Which Fast Food Restaurants are the 'Fastest?'

Arlington, MA —If you want a baked potato with your burger instead of fries, you're going to want to head to Wendy's. You'll also want to head there if you want the fastest service. That's according to a recent study conducted by QSR, a business-to-business magazine that focuses on limited-service restaurants.

QSR recently released the results of its 2016 drive-thru study, which was measured on the metrics of speed, accuracy, impact of pre-sell on timing, stations in use, issues experienced, service attributes, suggestive sell and type of suggestive sell.

"Things may change rapidly in the limited-service restaurant industry, but there’s at least one thing that always manages to stay the same: the importance of the drive thru," writes QSR in its report. "Across the industry, companies regularly see 60–70 percent of their business come through the outdoor lane, with customers expecting speed and convenience more than ever before."

In terms of speed of service, Wendy's topped the list nationwide, averaging 169.11 seconds to get your hot bag of fast foodiness in your hot little hands from the time of order to pickup. Wendy's was followed by Dunkin' Donuts at 181.3 seconds, and Burger King at 201.18 seconds. The slowest? Starbucks at 299.80 seconds. Perhaps much of the time is sucked up by explaining to customers that the Grande isn't in fact the largest drink in the house.

There are no Wendy's in Arlington, but there is a Starbucks located at 1465 Massachusetts Ave.

Accuracy is a big factor in those who frequent drive-thrus. According to the QSR study, Carl's Jr. is the most accurate in the country, with a score of 97.6 percent. In terms of fast food restaurants in Massachusetts, or anywhere near here, Chick-Fil-A ranked highest, at 94.5 percent accuracy. The least accurate on the list is Panera, with a score of 82.6 percent, followed closely by Wendy's and Starbucks, which tied at 86.9.

Did you want an apple pie with that? Find out the results of the success of suggestions, and more, in the full QSR report here.

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