These are the fastest, most satisfying fast-food chains: new study
(NEXSTAR) — When you go to a fast food drive-thru, you probably have some expectations. We want what we order to arrive quickly, be accurate, and taste the way we expect it to.
If you're used to drive-thrus, it may come as no surprise that some fast food chains are better at meeting these benchmarks. New research supports that idea.
Intouch Insight has announced its annual drive-thru survey. The study analyzes top fast food chains across multiple categories including order accuracy, speed, food quality, suggestive selling, and satisfaction. This year, they conducted more than 1,600 drive-thru visits at 10 chains across the country: Arby's, Burger King, Carl's Jr./Hardy's (combined as one entity in the study), Chick-fil-A, Dunkin', KFC, McDonald's, Taco Bell, Wendy's, and this year's new addition, Raising Cane's.
Intouch Insight found that restaurants across the board are improving, with overall satisfaction, speed, and accuracy increasing compared to 2023.
Chick-fil-A continued its success, once again winning multiple categories.
When ranked based on each car's fastest total time (a metric calculated by dividing the average total time by the average number of cars in the line), no chain was faster than Chick-fil-A's time of 139.37 seconds. Close behind was Raising Cane's, a new entrant to the study and the only company with a total time under 200 seconds.
Chick-fil-A wasn't as successful in other speed-related categories.
According to Intouch Insight, Taco Bell once again topped the list in total time (from entering the drive-thru to leaving with your food) and service time (from placing your order to receiving your food).
Chick-fil-A's wait times have also increased, jumping from 123.72 seconds last year to 181.15 seconds, making it the longest on record this year. Carl's Jr. and Hardee's had the shortest wait times overall at just over 50 seconds.
But Chick-fil-A was among eight chains that reduced their average service times this year. Only Carl's Jr. and Hardee's increased this metric.
The study found that Chick-fil-A and McDonald's had the most accurate orders, tying for the top spot in the category this year with 93% accuracy. This is an improvement from last year's 92% and 88%, respectively. Only Burger King's accuracy rating decreased in this year's survey, from 90% to 88%. Taco Bell had the worst overall score at 85%.
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Cane's rearing also puts Chick-fil-A on par in terms of food quality, where the chicken chains tied this year. According to Intouch Insight, both received a score of 99% when it comes to taste “as expected.” Dunkin' was the only chain to score below 95% in this category, at 94%.
Chick-fil-A maintained its top spot in the category, ranked based on service satisfaction, a category in which the company continues to excel. Raising Cane's was right behind it, beating McDonald's by 1 percentage point.
Regarding reported service friendliness, Intouch Insight asked surveyed shoppers to rank service as friendly, neutral, or unfriendly. Three chains, Chick-fil-A, Raising Cane's, and Arby's, had more than 80% positive reviews (95%, 88%, and 82%, respectively).
Dunkin' had the lowest overall rating, with just 66% rating it as friendly.
Intouch Insight also investigated the impact of artificial intelligence technology on fast food chains. Although this technology is not widely available and accounted for only 4% of the visits analyzed in the study, multiple companies have tested it.
Taco Bell announced earlier this summer that it would expand the use of AI to hundreds of drive-thru locations by the end of the year. Over the summer, McDonald's finished testing AI in its drive-thru lanes, explaining that “despite the success…we feel there is an opportunity to explore voice ordering solutions more broadly.”
Intouch Insight reports that when ordering using AI technology, total time is reduced by nearly 30 seconds, orders are 95% accurate, and overall satisfaction is higher.
