A study done QSR magazine studied drive thru wait times (in the US) at over 1,948 restaurant visits, and they found that Wendy's consistently ranked the quickest at an avg wait time of 161.1 seconds.
But they also checked average order accuracy among orders to see how often they were filled properly. And this is where Wendy's didn't fair so well.
Data proved by Graphiq
Are faster wait times actually desirable because I remember back when McDonalds was super fast. But they had massive amounts of pre-made burgers under warmer lamps.
I'm a plain cheeseburger type person, so I'll often find if I don't check it right away that it may be wrong. My biggest eye rolling thing is when I don't check until later and open it to find two buns and a patty. I look at the receipt and it shows plain cheeseburger but some of these people think that means the cheese as well. And I get a kick sometimes when I'm asked if I don't want the cheese and I'll say "Yes I want the cheese... otherwise I'd order a hamburger plain" lol
For me personally, I find Taco bell typically is pretty quick and I rarely get home to find my order screwed up. But I don't ever order anything special or complicated. It rated about where I expected on both sides - in the upper middle.
Starbucks is slower but here in the Seattle area we have tons of drive thru local coffee stands in every town you go to. And waits are common and to be expected. And if you find a good stand, it can be way better than Starbucks (but more on that for another day).
But Pacific Northwesters will wait for a good espresso pretty much any day of the week and accuracy is key because if you hear some of the wacky orders some people have... for example, I heard this guy in front of me the other day order about four totally different drinks all with these long instructions such as a half froth no foam tall cap with a light dusting of nutmeg or something like that.
The only thing is they didn't specifically saw where these studies were done because the popularity of certain chains also varies from City and State. How is it where you are from in comparison?