Anatomy of a Drive-Thru

The first point of contact with a drive-thru customer is drive-thru lane directional signs. Make sure your first time customers can easily find the drive-thru lane.

A clearance bar is often necessary as taller vehicles can cause damage to canopies and awnings over the ordering station or pick up station.

A presell board serves to inform and guide customers on food options, enhancing service speed and encouraging specialty item purchases. It can vary in size and be either static or digital.

Canopies are used at the ordering station where the driver is exposed to the rain and wind. Canopies also illuminate the ordering area, offering security to the customer.

The OCS, integrated with the restaurant's POS, ensures customers see their order is correctly received, using a speaker on the canopy or speaker post.

Installing a canopy allows for mounting the speaker and microphone to its pole, saving costs and removing the need for a separate speaker post. A speaker post is also an option.

These loops, embedded in the road, alert the crew when a vehicle arrives at the menu board and provide timing data by pairing with loops at the pick-up window.

This is the primary piece of equipment for any drive-thru lane. Its placement and size are important to the success of your entire drive-thru success. It can be digital, static, or a combination of both.

A brand booster topper and/or wing are economical and efficient ways to add space to the menu board and is ideal for branding identification; it’s also a great place to display and change out Limited Time Offers and Specials.

Use graphics in the post-sale area to highlight upcoming offers, feature dessert items, or provide visual temptations of special food products.

Poster frames with graphics used in the presell zone and/or the post-sale area prior to the payment or pick-up window.Graphics in the presell area guide customers to specials and combos.

Embedded in the pavement at the pick-up window and wired to the timing system, this magnetic loop completes the vehicle timing started at the presell menu board.

Positioned at the drive-thru window, this tip jar provides a secure and handy location for storing tips, featuring custom branding prominently displayed on the front.

Window awning keeps the customer and employee covered during inclement weather.

A timer system is an important management tool to review statistics and performance of the restaurant’s drive-thru lane. The communication system is a multiple wireless headset system.

An additional directional is often necessary to note one-way-lanes as “Exit Only” or “Do Not Enter”. Use a message of appreciation on the other side for leaving drive-thru customers.