Restaurants Add Profit with a Drive-Thru Window

A drive-thru window has proven to add profit to the bottom line of fast casual restaurants. Grabbing a meal at a fast-food restaurant became more than convenient, it became a necessity for both consumers and restaurant owners as the pandemic continues. A delivered, at home dining experience is now mainstream.

A drive-thru window will boost restaurant revenue, contributing up to 90% of overall sales, and drive-thru windows became a necessity for struggling dine-in only restaurants.

Drive-Thru Window Profitability

The profitability of drive-thru windows brought unseen interest from investors and legacy restaurant operators looking to optimize the operations by adding multiple drive-thru lanes to keep up with demand.

In recent years, McDonald’s has spent millions of dollars speeding customers through its drive-thrus and creating incentives to spend more. It tests different drive-thru concepts that let customers order through their new app, skip lines, and park in specific pickup spaces. (Meinsenzhen 2020)

Panera Bread unveiled its first-generation restaurant design with a dual drive-thru with a dedicated Rapid Pick-Up Lane, updated ordering kiosks, automatic loyalty identification, and an entirely digitized menu for those in-store and pulling up to the drive-thru. (Blake 2021)

Even Chick-fil-A and Taco Bell have made considerable investments to include multiple lanes and handle digital orders to cater to consumers’ demands. 

Drive-Thru Windows Are Here to Stay

Deloitte stated that convenience, the “most active frontier” last year, has continued its rapid maturation and is now a permanent fixture in the restaurant landscape. Meanwhile, safety—a reaction, not a strategy at COVID’s onset—gives way to more consistent and enduring approaches. The third vector, digital, will play a more significant, evermore-central role due to today’s hurdles and a guest who’s formed COVID habits they likely won’t ever break. (Klein 2021)

Whether it’s about renovating an existing footprint or building new, adding a drive-thru window is on everyone’s mind. The bigger question is how to make it work for your business.

Drive-Thru Window Technology

Adding a drive-through window means adding technology with a POS system, timers, an outside intercom, digital signage, and menu items conducive to being packed to go. Your technology will need to be programmed by an expert who knows how to integrate everything with your POS, and you’ll need trained staff to guarantee the food will be prepared correctly to order, in a short time span, with quality control.

So, adding a drive-thru window requires working with a professional who understands the needs of your customers and how to implement your upgrades and changes.

 Planning and Implementation for Drive-Thru Windows

In the current trend change, you may be tempted to add a drive-thru window because everyone else is doing it too. Pause to think how it will affect your business operations.

One way to know is to draw an analysis of your business, food offerings, and volume of the orders to understand whether you can take the pressure of quick turnout time and faster service. Look at similar restaurants that have a drive-thru facility. Thorough market research can give you the answers you are looking for.

Digital Signage, Menu Boards and More

Once you have decided to install drive-thru windows at your restaurant, you will need a few essential things to get it started and reap the benefits – digital signage being one.

Digital signage, especially outside, can be expensive – but there are affordable solutions out there.  BSC offers a full range of cost-effective digital signage solutions, including promo boards, Mood TV for QSR, Satellite TV, and video walls.

BSC’s Steady Brand elevates the auditory experience at your restaurants. You can choose from a wide selection of 80 channels that reflects your style and resonates with the customers.

Digital signages can change instantly and can be programmed to promote high profit items, or pull back on low stock items. We will work with your budget and give you the best solution for your investment.

Communications and Timer Equipment

Headsets and speakers that have noise reduction and crystal-clear quality insure your customer’s orders are communicated quickly and correctly. Timers speed up orders and delivery time, which means you can handle more orders, with added profits, and enhanced customer service.

Manufacturers like Panasonic, HME, and ParTech have a new generation of wireless headsets and timers equipped with cutting-edge features.

Equipped and Trained Staff

Training employees in the proper use of equipment is paramount to keeping your equipment online. For example, HME has a video training portal to make sure everyone operates the equipment properly. Our expert technicians will program your equipment and make sure your team has everything it needs to operate your technology safely and properly.

Simultaneously, learn how to communicate with your team in interactive ways that can work well for restaurants and customers. 

Conclusion

Consumers’ expectations for quick service, safety, and convenience have grown more powerful. Restaurants that not only understand these expectations but are also meeting them are likely to thrive in the drive-thru game.  Happy customers mean more sales.

Business Sound & Communications is glad to assist you in navigating through the digital communication system and service landscape, the equipment needed to provide heightened customer experience and boost restaurant sales.

For more information, contact us at 281-590-3400 or sales@bsctx.com. 

Works Cited

Meinsenzhen, Mary. “McDonald’s Unveils the Future of Its Business, from Minimalist Packaging to High-Tech, Triple-Drive thru Stores.” Business Insider, 11 Nov. 2020, www.businessinsider.in/retail/news/mcdonaldaposs-unveils-the-future-of-its-business-from-minimalist-packaging-to-high-tech-triple-drive-thru-stores/slidelist/79176498.cms.

Klein, Danny. “As 2022 Arrives, the Restaurant of the Future Comes into Focus.” QSR Magazine, 8 Dec. 2021, www.qsrmagazine.com/consumer-trends/2022-arrives-restaurant-future-comes-focus.

Blake, Suzanne. “Panera Unveils First Next-Generation Restaurant Design.” QSR Magazine, 18 Nov. 2021, www.qsrmagazine.com/fast-casual/panera-unveils-first-next-generation-restaurant-design.