KFC Ranks Fastest In Drive-Thru Wait Time

One of the stickiest trends that resulted from the virus pandemic is the consumer shift to restaurant drive-thrus. The surge of drive-thru use in the last two years led many restaurant chains to upgrade their facilities to increase the speed of service.

Restaurant chains have long competed for drive-thru business. Some fast-food companies have widened ordering lanes to two, while others have added sophisticated technology to smooth the process. 

Speed and ease of service is the goal of restaurant drive-thrus in a post-pandemic world, and now a new study from Intouch Insight shows out of ten major US restaurant chains and more than 1,500 drive-thrus later, KFC has the fastest average wait time of just 5 minutes. 

Besides KFC, Taco Bell is second at 5 mins 18 seconds, and Hardee’s is third at 5 mins 23 seconds. 

The slowest was Chick-fil-A at 8 mins 29 seconds. Surprisingly, Burger King, McDonald’s, and Wendy’s were all at the lower end of the list between 6-7 min waits. 

If there’s any indication of where the restaurant industry is headed. Chipotle Mexican Grill is now adding “Chipotlane” to existing restaurants and new stores to increase sales via drive-thrus. The battle between restaurant chain drive-thrus is well underway. Before the pandemic, it was about the inside experience — now it’s outside.