Trolls...I didn't butt any line. I got my ass out of my car and went to a different line/ register clearly marked open with no one in front of me but still had to wait for the separate line. Try going to any grocery store with different lines. With regard to whether this is a tragedy worth bitching about, why is this post worth your time to respond.

A Starbucks I pass by on my way to work in the morning regularly has a line up 10 cars deep. People don't have coffee makers? It can't be that they are in a rush, because waiting that long at a drive through takes much, much longer than roasting your own beans, drawing water from a well, and boiling it with a candle.

I don't get the laziness.

My local Timmies is usually only a couple of cars in line in front of me. This morning, for some reason, it was about 10 cars deep, but I had the toddler in the car so I had to get in the queue. They're pretty quick though, less than 5 minutes to get through the line.

I'm out of coffee at home, keep forgetting to buy more.

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A Starbucks I pass by on my way to work in the morning regularly has a line up 10 cars deep. People don't have coffee makers? It can't be that they are in a rush, because waiting that long at a drive through takes much, much longer


It's one part about this I really don't understand. The two things that people complain the most about come-together with this. Many people say, the don't have enough time or enough money - yet they sit there forever, in a drive-thru line-up to buy coffee that they can make at home for a fraction of the cost (People think the bike business is a rip-off - do they know how margin is the coffee business??) Ad the excess gas/$$ wastage for idling, the excess carbon production, and the wear and tear on the car (modern cars are not meant to idle for extended periods), and that whole drive-thru, while it may not seem expensive, actually is VERY expensive.

We drink probably drink 80%+ or more of our coffee at home, brewed at home, with good coffee, either drip or french-press. When I am out and about, I may stop in at the most ounce/week, at a Starbucks - but I tend to seek out an independent first - and NEVER drive-thru!

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Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog

Ha, ha, ha. You're being kind to call them lazy.

Meh.

If I was waiting for 20 minutes in the drive thru, that would be one thing, but it's usually just drive up, wait for one car ahead of me, order, pay and get my coffee. I spend more time waiting at red lights on my commute.

It's one of my few luxuries. I usually just drink the free coffee at work.

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1) Having managed a fast food place let me say again. Everyone's job depends on the drive thru. You can have profits and happy customers but if those drive thru time are low you are out so the manager get's rid of the people who slow down the window. Walk in business means nothing to these companies. They don't want you in the lobby because that cuts into profit. It has nothing to do with the people in the restaurant.


This is the part of this I don't understand. My Tall Americano is $2.50 if I get it at the drive-thru vs parking, walking in and ordering from the counter. My Big-Mac is $4.50 if I order it at the drive-thru vs parking, walking in and ordering at the counter. What is the difference? How can one be more profitable than the other? I must be missing something.

I could see this if they did priced it like they should for the "luxury" ( actually it's laziness . . but just play along for a minute), and extra courtesy of staying in your vehicle, we will charge you a premium, or discount you for having to park and walk in. Why not go that way?

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Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog

It costs them money for you to sit down in the restaurant. You are slower, you take forever to decide what you want (eating into the employee's time that they could be serving another customer) you make a mess that someone has to clean up, you leave the door open and let out the a/c, and a bunch of other things that eat into that margin.

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A Starbucks I pass by on my way to work in the morning regularly has a line up 10 cars deep. People don't have coffee makers?
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I'd guess that less than 10% of those people are actually ordering 'coffee'. Does your home coffee maker froth milk, do some magic, and add in 700 more calories to call it a macchiato?

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Take a short break from ST and read my blog:
http://tri-banter.blogspot.com/

There are a number of reasons a chain might prioritize the drive thru. First, the premise of the drive thru is quicker service. Of course, if there's a large line, that might not turn out to be true, but generally there isn't a large line, so service is faster. Second, if there's an unsatisfied customer in the drive thru, they can just drive off. It's easier to talk to a customer and offer them some compensation or interaction in the restaurant. So, they want to keep the drive thru customers happy. Third, there's more room in the restaurant for customers than there is in the drive thru line for cars. If you see a huge line of cars outside the drive thru, you might just skip it. You usually don't see a long line inside the restaurant until you're already inside, and then you're less likely to leave. Fourth, the assumption is that some percentage of inside customers are planning to eat in the restaurant, and are in less of a hurry than the drive thru customers, who are, by definition, all taking their food to go.

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Slowguy

(insert pithy phrase here...)

It costs them money for you to sit down in the restaurant. You are slower, you take forever to decide what you want (eating into the employee's time that they could be serving another customer) you make a mess that someone has to clean up, you leave the door open and let out the a/c, and a bunch of other things that eat into that margin.


Good - I'll keep doing all of that! That's the other gripe I hear a lot (after having no time and no money), is that all, "these companies are making so much money" - why help them? :)

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Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog

It's self destructive. This thread should be renamed self destruction culture

It's self destructive. This thread should be renamed self destruction culture

I sometimes wonder where it's all going? A restaurant or a coffee shop is where you GO to sit down and have a meal or a coffee.

I'm realistic - I can OCCASIONALLY seen the need for a drive-thru - but it's clear that for many, it's not occasional usage - it's how they access these sorts of places ALL the time!

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Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog

All the reasons everyone gave and one more this forum will hate. Companies are lazy and inefficient. They don't take a lot of time to get the right people in the right position because that is hard. VPs find the simplest thing to do to show they are smart. The operation of a restaurant is complex and takes some thinking which companies hate. WE DON't HAVE TIME TO THINK AHEAD! THE QUARTER IS ALMOST UP! So you slash the drive through times and the big boys go, "Fast is good! You said fast. DUHHH!!!!"

Also if your order is fucked up in the drive thru odds are you will just curse the restaurant and live with it. If you are inside you have the time to complain. It's better for business to throw bags out the window and hope the orders are right. Everyone comes back. Customer service is dead because no one cares.

Good grief! Why do so many consumers like to be played so badly. They like being rubes? But I guess big corporations see this and exploit it - the consumer plays along, and it's this symbiotic relationship.

Sorry, I'll be the outlier, making the much better cup of coffee at home, for far less money, and when I do go out for coffee, I'm going to sit down for a good long time, and enjoy that cup of coffee, IN the place where I bought it! Thank you! :)

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Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog

I am on your team. After managing behind the counter I don't want anything to do with that industry. However when I do I go inside.

I have to say one of my favorite household appliances is a milk frothier. It makes every morning a little more luxurious (with my bulk Costco Dunkin' Donuts coffee beans :-)

 
I generally park and walk in.

1. I am generally not in that big a hurry to get food.

2. Waiting doesn't kill me, even though a millennial.

3. My wife is the worlds worst drive thru customer! I swear she could sit in line for 45 minutes and still not even give a single thought to what she actually wants from a place she knows the menu at until we are directly in front of the speaker and on the clock. Then it can't just be something simple. Has to start with "well what are you getting?" "Oh maybe I want this, maybe I want that." "Okay I want this, but can you ask them to change 12 things about that menu item?" Drives me up the damn wall, so I generally refuse to use a drive thru when she is with me. The walk in is her punishment.

I understand they assume I am in less of a hurry if I come inside than if I take the drive thru so I don't get bent out of shape when the drive thru moves faster.