Editing Drive-through (section)

==Drive-through restaurants==
[[File:McDonalds drive thru Charnwood Australia.jpg|thumb|right|A typical Australian [[McDonald's]] drive-through with speaker]]
[[File:Drive thru intercom and menus.PNG|thumb|right|The [[intercom]] and menus at a British McDonald's restaurant in [[Edinburgh]], Scotland]]
A drive-through restaurant generally consists of:
* A [[loudspeaker|speaker]] and [[microphone]] for customers to place their orders
* A speaker and microphone or wireless [[Headset (audio)|headset]] system for employees to hear the customer's order (when a speaker is used)
* A trigger pad beneath the concrete to activate the microphone and headset
* Monitoring of the driveway and window through a [[CCTV]] system to monitor traffic flow and any criminal action that may occur at the window such as an [[armed robbery]]
* One or more free-standing signs listing the menu items, called a ''menu board''
* Newer drive-throughs feature a [[liquid crystal display|LCD]] or [[Light-emitting diode|LED]] display within the speaker system in order to show the full order and total cost to avert order errors through miscommunication; the entire menu board may also be a display, freeing employees of the responsibility of switching out promotions, adding or removing items, and making pricing changes. At many restaurants, a secondary display featuring the total is placed directly next to the order window to provide the amount to customers, usually paying with cash.
* Windows where employees interact with customers by processing the customer's payment and giving them their order. Most drive-throughs have either one window serving both functions or two windows, with the first being used for payment and the second used for retrieving the order, depending on overall restaurant traffic.
* Most restaurants have marked parking spaces just beyond the last window. If there is a significant delay in an individual customer's order (e.g. a special order) or congested line traffic, an employee may direct that customer to park in this area, clearing the drive-through lane for the next customer and preventing knock-on delays to other customers. When the order is ready, an employee hand-delivers the order to the customer. This service therefore occasionally has some similarities to [[drive-in]] service, but only during peak periods.

[[File:Espressodrivethru.jpg|thumb|right|Some businesses are built only for drive-through service, like this [[espresso]] shop.]]
[[File:TimHortonsMoncton.JPG|thumb|A drive-through only [[Tim Hortons]] location in [[Moncton]], New Brunswick, Canada]]
Drive-through designs differ from restaurant to restaurant; however, most drive-throughs can accommodate a [[queue area|queue]] of four to six passenger cars or trucks simultaneously. Most drive-through lanes are designed so the service windows and speaker are on the driver's side of the car, for example, in [[left-hand traffic]] (right-hand drive) countries such as the UK, Ireland, Australia, India and New Zealand, the windows will be on the right side of the drive-through lane, and vice versa in right-hand traffic (left-hand drive) countries such as North America and mainland Europe. There are a few drive-through lanes designed with service windows on the passenger side, but these lanes are few and usually confined to ordinance compliance situations, as they cannot be used easily by driver-only vehicles.

Coffee is often sold through drive-through only coffee shops.<ref>{{cite magazine |department=Industry News |url=https://www.qsrmagazine.com/news/drive-thru-coffee-shop-saw-success-2008 |title=Drive-Thru Coffee Shop Saw Success in 2008 |magazine =QSR |date=2009-01-16 |access-date=2021-09-16 }}</ref>

=== Service time ===
According to QSR's 2024 annual survey, [[Taco Bell]] was the fastest fast-food chain in the United States regarding drive-thru service time, with an average wait of 194.16 seconds. This was significantly faster than the overall average of 244.86 seconds. Other chains with relatively fast service times included KFC (206.41 seconds) and McDonald's (271.81 seconds). [[Chick-fil-A]], known for its long lines, had an average service time of 298.27 seconds, but also had an additional wait time of 181.15 seconds, resulting in a total customer wait of approximately 479.42 seconds (8 minutes).<ref>{{cite web | last=Klein | first=Danny | title=The 2024 QSR Drive-Thru Report | website=QSR Magazine | date=2024-10-01 | url=https://www.qsrmagazine.com/story/the-2024-qsr-drive-thru-report/ | access-date=2024-10-02}}</ref>

===History===
In 1921, [[Kirby's Pig Stand]] introduced the drive-in restaurant, in which [[carhop]]s delivered meals.  In 1931, a California Pig Stand franchise introduced a drive-through service that bypassed the carhops. The first identified drive-through restaurant was established in 1947 at [[Red's Giant Hamburg]] located in [[Springfield, Missouri]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hollan |first=Michael |date=2020-06-08 |title=History of the drive-thru: The innovation that changed the way Americans eat |url=https://www.foxnews.com/food-drink/history-of-the-drive-thru-innovation-america |access-date=2023-06-24 |website=Fox News |language=en-US}}</ref> A year later in 1948, Harry and Esther Snyder of the [[In-N-Out Burger]] chain built a drive-through restaurant, featuring a two-way speaker system that Harry Snyder invented himself earlier that year. By the 1970s, drive-through service had replaced drive-in restaurants in the United States.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America|last=Witzel|first=Michael Karl|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|year=2013|isbn=978-0-19-973496-2|pages=654–655|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DOJMAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA654}}</ref>

The first [[McDonald's]] drive-through was created in 1975 in [[Sierra Vista, Arizona]], near [[Fort Huachuca]], a military installation, to serve military members who were not permitted to get out of their cars off-post while wearing [[Combat uniform|fatigues]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://corporate.mcdonalds.com/corpmcd/our-stories/article/first-mcd-drivethru.html |title=The first McDonald's Drive Thru was inspired by U.S. Army soldiers stationed at Fort Huachuca Army Base |publisher=McDonalds.com |date=2022-11-11 |access-date=2023-11-26}}</ref> The original McDonald's was closed down and demolished in 1999 and a new McDonald's replaced it.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.kgun9.com/absolutely-az/fort-huachuca-soldiers-inspired-first-mcdonalds-drive-thru-nearly-50-years-ago |title=Fort Huachuca soldiers inspired first McDonald's drive-thru nearly 50 years ago |publisher=kgun9.com |date=2022-02-13 |access-date=2023-11-26}}</ref> 

In 1987, Bob Charles pioneered the concept of the double vehicle drive-through. Charles, a McDonald's franchisee based in Boulder, Colorado, was the first to design and implement this innovation, which resulted in significantly increased per-unit volume.

In 1981, [[Max Hamburgers]] opened Northern Europe's first drive-in in [[Piteå]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.maxarabia.com/UAE/About-Max/History/ |title=History &#124; Max |website=Maxarabia.com |date=2015-10-23 |access-date=2016-06-02}}</ref>

Another early drive-through restaurant in Europe, a McDonald's drive-through, opened at the [[Nutgrove Shopping Centre]] in Dublin, Ireland, in 1985.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mcdonalds.ie/docs/FactsaboutMcDonalds.aspx |title=McDonald's Ireland : Burgers, Fries, Salads & More. Quality Ingredients |access-date=June 6, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100926000420/http://www.mcdonalds.ie/docs/FactsaboutMcDonalds.aspx |archive-date=September 26, 2010 }}</ref>

In the US, drive-throughs account for 70 percent of McDonald's business and the average drive-through order is fulfilled in under three and one half minutes.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Purdy|first1=Chase|title=Americans won't wait more than four minutes for a slightly less disgusting hamburger|url=https://qz.com/1010525/mcdonalds-mcd-fresh-beef-burgers-are-good-but-take-too-long-to-make/|access-date=20 June 2017|work=[[Quartz (publication)]]|date=20 June 2017}}</ref> Outside of the US, McDonald's drive-throughs are variously known as "McAuto", "McDrive" and "AutoMac".{{Citation needed|date=June 2016}}

In 2010, the Casa Linda, Texas, franchise of McDonald's opened a drive-through/walk-up-only store with no indoor seating although it has a small patio with tables.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mctexas.com/33269 |title=Casa Linda - Casa Linda |publisher=Mctexas.com |access-date=2013-01-27 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130128124916/http://www.mctexas.com/33269 |archive-date=2013-01-28 }}</ref>