want? Ok, first a little inside the QSR (quick service restaurant) industry news here: 

YOU know that the percentage of revenue coming from your drive thru windows is about 65%, according to national averages as cited from industry publications. That percentage is probably a LOT higher, as you have extended your hours, kept the drive thru open very late beyond the dining area hours. So let's re-calibrate that percentage to about 75%. SOME of you have annual revenues of nearly $2M in your high traffic cities and suburbs. Let's say all of you might average about $1.25M just to be more realistic for more of you. 75% of that $1.25M equates to about $935,500 per year in drive thru revenue per store.  Not bad. You don't have to pay people to clean off tables, bathrooms, or too many people for the registers inside as a result of that drive thru success. Ok, let's put away the stats for now.

So what DO I want?  As an audio-video professional, AND a consumer with kids, I have logged thousands of miles through drive thrus, and I have never understood why the experience at every fast food drive thru location varies greatly, specifically, the quality of sound at that order menu speaker.  I have driven away about 10% of the time due to repeatedly correcting orders, or having to ask the order taker to repeat themselves due to low quality sound. Very frustrating for perhaps a simply order like a medium soft drink.  I want a better experience at the drive thru lane.

This experience is what every retailer fears: the first impression sticks nearly forever.  If a consumer has a bad experience, they may never come back.  The owner may never know what is going on with that first impression unless they happen to spend some time watching and listening to what their hard earned customers are going through.   But guess what?  Most of these bad experiences are due to a neglect of the drive thru equipment, and a failure of the owner to fully appreciate the new technologies being offered for their drive thru lanes.  Remember that 75% of total revenues?  Wouldn't a $8000 investment for an 8 headset wireless system seem pretty cheap insurance to protect that $1,250,000 coming in through those windows each year? 

The new systems bring new levels of technology, such as noise reduction to eliminate the background noise from the vehicles, street noise, and even nearby airports!  Let me see, noise reduction means more accuracy of orders, lines move faster, which means more cars each day.  That means more revenue that will easily pay for the upgrade of that patchwork drive thru system that is limping along.  There is also remote access for the manufacturer to help with servicing, longer lasting batteries that charge quickly, and digital performance for better sound quality.  Some of these systems even let your people answer the phone right from the headset, and not let a phone call interfere with the drive thru flow.

Your employees aren't going to say anything about it's performance, they just want to do a great job for you and not question your equipment quality.  They and YOU, may not know you can do better and create happier employees (less turnover!!) and happier and more loyal drive thru customers.  Train them well, and PLEASE review and invest in that drive thru communication system!!!