| We're your drive-thru customers. The ones who pay | | | | "Ok, that's: a #1, a #2, a #3, and a #4. |
| your bills - so listen up. Ok, let's admit it, we occasionally | | | | frieslawbeansurtots?" |
| find ourselves in your takeout drive-thru line, particularly | | | | And so it goes. |
| on football nights. Why can't we understand anything | | | | Not all the drive-thru communication problems are the |
| your menu board says? It's not a lot of fun sitting out | | | | result of cheap, faulty audio systems. Many drive-thru |
| here talking to a backlighted piece of plastic under the | | | | operations that pay their order takers a whopping |
| best of conditions. But when it spits out a bunch of | | | | $7.00 to $9.00 per hour, feel these minions should |
| verbal gibberish, we begin to doubt ourselves. Maybe | | | | multitask to earn their lofty wage. They are fitted with |
| we just don't have the right stuff to order drive-thru | | | | a wireless headset (an endemic source of |
| takeout. | | | | communication mayhem), freeing them to fill drink |
| Drive-thru operations with talking menu boards existed | | | | orders and sack orders, while taking orders, cashing |
| long before we put men on the moon. We have no | | | | out orders, and handing the orders through the delivery |
| problem talking to the men on the moon. Law | | | | window. Five for one: not a bad deal - if the operator |
| enforcement agencies beam a listening device at our | | | | discounts our frustration when the overtaxed person |
| living room window from the next block and hear us | | | | just can't keep your drive-thru moving along smoothly. |
| whispering. But talking to your drive-thru order taker | | | | It would be an interesting study to determine the cost |
| 100 feet away seems beyond current technology. | | | | return ratio of putting a real live, smiling, happy person in |
| Probably after a monumental operational study and | | | | the drive-thru line for three hours each at breakfast, |
| several Board of Director's meetings, Jack decided to | | | | lunch, and dinner. That's nine hours daily of personal |
| add a "pre-ordering" menu board to the Jack in the | | | | contact with us, your drive-thru customers: greeting us; |
| Box drive-thru. Imagine the loss of self-esteem | | | | taking our orders; selling us lots of extra stuff; keeping |
| suffered by us drive-thru customers shouting at this | | | | us satisfied and streamlining the whole operation to |
| mute piece of plastic, especially when the yardman | | | | process more orders in less time. The increased sales |
| tells us that around the drive-thru corner, hidden behind | | | | could be shocking. |
| some bushes, is an identical menu board with a | | | | Since that idea is way too radical for most operators, |
| squawk box. Then discovering that we can't | | | | then how about trying these solutions to help us out: |
| understand a word it says, anyway. We leave, broken | | | | 1) Convince your order takers that they are |
| shells of our former selves, holding a white paper bag | | | | communicators, not speed-talkers. 2)Let your order |
| containing God knows what. | | | | taker do just that: process the orders, collect the |
| This is a common drive-thru conversation (Only the | | | | money, and hand the orders to us. 3) If there is a |
| names have been changed to protect the innocent.) | | | | better order taking system, buy it. |
| e shouting)chick(cash register ringing)edsteak" | | | | Bill Miller Bar-B-Q, a South Texas chain with over 60 |
| "What?" | | | | stores, opted for all three above. Their audio system is |
| "welcometobicsbett(scratchy | | | | good, and their order takers are not overtaxed and |
| sound)burgersmay(cough)akeur(cash register | | | | usually are comprehensible. Here's the big difference. |
| ringing)der. | | | | Immediately next to their backlighted piece of plastic, |
| "Do you want my order?" | | | | they placed a pylon containing an LCD screen that |
| "goheadplez" | | | | shows our order as it's punched into the cash register. |
| "Go where?" | | | | What a sense of accomplishment, just knowing that |
| "What-would-you-like-to-order?" | | | | our order is correct. |
| "Wow! You speak English great." | | | | In a survey of your drive-thru customers, most would |
| "Eight what?" | | | | vote for the real, live person. If you feel you can't do |
| "Never mind, just give me: 2 - #1's, 1 - #2, and 3 - #4's" | | | | this, then any of #1, #2 or #3 above would help us. |