Drive-through
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A drive-through or drive-thru is a business, most commonly a restaurant, that serves customers who pull up in their vehicles. Orders are taken and goods or services are provided using a window or microphone, while the customers remain in their vehicles. The format was first pioneered in the United States in the 1940s but has since spread worldwide.
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[edit] Examples of drive-through businesses
- Banking services at a drive-through bank
- Drugs at a drive-through pharmacy
- Alcohol at a drive-through liquor store
- Food or drink at a drive-through restaurant (typically fast food such as McDonald's)
- Coffee at a drive-through coffee shop
- Marriage (primarily at special drive-through marriage chapels in Las Vegas in the United States)
[edit] Drive-through restaurants
A drive-through restaurant generally consists of:
- One or more free-standing signs listing the menu items, called a menu board
- A speaker and microphone for customers to order from
- A speaker and microphone or wireless headset system for employees to hear the customer's order
- One or more windows where employees interact with customers by taking money and/or giving the customer the order
Drive-through designs are different from restaurant to restaurant; however, most drive-throughs can accommodate four to six passenger cars or trucks at once (called the queue).
There are differing claims for which establishment open the first drive-through. Notable claimants include Merchant's Bank in Syracuse, New York in 1941, Red's Giant Hamburgs in Springfield, Missouri (in 1947) and In-N-Out Burger in California (in 1948).
In the Syracuse Herald Journal, December 15, 1940 p8, Merchant's Bank of Syracuse, N.Y. ran an advertisement for the newly opened "Drive-In Teller Service" located on the side of their bank building on South Warren Street in downtown Syracuse, N.Y.
It started a business that would change the fifties for ever.
[edit] Drive-through banking
The year 1946 saw the inception of drive-through banking, and the first bank to implement it was the Exchange National Bank of Chicago. George D. Sax, chairman, is credited with the innovation. Westminster Bank, impressed by the concept, opened the UK's first drive-through bank in Liverpool in 1959, soon followed by Ulster Bank opening Ireland's first in 1961 at Finaghy. Over the recent years we have seen the demise of drive-through banking due to increased traffic congestion and the increased availability of ATM machines and telephone and Internet banking.
[edit] How it works
Usually, a drive-through works by the following steps:
- A customer pulls up to the menu board and speaker area. A device called a loop detector senses the car and sends a signal to the customer's ordering speaker, turning it on, and also sends a tone signal to the restaurant's order taking method, signalling employees that there is a car at the speaker. This period is referred to by some restaurant chains as Greet.
- The employee inside responsible for drive-through orders greets the customer and takes the order. When the customer is finished, the employee may read back the order to the customer or refer the customer to a display screen near the menu board. When the order is correct, the employee gives the customer the cost total and invites the customer to advance to the next window. This period (sometimes including the Greet) is referred to by some restaurant chains as Menu.
- When the customer pulls away from the speaker, the loop detector senses that the car is in motion and sends a signal to the ordering speaker to shut it off.
- At the window, the customer pays for the order, gets his or her change, and employee passes the order through the window. This period is referred to by some restaurant chains as Window. Occasionally, payment collection and order delivery are handled at separate consecutive windows. At busier drive-throughs, there may be multiple employees working the drive-through, with positions including order taker, cashier, and a coordinator who passes food through the window.
- The customer pulls away.
In 2005, one major fast food chain announced plans to take drive through orders from a central location, the theory being that dedicated order takers would make fewer errors than the in-store order takers. [1]
[edit] Timing
With the demand for faster service comes the need to track timing. Most major restaurant chains equip their drive-through areas with timers so that managers and employees can identify trends in meal periods and employee performance. In this principle, loop detectors are used to capture timestamps for each part of the drive-through and for the overall period from the time that the customer pulls up to the speaker to the time that he or she pulls away from the window, which is referred to as "Total" or "Overall".
Timing data can help restaurant operators understand the precise nature of what customers are ordering at what times, where bottlenecks in service are occurring, and how to increase productivity and therefore revenue. Often, restaurants with fast drive-through operations require a higher quality of employee training and dedication to quality.
As a promotional tool, many restaurants guarantee that customers will get through a drive-thru in a given amount of time, or their order is either free or discounted.
[edit] Record
In 2005, McDonald's Wynnum-West, an Australian McDonald's restaurant took the award for fastest drive-through service in the world. McDonald's Pty Ltd CEO Charlie Bell presented a plaque to the franchise at the annual McDonald's award ceremony in Washington, D.C. The record was 41 cars in just 15 minutes.
Mackay North McDonald's in Northern Queensland of Australia has almost matched this record at 40 cars in 15 minutes. However, it does boast a double ordering lane drive thru, 1 of 2 in Australia.
[edit] Walking and cycling through the drive-through
Pedestrians sometimes attempt to walk through the drive-through to order food after the seated section of a fast food restaurant has closed. Many establishments refuse drive-through service to pedestrians on the basis of safety and insurance liability. Cyclists are usually refused service with the same justification given.[2]
In the UK, pedestrians are often served at drive-through windows, if the main body of the restaurant is closed. Some busy McDonalds restaurants in particular also provide separate 'walk-thru' windows to be used on such occasions, eg overnight.
[edit] Drive thru bottle shops
Drive through bottle shops, mainly found in Australia differ somewhat from the general model suggested above. They are generally a two-lane roadway, enclosed with 2 walls, and a roof.
[edit] How it works
- A customer pulls up into the drive way. A "bottle shop boy" or attendant walks up to the car, normally to the closest open car window. It is there the order is discussed. The attendant generally knows the prices of the common items by memory and sometimes engages in discussion with the customer in order to help them decide on particular items. In most cases however, the order is known beforehand.
- The attendant, upon receiving the order, collects the order from the fridge, or from around the store. They take the items to the register to calculate the price, and then directly to the car. Several trips are sometimes conducted between the car and the store, until all the required stock is inside the car.
- The attendant informs the occupants of the car the cost owed. The attendant receives the money, collects the change from the till, and gives the change to the occupants of the car. If a credit card transaction is required, depending on the store set-up, the owner of the card is sometimes required to leave their car to complete the transaction.
[edit] Etiquette
Drive through bottle shop etiquette inherits largely from regular retail store etiquette, with a few extensions:
- Beeping the horn is sometimes warranted. It is warranted in order to get the attendant's attention. This does not extend to rushing the attendant, or letting them know the customer is in a hurry, and wishes to be served promptly.
- It is considered polite to inform the attendant with the value of money you wish to pay with after the order it taken. This can help the attendant avoid an unnecessary trip to the register in order to collect change.
- It is considered impolite to rev the car, or create other unnecessary noise.
- If the order would take some time to decide, it is often best if the customer park their car close by and walk in. This helps keep the roadway inside the bottle shop clear.
- Driving, or accelerating quickly through the bottle shop is very dangerous to the attendants. Burnouts can leave a very bad smell in the bottle shop which can last for hours.
- Loitering in the bottle shop is discouraged, inside a car, or not.
- Cars with poor exhaust should not be driven though the bottle shop. The bottle shop is an enclosed area. Carbon monoxide is poisonous.
