It is becoming more common for restaurants to feature drive-thru ordering systems. Customers are beginning to expect drive-thru systems, appreciating their convenience and service speed. With this guide, it will become easy for you to understand the best restaurant drive thru system is.
The best drive thru system for restaurants will depend on what you need to efficiently provide service to your customers. There are many different parts of a drive-thru line. These parts include the kiosk software, the menu board, the kitchen display, and more. In order to have the best and most efficient drive-thru for your restaurant self-ordering system, it is important to consider exactly what systems will work best for you.
What Is a Drive-Thru Ordering System?
Drive thru systems are a way for your customers to place their order, pay, and receive their food all from the comfort of their car. A drive-thru system attracts more customers to your restaurant because of its convenience. There are many parts that make up a drive-thru system. You need to decide whether you would like employees or kiosks to take orders, how customers will pay, and more.
Benefits of a Drive-Thru Ordering System
A drive thru ordering system possesses many features that can benefit any restaurant, here are a few examples:
Ease-of-Use For Customers
Nobody wants to get out of their car after a long day, then wait for their food while standing by the counter. Instead, customers prefer to go through the drive-thru line. With a drive-thru line, you provide your customers with convenience and comfort. This makes them much more likely to come back and order from your restaurant again.
Increased Capacity
A drive-thru provides the potential to serve more customers because you not only have sales being made at the counter, but also through the drive-thru line. Another great aspect of a drive-thru is that you will not need many more employees to operate it, especially if you opt for kiosks and machines for orders and payments.
Profit Maximization
With a greater capacity, your profit can be greatly increased. A drive-thru system can be expensive, however, the potential of an increase in profit you will experience will pay for the drive-thru in no time.
Pandemic-Friendly
Customers do not have to come into your restaurant, and contact between the customer and the employee can be kept to a minimum or eliminated altogether. A drive-thru is a great option to keep your restaurant running no matter what happens, which means that you will always bring in customers.
How to Set up a Drive-Thru Ordering System at Your Restaurant
Check out our tips below for how to enable drive-thru ordering at your restaurant!
Figure Out How Customers Place Orders
Some drive-thru lines have employees taking orders at car windows, others have machines where the customer speaks into a microphone to communicate with an employee who takes their order.
Another method for a drive thru order confirmation system is to have a screen where customers can make their selection by themselves, although this can be difficult to implement. Whichever option you choose, make sure you have the space and the materials required to make it happen.
Determine How Customers Receive Orders
Some restaurants have a window at the side of their building to give orders through the drive-thru line. You can also have your customers park in a designated parking spot and wait for an employee to bring their food to them. Whichever option you choose, you need to make sure that customers do not have to wait long for service. Also, consider which option would take employees the least time so they can remain as productive as possible.
Decide on the Payment Method
Similarly to how customers place and receive their orders, you can accept payment in many ways. You can have a separate window for payment, have an employee handle the transaction at the same place your customer orders or picks up their food, or you can have a machine handle it all. Keep in mind that having an employee take care of payment can make your lines move faster and makes the convenience of the customer your highest priority.
Make a Plan for Directing Traffic
Your drive-thru line will not be efficient and convenient for your customers if your line is confusing. Therefore, designing a great traffic plan is a priority when planning a drive-thru. You can have multiple lanes so that many customers can order at the same time, and lines painted on the road can guide them to the correct spot.
Prepare the Kitchen for Drive-Thru Orders
You will need to make a few changes in your kitchen to ensure that your drive-thru line runs as smoothly as possible. This includes clearing space to store drive-thru orders before the customer can pick them up, a way for employees to collect payment, and a way for the client’s order to reach the kitchen in a timely manner.
Tips for Maximizing Drive-Thru Orders
Below, find some tips for maximizing the efficiency and profitability of your drive-thru using an outdoor touch screen kiosk.
Get the Necessary Signage
No drive-thru is complete without signing. You need to show your customers where to drive, and this is best accomplished with signs. Make sure your signs grab people’s attention. You can do this by adding bright colors and bold fonts. Also, the sign people can see from the street needs to grab attention, too.
Create a Simple Drive-Thru Menu
Your drive-thru menu doesn’t need to feature every item you have on your regular menu. Usually, customers are looking to move through a drive-thru quickly, and will not spend much time looking at the menu. Therefore, you should place your most popular products on your drive-thru menu. This ensures that your customers will get the best experience while at your drive-thru.
Institute Good Safety Measures
A drive-thru system for restaurants can quickly become dangerous if you don’t add the necessary safety measures. You need to make sure customers can clearly see exactly where to drive. Any pedestrian crossings that go through the drive-thru need to be clearly labeled with bright signs and, if visibility could be low, flashing lights.
Include an Order Confirmation Board
A great addition to your drive-thru is an order confirmation board. With an order confirmation board, customers will be able to see what they have ordered as the employee logs the order into the computer. This will increase customer satisfaction, because customers will be able to ensure their order is correct. It will also save your employees’ time, because they will not have to remake orders that they accidentally hear wrong and hold up the entire drive-thru line.
GRUBBRR: The Best Drive-Thru Ordering System for Restaurants
Many restaurants are creating drive-thru systems. This isn’t surprising, considering drive-thru systems can increase sales, profit, and restaurant popularity. There may be many aspects to consider in the planning of your drive-thru, but the benefits of a drive-thru will be great for your restaurant for many years to come.
To learn more about how GRUBBRR POS system for restaurant can help take your drive-thru experience to the next level, visit www.grubbrr.com.
