
Drive-thrus are all screwed up. Here's what it'll take to fix them
CNN
Late this summer, drive-thru times slowed by about 26 seconds compared to last year, according to a study. That may not seem like much — but in the world of fast food, every moment counts.
"Mere seconds can be a make-it or break-it in terms of where a consumer decides to order from," Amanda Topper, a research director at the research firm Mintel, said of the slowdowns. The data is from SeeLevelHX, which tracked drive-thru times at about 1,500 US restaurants across 10 major chains from July 5 to August 6.
A speedier drive-thru can "be a competitive advantage," Topper said, while long lines may discourage customers from stopping in. Most Americans who eat at fast food restaurants use the drive-thru, she noted — and the option has become even more popular during the pandemic, when many customers felt safer in their cars than restaurants.

Ukraine’s military commander in charge of the country’s drone warfare program urged the US and NATO countries alike on Wednesday to learn from Kyiv’s use of the technology on the battlefield so in the future there are not “hard questions from your children [about] when [their] father will come back.”