Chick-fil-A is bringing in the bucks — and slowing down traffic.
The chicken chain brought in $18.8 billion in U.S. sales last year, marking consistent upward growth since 2019, according to the brand’s Franchise Disclosure Document released earlier this week. But Chick-fil-A also ranked last for speed of service, according to The 2022 QSR Drive-Thru Report, with the average transaction taking 325.47 seconds (for reference, Taco Bell ranked number one at 221.99 seconds).
But this data might be a little deceiving when looking at the number of cars in the drive-thru line. Chick-fil-A had the most cars in line on average — based on survey respondents reporting how many cars were in front of them until the speaker when entering a drive-thru line — by a long shot (5.45), followed by McDonald’s (3.13). When scaling the speed of service adjusted to the average number of cars in line, Chick-fil-A actually comes in first with an average of 107.41 seconds, according to the report.
The chain also came in at No. 2 for “speed of service satisfaction,” which measures customer satisfaction versus wait time, with a rating of 93% — passed only by Arby’s at 96%.
Still, Chick-fil-A’s popularity, particularly its drive-thrus, has caused some local communities to petition for restrictions.
Earlier this year, the Charlotte City Council unanimously approved the motion to tear down a Chick-fil-A location and rebuild it as a two-lane drive-thru-only location in response to a petition by customers, citing long wait times and disruption to local traffic.
In Florida, a location eliminated its drive-thru operation following a series of vehicle-related incidents in 2021. The following year, a San Diego storefront was almost declared a public nuisance due to traffic jams.
Despite the drive-thru logistical issues, it’s still Gen Z’s favorite chain, according to Nation’s Restaurant News.
