--- title: McDonald's Guarantees One-Minute Drive-Thru Service or You Get Free Food description: In a test program underway at McDonald's, customers are given timers at the drive-thru—and a promise that their order will be ready within 60 seconds. authors: - name: Brad Tuttle role: Senior Editor url: https://money.com/author/brad-tuttle/ bio: Brad Tuttle is a former senior editor at Money with over 10 years’ experience covering a vast number of personal finance topics, including careers, cars, travel, budgeting, investing, insurance, credit cards, consumer psychology, real estate, banking, and shopping and deals. education: Columbia University School of Journalism, MS at_money_since: 2014 articles: 366 covers: - Business - Banking - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Economy and Politics - Education - Health and Wellness - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Pets - Professional Services - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes - Technology social: - https://twitter.com/bradrtuttle - https://linkedin.com/in/brad-tuttle-834b225 former_staff: true published: '2014-08-05T13:28:16.000Z' modified: '2024-05-16T09:54:16.000Z' section: Business tags: - breakfast - drive-thru - Fast Food - Food & Drink - freebies - guarantees - Lunch - Mcdonald's - quick service restaurant word_count: 416 canonical: https://money.com/mcdonalds-drive-thru-guarantee-minute-free-food/ type: Article source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/). ![Burger Timer](https://img.money.com/2014/08/140805_em_mcdonalds.jpg) The [*Miami Herald*](http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/08/04/4271877/mcdonalds-offers-a-60-second-lunch.html) reports that participating McDonald's in Florida are trying out a limited-time 60-second guarantee on weekday lunch orders from noon to 1 p.m. now through August 29. Drive-thru customers are handed timers after they've paid for their orders, and then the countdown begins. If the food isn't ready in one minute or less, the customer will receive a lunch item for free on a future McDonald's visit. It isn't hard to imagine why McDonald's is giving this idea a shot. First and foremost, it's a way to boost business at lunchtime. While the giants in the fast food world are prominently [battling for breakfast customers](https://time.com/65504/fast-food-breakfast/) because more and more Americans are eating out in the morning rather than having cereal at home, lunch remains the marquee meal, attracting [34% of all customer visits](http://nrn.com/consumer-trends/npd-breakfast-led-restaurant-traffic-growth-2013). McDonald's and the rest of the fast food scene must also contend with [Chipotle and other players in the fast casual](https://time.com/5425/the-only-kind-of-restaurant-flourishing-in-todays-economy/) category, which is really the only part of the chain restaurant industry that's growing. Secondly, the promise of speedy service—a throwback reminiscent of Domino's old guarantee or pizza delivery in less than 30 minutes—could be just what some consumers need to get them back at the drive-thru. In recent years, studies have shown that [drive-thrus have gotten slower](http://business.time.com/2013/10/01/fast-food-drive-thru-trend-slower-service/), at least partly because menus have expanded and its' more difficult for restaurants to deliver speedy service. The industry-wide average time at the drive-thru recently rose from 173 seconds to 181 seconds, researchers at [*QSR Magazine*](http://www.qsrmagazine.com/reports/drive-thru-performance-study) reported last fall. (That time total includes the time spent ordering food, as well as any wait before placing an order, neither of which is factored into McDonald's one-minute guarantee.) Lastly, because McDonald's is testing out this guarantee in extremely limited fashion—one hour only during lunch, Monday to Friday only, in one market only for a few weeks—there's not much at risk. \[CORRECTION: The guarantee is in effect in all Florida McDonald's locations with drive-thrus, not just those in South Florida as stated in a previous version.\] At worst, McDonald's will be giving out coupons for free sandwiches here and there, which all but guarantees the customer will be back in the future. Such freebies also probably mix up customers' emotions: Instead of grumbling about how long it is taking to get their orders at the drive-thru, they may actually be hoping that the service is slow. **Related: **[McDonald's Seeks to Supersize Its Growth ](https://money.com/mcdonalds-seeks-to-supersize-growth/ "McDonald’s Seeks To Supersize Its Growth")Dunkin', Mickey D, or Starbucks? 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