Via Business Insider:

Wendy’s came in first — by far — at 129.75 seconds. It’s the only chain that managed to improve its time from 2011.

Here’s the breakdown of the six “mainstays” plus one regional chain, Bojangles, from QSR Magazine:

qsr drive-thru study

2012 QSR Drive-Thru Study

Burger King Has The Slowest Drive-Thrus – Business Insider

Why should the above operations metrics be of interest for technology? Fast food service is becoming increasingly automated, putting low wage jobs at risk and closing the door on a popular entry level job for young people.