Study reveals fast food chains with the longest average drive-thru wait times

Customers astatine fashionable fast-food empires person been little than impressed with immoderate of the edifice chains' drive-thru hold times.

Intouch Insight precocious released its 24th Annual Drive-Thru Study, which features an mean fig of dilatory drive-thru hold times.

The numbers were decided based connected the mean clip idiosyncratic waits for an worker to instrumentality their bid and the mean clip it takes for a idiosyncratic to service a lawsuit astatine the drive-thru.  

Intouch Insight asked enigma shoppers to spot orders astatine large quick-service edifice (QSR) chains nationwide betwixt 5:00 americium and 7:00 pm. 

The shoppers made implicit 1,600 drive-thru visits, and based connected the accusation provided, Intouch Insight calculated a last tally of which edifice chains person the longest mean drive-thru hold times.

Carl's Jr and Hardee's

Carl's Jr and Hardee's are 2 of 3 large QSR chains that person an mean 339-second drive-thru time.

Both accelerated nutrient chains person implicit 1,000 restaurants successful the US and person managed to assistance their customers 51 seconds aft they attack the drive-thru window.

Unfortunately, the magnitude of clip it takes for a Carl's Jr and Hardee's employees to service their customers has dilatory accrued implicit the years.

Intouch Insight's caller information shows this year's mean work clip astatine Carl's Jr and Hardee's restaurants being 288 seconds. 

It is the 2nd slowest work clip retired of each edifice chains featured connected the list, and 7 seconds higher than their 2023 total.

Burger King

Burger King is the 2nd largest accelerated nutrient hamburger edifice franchise successful the satellite with a whopping 339-second full based connected hold and work times.

However, its mean work and order-taking hold times were little than Carl's Jr and Hardee's restaurants.

It's besides an betterment implicit its 2022 and 2023 averages. 

The mean clip it takes for a Burger King worker to assistance their customers has drastically decreased, going from 96 seconds successful 2022 to 69 seconds this year. 

The accelerated nutrient empire's mean work clip did alteration since past year, going from 275 to 271 seconds.

Raising Cane's

Intouch Insight added Raising Cane's to their survey for the archetypal clip successful its past and described it arsenic a 'fast-growing marque from the chickenhearted category.'

It besides has a monolithic 370-second mean full drive-thru clip for customers looking to spot and person an order.

The marque came successful blistery and precocious for mean work time, which was 244 seconds.

Raising Cane's mean hold clip was besides acold from perfect, and clocked successful astatine 126 seconds - the second-highest mean full clip retired of each the featured QSR chains.

McDonald's 

McDonald's, the worldwide accelerated nutrient empire, came successful arsenic the 2nd slowest successful mean full clip customers walk astatine a drive-thru with 376 seconds.

However, what appears to beryllium a precocious fig is besides a astir 40-second alteration from its 2023 time.

McDonald's mean hold and work times besides experienced a monolithic diminution compared to Intouch Insight's 2023 results.

The company's survey indicates McDonald's mean clip it took for an worker to instrumentality an bid successful 2023 was 122 seconds, and this year, it chimed successful astatine 104.

The accelerated nutrient chain's mean work clip went from 291 successful 2023 to 272 this year.

Chick-fil-A

For the 3rd twelvemonth successful a row, Intouch Insight concluded Chick-fil-A had the slowest drive-thru hold times retired of each the chains featured successful this peculiar study.

Chick-fil-A's mean drive-thru clip came successful astatine 479 seconds, and it's the lone edifice concatenation successful the survey that reached the 400 mark.

Chick-fil-A also had the highest mean work and hold times, and its hold clip went from 124 seconds successful 2023, to 181 seconds successful 2024.

On a affirmative note, Chick-fil-A's 299-second mean work clip this twelvemonth is little than its 2022 and 2023 results.