---
title: McDonald's Chooses Accuracy Over Speed at the Drive-Thru Window
description: McDonald's will use people, not robots to take orders and confirm them, slowing order speeds, but improving accuracy.
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  - name: Ethan Wolff-Mann
    url: https://money.com/author/ethan-wolff-mann/
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published: '2015-11-23T19:03:38.000Z'
modified: '2024-04-16T08:17:37.000Z'
section: Lifestyle
tags:
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  - Mcdonald's
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word_count: 200
canonical: https://money.com/mcdonalds-drive-thru-speed-accuracy/
type: Article
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> **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/).

![McDonald's Drive Thru](https://img.money.com/2015/11/gettyimages-185747037.jpg)

All drive-thru windows have a central dilemma: speed or accuracy. Since accuracy is largely contingent on time, the two are essentially mutually exclusive.

So which one should a fast food chain choose? McDonald's has chosen accuracy, [according to Bloomberg](http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-11-23/mcdonald-s-knows-you-re-sick-of-screw-ups-at-drive-thru-windows).

Since around 70% of all business done at McDonald's franchises is at the drive-thru window, the company is trying to make the buying experience more personal and thus more accurate, making sure a there's a person—not a automated robot voice—taking your order.

But McDonald's new strategy isn't just having a person take your order, but rather having a person confirm three times what they want so accuracy is ensured.

Overall, the chain has actually been pretty good about getting orders right—better than most other chains according to [QSR's annual fast food research](https://money.com/fast-food-drive-thru-windows-slower/). Wait times, however, aren't shorter.

For now, with people at the helm, wait time and accuracy will likely remain mutually-exclusive in the fast food industry. But in today's climate of tech solutions for problems like these, it's not unlikely that a fast-food ordering revolution will speed things up *without* confusing a Big Mac with a Quarter Pounder. Plenty of companies like Starbucks are experimenting with phone and tablet-based ordering.

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