Study reveals fast food chains with the longest average drive-thru wait times

Customers at popular fast food chains are less than impressed with the drive-thru wait times of some restaurant chains.

Intouch Insight recently released its 24th Annual Drive-Thru Studywith an average number of slow drive-thru wait times.

The figures are determined based on the average time someone waits for an employee to take their order and the average time it takes an employee to serve a customer at the drive-thru.

Intouch Insight asked mystery shoppers to place orders at major quick service restaurant (QSR) chains across the country between 5 a.m. and 7 p.m.

Shoppers have made more than 1,600 drive-thru visits, and based on the information provided, Intouch Insight has calculated a final tally of which restaurant chains have the longest average drive-thru wait times.

Intouch Insight asked mystery shoppers to place orders at major quick service restaurant (QSR) chains across the country between 5 a.m. and 7 p.m.

Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s

Carl’s Jr is one of the three major QSR chains with an average drive-thru time of 339 seconds

Carl’s Jr and Hardee’s are two of the three major QSR chains with an average drive-thru time of 339 seconds.

Both fast-food chains have more than 1,000 restaurants in the US and have managed to serve their customers 51 seconds after they approach the drive-thru window.

Unfortunately, the amount of time it takes for Carl’s Jr and Hardee’s employees to serve their customers has slowly increased over the years.

The average service time in 2024 at Carl’s Jr was 288 seconds

Recent data from Intouch Insight shows that the average service time at Carl’s Jr and Hardee restaurants this year is 288 seconds.

It’s the second-slowest service time of any restaurant chain on the list, and seven seconds higher than their 2023 total.

Burger King

Burger King has an overall average of no less than 339 seconds based on waiting and service times

Burger King is the second largest fast food hamburger restaurant franchise in the world, with a whopping 339 seconds total based on wait and service times.

However, average service and wait times for order taking were lower than those of Carl’s Jr and Hardee’s restaurants.

It is also an improvement over the 2022 and 2023 averages.

The average time it takes a Burger King employee to help its customers has decreased dramatically: from 96 seconds in 2022 to 69 seconds this year.

The fast food empire’s average service time has fallen since last year, from 275 to 271 seconds.

Raising sticks

This was the first year that Intouch Insight added Raising Cane’s to their research

Intouch Insight added Raising Cane’s to their survey for the first time in history, describing it as a “fast-growing chicken category brand.”

It also has a huge average total drive-thru time of 370 seconds for customers looking to place and receive an order.

The brand scored high and high with an average service time of 244 seconds.

Raising Cane’s average wait time was also far from perfect, coming in at 126 seconds – the second highest average total time of all featured QSR chains.

McDonald’s

The average time it took for an employee to take an order at McDonald’s in 2023 was 122 seconds, and this year it was 104 seconds.

McDonald’s, the global fast food empire, came in second slowest in the average total time customers spend at a drive-thru at 376 seconds.

However, what seems like a high number is also a decrease of almost 40 seconds compared to 2023.

McDonald’s average wait and service times also saw a huge drop compared to Intouch Insight’s 2023 results.

The company’s research shows that in 2023, McDonald’s took an average of 122 seconds for an employee to take an order, and this year that figure was 104 seconds.

The fast food chain’s average service time went from 291 in 2023 to 272 this year.

Chick-fil-A

Chick-fil-A also had the highest average wait time, increasing from 124 seconds in 2023 to 181 seconds in 2024

For the third year in a row, Intouch Insight found that Chick-fil-A had the slowest drive-thru wait times of all the chains covered in this particular study.

Chick-fil-A’s average drive-thru time was 479 seconds, and it is the only restaurant chain in the study to hit the 400-second mark.

Chick-fil-A also had the highest average service and wait times, with wait times going from 124 seconds in 2023 to 181 seconds in 2024.

On the plus side, Chick-fil-A’s average service time of 299 seconds this year is lower than its 2022 and 2023 results.