• Wendy's has the fastest drive-thru, study says

    Terry Gilliam / AP

    Full speed ahead. Wendy's drive-thru came in first in a survey of the fastest, fast-food restaurants.

    By Ben Popken, TODAY contributor
    Quick: you already wasted 10 minutes on your lunch break listening to Debby complain about her new neighbors and not only do you need to do fast food, you need the fastest fast food. Which restaurant do you pick?
     
    Go with Wendy's, says the 2012 QSR Drive-Thru Study, which ranked the chain's drive-thru the service the fastest at 129.75 seconds.
     
    Burger King came in last, with a whopping 201.33 seconds. Taco Bell got second place at 149.69, Bojangles' third at 171.61, Krystal fourth at 175.94, McDonald's fifth at 188.83, and Chick-fil-A sixth at 190.06.
     
    However, speed is not really the main measure driving customer satisfaction, Brian Baker, whose firm Insula Research conducts the study, told NBC News. Not anymore. "When drive-thru's first came along, we were very impressed," he said. "Now it's become what we expect."
     
    And it's about maintaining those expectations. So customers probably won't notice much if McDonald's shaves another millisecond off its overall average turnaround time, but they will notice if it starts to lag.
     
    The annually published survey armed secret researchers across the country with stopwatches and clipboards and sent them through the drive-thru's at the nations top quick service restaurants, performing 2,053 different visits and 4,071 time studies.
     
    The study critiqued six "benchmark chains" and one regional chain, on a battery of factors, including service time, order accuracy, speaker clarity, upselling, and customer service. Rankings are closely watched by the chains; each year before the results come out, "I get a lot of phone calls from chains asking 'How did we do? Anything we should know about?'" said Baker.
     
    For instance, It can be pretty annoying if they forget your fries or give you the wrong drink, so order accuracy is another key metric to check out. There, Wendy's came out on top again, followed by Chik-fil-A, Taco Bell, and Krystal.
     
    Grit your teeth every time you're asked "Do you want fries with that?" or "Would you like to add a hot apple pie to your order?" Then look for the drive-thru with the longest line. The study found the "suggestive selling" dropped from 37 percent of the time when there were 0-2 cars in line, to only 25 percent when there were six or more cars.
     
    For the friendliest service, go to Chick-fil-A. They ranked first in the "very friendly" quotient at 57.4 percent. Burger King, on the other other hand, had the highest amount of "Rude" service (although it was only 2.8 percent of the time).
     
    What's in store for the future of fast-food drive-thru as the arms race for who can flip their burgers and fries the fastest continues to heat up? Patties delivered to your iPhone? Waiters coming out to your car on hoverboards?
    Nothing so futuristic, said Baker. Instead, expect more chains to add lane-splitting to their drive thrus where cars go can go off in two different directions to make their order from one of two speakers, then remerge back into one lane for order pickup.
     

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  • This week's buzz: Thicker fries, taxes, simpler holidays

    By Al Olson, Senior editor

    What did we learn this week in Life Inc.? Americans love french fries. They love simpler holidays. And they love getting money back from Uncle Sam. 

    A post this week about Burger King revamping its recipe for french fries generated quite the debate among our readers. Their reviews were not all positive. “Sorry, BK, but my affair with you has to end. I cannot support the new fry. I prefer the skinnier, crunchier, tastier version,” Meghan Herr wrote. 

    My favorite comment was from FreedomRingsLoud, who wrote: “The great French Fry debate has, is and will rage on until the end of times. Perhaps we should try a new recipe for our Congress and get the fat (pork), salt (corruption) and high calories (spending) out of it to fix our nation’s economy.” This reviewer may not make it as a restaurant critic, but shows promise as a political pundit. 

    Tax stories are always popular and this week’s revelation that Uncle Sam owes about 100,000 Americans a refund generated a lot of interest. The IRS is hoping to pay out a total of $153.3 million in refund checks that couldn’t be delivered because of mailing address problems. Are you among the lucky taxpayers who will get a little holiday bonus? Check here.  

    Our two most popular stories dealt with the stress and over-commercialization of the holiday season. Allison Linn’s excellent story about Americans’ efforts to focus on the true meaning of the holidays received more than 3,500 votes. A whopping 84.5 percent of you said you will simplify things this season. My favorite comment from a reader: “Unfortunately, every year I say I'm going to rein in my spending and every year I either spend the same or more. Oh well, at least I try.” Sounds familiar to me. 

    What are you dreading most about the holidays? Fighting the mall crowds? Gaining weight? Going in debt? Dealing with your sister’s creepy fiancé? This season can bring out the best in all of us – and often times it brings out the worst in us. We love the holidays at the same time we dread it. A survey conducted by Consumer Reports found that 23 percent of us can’t stand the incessant, inescapable Christmas music. And, believe it or not, 15 percent just dread the very notion that they “have to be nice.”

    Coal in the stockings for you!

     

  • Burger King's french fries get thicker

    Burger King / Reuters

    Burger King says the new fries, now a bit wider in diameter than a No. 2 pencil, will be available by December 5.

    By msnbc.com news services

    Burger King, the second largest hamburger chain, has changed its french fry recipe for the first time since 1998 as competition from upstarts and traditional fast-food rivals mounts.

    Burger King said it made the new fries thicker, reduced sodium and added a coating that makes them crisper and keeps them hotter longer.

    The fries, now a bit wider in diameter than a No. 2 pencil, will be available in its more than 7,000 North American Burger King restaurants by December 5. Prices remain the same.

    "We're always trying to have the best menu possible. French fries are a big seller for us and we want to make sure we're always improving," said Leo Leon, vice president of innovation.

    Leon said Burger King tested the new fries against other options.

    "This, by far, was the winner," he added.

    Burger King's move comes a little over a year after rival Wendy's introduced thinner "natural cut" fries that leave some skin and are sprinkled with sea salt.

    McDonald's french fries often take the top spot in customer surveys, but independents such as Five Guys Burgers and Fries, Smashburger and In-N-Out Burger have been dialing up the pressure.

    "The competition to have good quality french fries is heating up," said Darren Tristano, executive vice president at consulting firm Technomic, who recently tried the new Burger King fries.

    "Making them thicker certainly makes them easier to eat, and since many of them are consumed in the car with one hand on the steering wheel, that's probably not a bad idea."

    Burger King said the new fries have 20 percent less sodium than their predecessors.

    The smallest, $1 portion has 330 mg of sodium and 240 calories. The fries are cooked in trans fat-free vegetable oil and do not contain animal products, Burger King said.

    On December 16 Burger King is promoting its new fries by giving away $1 "value" portions for free. The new fries will be available outside the United States in 2012.

    The trend in french fries is toward more "natural" offerings. That includes fries that are or appear to be made from fresh-cut potatoes and topped with "artisan" toppings such sea salt.

    "The term natural seems to resonate (with diners), even though there isn't a great definition of natural," Tristano said.

    In-N-Out cuts its french fries in its restaurants every day and cooks them in cholesterol-free vegetable oil.

    Five Guys cooks its fries in peanut oil and gives customers the option of having them "cajun style."

    Smashburger seasons its regular fries with sea salt. It also offers fries made from potatoes or sweet potatoes that are "toasted with rosemary, olive oil and garlic."

    McDonald's lately has attempted to reinforce its position as the top french fry seller by promoting its fries, Tristano said.

    Investment firm 3G Capital bought Burger King last year and took it private in a $3.3 billion deal. Burger King has 12,400 restaurants around the world.

    Reuters contributed to this report.