DRIVE THROUGH FULL

“So we've got considerable work in this area to unlock the full potential for drive thru.” “And those are things like drive-thru only stores that have no seating, very small units, the side-by-side drive-thru lanes that we are bringing on to the footprint,” Brewer said during a conference call. Yet more striking in Starbucks’ case given its history as a gathering concept as much as one that serves coffee. Starbucks’ outgoing chief operations officer Roz Brewer, set to leave and become Walgreens CEO at the end of February, teased earlier in the week the “final piece” of the company’s efforts to widen accessibility in preparation for a post-coronavirus world.īrewer called it “the future drive-thru concept,” which appears similar to other models shared by the sector’s largest players in recent months, from McDonalds to Burger King to KFC. Yet here’s an example of how customer experience has veered under a COVID-19 umbrella. Recent results from competitors like McDonald’s and Chipotle have beat Wall Street expectations, suggesting consumers are still dining out.Starbucks’ “third-place” DNA it built a coffee empire on isn’t vanishing. The chain reports first-quarter earnings on Wednesday. The company is also looking to accelerate growth this year as it embarks on a restructuring plan to cut costs. Using AI to take orders could pay off for Wendy’s because it lags peers in wait times and accuracy, according to data provider Intouch Insight. The company declined to comment on how the technology might reduce the need for employees, though it said the system should help streamline the ordering process so staff can focus on serving food quickly. Wendy’s, which is debuting its chatbot at a company-owned store near Columbus, Ohio, is trying to reduce miscommunication and mistakes by automating the process, it said.

“I don’t think in three years, there’s going to be a drive-thru having a human take your orders,” Krishna Gupta, Presto’s chairman and interim chief executive officer, told Bloomberg Television last week. In the view of Presto Automation, which offers an AI ordering platform for restaurants, the technology will shake up the industry. Opinions on what AI will mean for workers and companies vary greatly, from massive disruption to marginal change. That touched off a race among tech giants, including Google parent Alphabet, to push the new chatbot technology into the business world. Interest in AI chatbots from investors and the public has surged after the release of OpenAI’s ChatGPT last year. The S&P 500 Restaurants Index rose 13.5% in the same period. in New York, bringing the company’s advance to 1.7% this year. Wendy’s shares rose less than 1% at 11:24 a.m. This “creates a huge opportunity for us to deliver a truly differentiated, faster and frictionless experience for our customers,” Chief Executive Officer Todd Penegor said in a statement. What’s more, drive-thrus have surged in popularity during the pandemic, with the chain saying 80% of its customers prefer ordering that way. Wendy’s is one of several restaurants incorporating AI and automation to improve customer service, while grappling with labor shortages. The system, powered by Google Cloud’s AI software, will be as natural as talking to an employee and has the ability to understand speech and answer frequently asked questions, the company said.

Drive through