From robotic delivery to AI-assisted ordering in the drive-thru lane, fast food chains have found numerous ways to embrace emerging technology. In the past few years, some have even tested full restaurant builds focused primarily on pickup and delivery, with advanced tech driving the experience. But have any of these newfangled methods actually improved the overall customer experience?
Taco Bell’s two-story, neon purple-lit “Defy” arrived with a bold objective: Get customers through the drive-thru in two minutes or less. When franchisee Border Foods built the 3,000-square-foot showstopper in June 2022 in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, it triggered a tidal of social chatter. Was this the most ambitious prototype ever built in fast food?
Chick-fil-A began its Hawaii expansion in September with a Kahului, Maui, location, and goals to open “several restaurants” in the Aloha State over the next five years. That plan will now include a drive-thru-focused location (with no seating), which is set to debut Thursday in O‘ahu. The store features two drive-thru lanes and three walk-up windows for pedestrians. A Chick-fil-A employee will great the walk-up guest face-to-face and take their order for carryout. Third-party delivery will be available in the “near future” as well.
Chick-fil-A is bringing in the bucks and slowing down traffic. The chicken chain brought in $18.8 billion in U.S. sales last year, marking consistent upward…
According to a new report, Chick-fil-A ranked last for average speed of service in drive-thrus. However, when scaling the data to adjust for speed versus average cars in line, the fast-food chain ranked first.