Category: Mystery Shopping

 

Looks like McDonald’s drive thru is slowing down a bit – according to a study conducted by QSR Magazine, their drive thru wait time, from start to finish, is 189.49 seconds, which falls 9 seconds below industry average.

I worked at a McDonald’s in high school, and still vividly remember when corporate would test the drive thru – talk about nerve wracking! They would stand outside the menu board, and each window, with stopwatches, to ensure that wait times were as quick as possible.

According to a recent article, McDonald’s is attempting to solve the problem by adding a drive-thru window, which they refer to as “Fast Forward Drive Thru” which incorporates a third window for those who reach the pick up window before their order is ready.

But what else can be causing slower than average wait times at McDonald’s? Take a look at the list and see if any of these hold true for your drive thru locations:

1.  Not having an extra pick up window: the company believes that this may be part of the problem. To that end, they are incorporating a third window for those orders that aren’t quite ready. The traditional way McDonald’s has dealt with this issue is having customers pull forward or to a designated parking spot on the side. While this can move the line along, it may cause delays in other ways.

First, the staff needs to run out to the car, which could add time to the process, while taking time from assembling orders or assisting other customers. Secondly, for this to be effective, employees need to honor the process. Unfortunately, I’ve experienced some employees who would rather you sit at the window and hold up the line rather than move you to a parking space in the lot because it’s cold, rainy, etc, and they don’t feel like running out. This isn’t specific to McDonald’s I’m sure, but I’ve seen it happen.

2. Too much, too soon: McDonald’s USA President admitted that part of the problem might be their menu selection. In rolling out too many new items in short intervals, coupled with the fact that some of the menu items are more complex to make or take longer to cook, can result in longer wait times.

Add employee training and getting employees used to the new menu, and that can create a delay at the drive thru.

In addition to renovations, the company plans to provide additional training and engage employees in feedback surveys to identify and resolve any issues that may be playing into the increased drive thru times as well as general customer service issues.

Do you have similar drive thru issues? Do you think having limited windows is hindering your efforts? Most McDonald’s, at least in my area, have at least two windows – one for payment, and one for order pick up. Not every quick serve restaurant has his luxury, nor do they have money or space to add a window. What other things can you do to ensure drive-thru times are as quick as possible ?

Learn from the best: whether this means scoping out a competitor’s drive thru process or talking to your seasoned crew regarding their perceptions of the drive-thru experience and how to make improvements, listening and learning can go a long way in making changes.

Do it the Portillo’s way: Portillo’s is a Chicago based QSR that boasts probably the coolest drive thru processes I’ve ever seen. The location closest to me always has a line around the building, yet wait times aren’t any longer than one would expect for a quick meal.

What’s their secret? Extra staff serving as a human drive-thru speaker. During high volume times, staff are outside in the drive thru lane manually taking orders. The first staff you encounter takes your order and places a number on your windshield. After a few moments, another staff member approaches you to take payment. That leaves their two windows free for distributing meals. If you haven’t been to Portillos yet, you might want to make a visit next time you’re near one. It’s fascinating to watch!

QSR Magazine offered some ways to improve the drive-thru experience; take a look at what they’ve suggested. They offered a wide range of small ways to make the entire experience more favorable for guests.

With 70% of revenue for McDonald’s coming from its drive-thru, it’s no surprise that they realize improvement needs to be made. Customers expect quick service, especially when using the drive-thru. Looking to find your strengths and areas of challenge can make things better before there’s an issue. It’s never too late, but definitely better to be proactive than finding out there is an issue later.

 

Researchers at Bangor University (UK) are taking “getting into a customer’s head” to a whole new level.

 

They are partnering with a UK based shopping behavior specialist company, SBXL, to further investigate changes in the brain that signal how consumers react to shopping experiences such as promotions, store layout, and time spent in the store.

 

Their prior research reveals some interesting information about consumer behavior as it relates to time spent in the store:

 

• After approximately 23 minutes in a store, consumers tend to make more decisions based on emotions rather than rational thinking. It is after this time they are more likely to make impulse purchases.

 

• After 40 minutes in a store, consumers tend to lose rational thinking all together, and will make decisions solely on emotional thinking. The theory holds that shoppers, at this point, will take advantage of promotions even if they end up being more expensive than what they originally planned to purchase. Another example is the “buy one get one free offer” – at this point in shopping, prior research suggests that at this point shoppers see the promotion, yet only take one item, ignoring the “get one free” part of the promotion.

 

This study will involved a specialized apparatus for participants to “shop”, so it strive to replicate the shopping experience as closely as it can without being in an actual store. This will be achieved by selecting products from a list to look at:

 

• Changes to attention span based on length of time “shopping”
• Reaction to promotions and ability to ignore products that are nearby, but not offered as a special discount or promotion.

 

This brain scan research is taking things to an entirely new level. In the recent past, companies have used eye tracking studies to evaluate advertising effectiveness, for example, but this study might reveal some additional insight into the minds of consumers.

 

Neuormarketing, which incorporates this type of data collection, is a fascinating area of research – this article offers some insight into what neuromarketing involves and how the information can be used to make decisions that directly affect consumer’s decision making purchases. It’s a long read, but is insightful into learning how consumers think, what makes them make the decisions they do, and how companies have incorporated this thinking into their own consumer experiences.

 

 

 

Most, if not all, companies who utilize mystery shopping incorporate upselling, cross selling, and mention of loyalty cards into their program. These are all important aspects of the sales process. It is also one that can be uncomfortable for employees to do on a consistent basis.

 

A recent study showed that, during an evaluation of coffee retailers, more than half of the employees failed to attempt to upsell or cross sell. Even more shocking was the fact that 97% of the time, the loyalty card program was not mentioned.

 

In our experience, mystery shopping programs can uncover gaps in these processes. Take, for example, a retailer who begins a program, only to learn that the loyalty card they offer is only mentioned 10% of the time at the register. Further, during times when it is mentioned and the customer indicates they do not have a card, nothing is said about the loyalty program.

 

In this instance, the company’s loyalty card program was fairly new and employees were still adjusting to the process of asking for it. After reviewing the initial results, the company talked with register staff to learn more. They found that many stated they were not as familiar with the program as the could be, and felt hesitant to ask about it in fear that the customer did not have a card and they would have to talk about the program. They did not feel they could do an adequate job.

 

In a second example, a quick serve restaurant measured attempts to upsell and cross sell, only to find that their attempts across all locations was lower than they would like to see. It was uncovered that employees were thinking they were upselling by asking, “Would you like that in a small, medium or large?” as opposed to a more appropriate, “Will that be a medium or large?” as dictated by the company as being an appropriate upsell. This resulted in the identification for additional training and continued monitoring of this employee process.

 

Upselling and cross selling, as well as loyalty card mentions are an important part of customer service and sales. Ensuring that your employees are performing to company standards is vital, and mystery shopping can measure and monitor these aspects to ensure they are consistent met.