Banking, fast food, dry cleaning, coffee, oil changes, car washes, post office, pharmacies, donuts, goodwill, salvation army, are a few businesses that offer drive-thru service. I have also heard of drive through liquor stores, drive through blood donation, and other services designed for consumer convenience.
As I ride by, I wonder if these services are really convenient, or are we getting too lazy to park our car and walk a few hundred feet to obtain these goods. I become more curious when I see 10 cars at the McDonald's drive-thru, and find no one inside the restaurant. The drive-thru obviously takes more time than going inside, so where is the convenience? Is it the wear and tear on the car as you have to turn the car off and then start it back up? I am not a mechanic, but I don't believe that this is too stressful for a car. And the idea of sitting in a car to get a dozen donuts illustrates the height of laziness. (are these donuts just to hold us over before we get to work?)
What next, drive-thru appendectomies? Pick up your new prosthesis at window 2? Will someone shoot food through our window as we drive by at 60 mph? Let's bring back the old A & W root beer stands, where you were served your food by someone on roller skates. At least then you could sit and eat your meal without negotiating traffic between bites.
Although the businesses listed above leave some questions in my mind regarding their convenience, it is apparent through their use that they are fulfilling some felt need in the market. Whether these services are beneficial to consumers, the perception of this convenience seems to be driving businesses to develop these models and consumers are reinforcing this behavior by taking advantage of these drive-thrus.
One business model that comes to question is a relatively new opening near my house. Until last year, there was a small shack on t
he side of the road that was called Joe to Go and was a drive-thru coffee shop. Although this seemed like a reasonably good idea for a business in a very high traffic area, this business closed after several years of operation. The building sat empty for several months before a new business opened at the end of last year. This business has tried to capitalize on the enormous pet market by selling health food and other services (a doggy wash?) catering exclusively to pets. I have no doubt that there is plenty of money being spent on pets to include these health foods and a washing service. But I am amazed that this business owner has developed this idea as a drive-thru. Again, is this an attempt to create a sense of convenience (an alternative to Pets Smart, or is it just more proof that Americans are becoming lazier? It appears to be another example of a marketer trying to capitalize on trends that are working in the marketplace. For this particular product only time will tell if this is this is the case.
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