Rude? Friendly? Here’s How Your Favorite Fast-Food Drive-Thru Ranks

Have you muddled through the Burger King drive-thru lately? It probably took you awhile. The burger giant is among the slowest of the major chains when it comes to drive-thru times — and it's about to streamline its menu to help speed up service. But according to QSR Magazine's Drive-Thru Study, it's still not the worst major drive-thru, both when rated by speed alone or friendliness of service. Here's how 10 major chains rate on factors including customer service, order accuracy, and speed of service, as evaluated by more than 1,000 customers in July 2021.

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Customers receiving “very friendly” or “pleasant” service: 44.1%

Ohio-based Wendy’s hasn’t gotten the memo on Midwestern hospitality, at least when it comes to the drive-thru. Unfortunately, it doesn’t do any better with order accuracy, getting orders correct only 85.3% of the time, placing it dead last in that category. It ranks sixth for speed of service, filling orders in an average of 341 seconds. 

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Customers receiving “very friendly” or “pleasant” service:47.3%

BK is second-to-last when it comes to drive-thru customer service, and it ranks only seventh for speed of service, taking 359 seconds to fill orders. That may not be for long — the chain has announced it will be dropping menu items to speed up drive-thru service times, though what items will get booted remains to be seen. "We got too slow, and we need to address that,” says Jose Cil, CEO of parent company Restaurant Brands International. The good news: BK was one of the best chains when it comes to order accuracy in QSR's study, getting orders right more than 97% of the time and notching a second-place finish in that category. 

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Customers receiving “very friendly” or “pleasant” service:47.6%

Arby’s may have the meats, but it doesn’t have many smiling faces. In fact, it’s the only chain where customers judged the service downright “rude” 5% of the time. Speed of service was also nothing to write home about, with the chain coming in eighth and taking 374 seconds, or a bit over 6 minutes, to fill orders. Arby’s fares slightly better with order accuracy, ranking fourth in that category.

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Customers receiving “very friendly” or “pleasant” service: 55.5%

The crew at Dunkin’ may need to drink a little more coffee, coming in at a yawn-inducing No. 7 for drive-thru service. The doughnut chain does just slightly better with order accuracy, ranking sixth. It notches a No. 4 finish for speed of service, filling orders in an average of 295 seconds, or just under 5 minutes. 

Customers receiving “very friendly” or “pleasant” service: 59.2%

Colonel Sanders’ crew scores a solidly “meh” sixth place for service and fares worse when it comes to order accuracy, coming in at No. 7 with a bit over 92% of orders correct. But there’s a bright spot: It’s the second-fastest drive thru, speeding customers through in an average of 272 seconds, or about 4½ minutes.

Customers receiving “very friendly” or “pleasant” service:60%

Though solidly in the middle on customer service, Taco Bell was able to satisfy customers’ cravings in short order. It ranked first of all 10 chains in speed of service, filling orders in an average of just 268 seconds. Some of that speed may have come at the cost of order accuracy, however: Taco Bell was second to last in that category, getting things right only 86.7% of the time. 

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Customers receiving “very friendly” or “pleasant” service:60.6%

The nation’s largest burger chain manages solid scores for drive-thru service, but is dragged down by order accuracy, ranking No. 7 with a score of just over 91%. It’s in the middle of the pack for speed of service, taking an average of 311 seconds, or about 5 minutes, to fulfill orders.

Customers receiving “very friendly” or “pleasant” service:72.4%

Starbucks scores well on customer service, but it’s the second-slowest of the surveyed drive-thrus, taking about 409 seconds to fulfill orders, or just under 7 minutes. It also receives middling marks for order accuracy, nailing things 93% of the time, ranking it fifth in that category. 

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Customers receiving “very friendly” or “pleasant” service:79.2%

While these sister chains notch a very respectable second-place finish for service, they’re also all-around solid performers, ranking No. 3 for both order accuracy and speed of service. Customers whizzed through these drive-thrus in 286 seconds.

Customers receiving “very friendly” or “pleasant” service:85.7%

No surprise here: The famously friendly chicken chain reigns supreme when it comes to customer service in the drive-thru. While the chain was also No. 1 in order accuracy, scoring an impressive 100% in that category, it’s worth noting that it scored dead last in speed of service at 541 seconds, or about 9 minutes. Good things come to those who wait?