- Chick-fil-A's drive-thrus are the slowest in the industry, according to a report.
- On average, it took shoppers five minutes and 12 seconds to receive their orders.
Chick-fil-A's drive-thrus are among the slowest in the industry, but customers don't seem to mind.
In a new survey of 10 top fast-food chains, Chick-fil-A ranked last for speed of drive-thru service. The chain's drive-thru customers waited an average of 5 minutes and 12 seconds between ordering and receiving their food, according to the survey by QSRmagazine.
Taco Bell's drive-thru was the fastest, with customers waiting just three minutes and 42 seconds for their orders, followed by Wendy's and KFC.
However, the chain ranked first when it came to accuracy, quality, and friendliness, which may explain the chain's growth and why many customers don't mind a longer wait time.
Chick-fil-A has seen continued growth in average unit sales. In 2022, the chain booked sales of $18.8 billion, up 12.8% from the year before, according to Nation's Restaurant News Top 500 report.
The study's shoppers noted that Chick-fil-A consistently had the most cars in line. But Chick-fil-A had the fastest total time by cars in line, a figure that the study authors came to by dividing the average total time by the average number of cars in line.
Of the chains studied, Chick-fil-A had the most accurate orders, with a 92% rate of accuracy, including any special requests. Chick-fil-A was also the leader in food quality. Ninety-eight percent of the study's shoppers said its main entrees tasted as expected for the brand.
Finally, Chick-fil-A was the top brand for service satisfaction, which measured how satisfied shoppers were with the overall drive-thru experience, staff friendliness, and their expectations for speed and experience.
Of the shoppers who went through Chick-fil-A's drive-thru, 91% of shoppers rated the chain "friendly," 9% gave a "neutral" rating, and 0% of the shoppers rated the chain "not friendly."
According to the study, brands with friendlier service performed better across all key metrics.
Customer experience solutions company Intouch Insight conducted the study using mystery shoppers who visited each drive-thru to test speed and accuracy. The annual report has followed the same restaurants for 23 years.