Sunday, 04 October 2009 12:53

America's best drive thru is officially Chick-fil-A. In QSR magazine's annual survey of restaurant-chain drive thrus, Chick-fil-A ranked No. 1 in two of the four categories tested, earning it the title of America's Best Drive Thru for 2009.  This is Chick-fil-A's sixth title, making it the record-setting brand in the survey's 12-year history.

The Drive-Thru Performance Study tested fast-food companies in the categories of speed of service, order accuracy, speaker clarity, and menuboard appearance. Chick-fil-A, with a composite score of 17.8, ranked more than 2 points higher than the next finisher, Taco Bell, which scored 15.6.

Rounding out the top-five finishers were Del Taco (14.6), Krystal (13.6), and Wendy's (13.6) respectively.

In addition to having the best drive-thru performance, Chick-fil-A also offered consumers the friendliest service, meaning it had the highest percentage of crew members who said "please" and "thank you," smiled, made eye contact, and had a pleasant demeanor. Following Chick-fil-A respectively were Jack in the Box, Arby's, Carl's Jr., and Rally's.

Other brands that ranked No. 1 in specific categories included Wendy's for speed (averaging 134 seconds) and Whataburger for best menuboard. Chick-fil-A ranked No. 1 in order accuracy, with 96.4 percent of orders filled accurately, and speaker clarity.

The Drive-Thru Performance Study is an annual ranking of the top 20 quick-serve drive thrus in America and is featured in the October issue of the foodservice B2B magazine QSR.

Here are some Chik-fil-A coupons gift cards and even memorabilia: