INSIGHTS · DRIVE-THRU
What Does a Drive-Thru Lane Timer Do?
A lane timer measures how long each car spends at every point in your drive-thru. It shows your crew, live, where time is being lost.
The Short Answer
A lane timer detects each car as it arrives, orders, pays and collects. It times every stage and shows the result on a screen your crew can see. Managers use the same numbers to compare shifts and branches.
How It Works
Sensors in the lane detect each vehicle. The usual types are loops in the ground and sonar or camera sensors above it. The timer starts a clock when a car reaches a detection point and stops it when the car leaves.
A modern timer also connects to your sales data. That tells you how long each order took, and what was in it.
What It Measures
- Time at the order point. How long it takes to take the order.
- Time at the window. How long payment and handover take.
- Total time in the lane. From arrival to exit.
- Cars per hour. How much the lane can handle at peak.
What You Do With the Numbers
- During the shift. The crew sees a queue building and moves people to clear it.
- After the shift. Managers see which hour, which stage and which branch was slow.
- Across the brand. Head office compares branches and sets targets.
What to Look for When You Buy
- Does it link to your point-of-sale data?
- Can managers see it away from the restaurant?
- Does it work with your headset system?
- Who installs it, and who fixes it?
The Timer We Supply
Our lane timer links vehicle detection with your sales data, and shows live lane times on a dashboard and a mobile app. A crew challenge app turns targets into games your team can win, and cloud reports come with it.
The manufacturer reports up to 30 seconds off drive-thru time with the timer, and service times 8% lower with crew challenges. Those are the manufacturer's figures; results vary by site.
Our headset base station connects to lane timers, so the two systems work together.
Questions About Lane Timers
What's a drive-thru lane timer?
A system that detects each car and measures how long it spends at each point: the order point, the window, and the lane as a whole.
Does a lane timer make a drive-thru faster?
Only if someone acts on it. Speed comes from what the crew and managers do with the numbers during the shift, and the fixes made afterwards.
Can I see times for all my branches?
Yes, with a timer that reports to the cloud. The one we supply has cloud reports and a phone app.