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What is the maximum length of time you would wait at the drive-thru of a fast food restaurant?

CBS News released a study claiming to have found the “fast food restaurant with the slowest drive-thru.” Although they back up their claim with numbers, I don’t entirely agree with this list.

Would you wait longer than five minutes at a drive-thru? It seems that just under six minutes is the average for a “longer wait,” which seems fair. I’ve certainly waited longer than 10 minutes.

The drive-thru results

While I don’t think the list is wrong (I mean, there are numbers to back it up), I do think it could be misleading because those numbers are the averages of your wait time…

But semantics aside, the concept was straightforward when it was first created: an alternative to the car-hop service that customers were already familiar with. And it was touted as being more convenient for guests and restaurants alike. Guests responded positively.

The slowest drive-thru

This is just the slowest of the drive-thru restaurants they have listed. I have a few issues with this list…the numbers suggest that Chick-fil-A is the slowest in Iowa. I guess that makes sense since they are so popular, but they get people through so quickly. Still, they have the longest wait. According to the Drive-thru Report by industry magazine QSR

Chick-fil-A has the slowest drive-thru time of 10 popular restaurants, averaging 325 seconds, or about 5 1/2 minutes. Wendy’s, whose founder Dave Thomas is considered a pioneer of the drive-thru concept, was also among the slowest of the restaurants studied, at 275 seconds, or nearly 5 minutes.

The fastest drive-thru

Taco Bell takes first place when it comes to speed. You only spend 222 seconds in line. Personally, I think that measurement is very flawed, and anyone who has sat in a Taco Bell drive-thru between 12 and 2 a.m. knows what I mean. Taco Bell is not “super fast,” they just have fewer cars. Chick-fil-A is notoriously consistent in line, but that’s because there are simply more people. They even admit it here,

One reason the drive-thru line is slower at Chick-fil-A’s is because the restaurant’s drive-thru tends to have more cars than other fast-food chains.

The complete list

Here are the fastest spots:

• Taco Bell handles drive-through orders from customers in 222 seconds
• Dunkin’ handles drive-through orders from customers in 238 seconds
• KFC handles drive-through orders from customers in 239 seconds
• Arby’s handles drive-through orders from customers in 261 seconds
• Burger King handles drive-through orders from customers in 266 seconds
• Hardee’s handles drive-through orders from customers in 272 seconds
• Wendy’s handles drive-through orders from customers in 275 seconds
• MC Donalds handles drive-through orders from customers in 291 seconds

Do you agree with this list? Let us know…