Grand Junction Drive-Thrus: Winners and Losers

On a list of things that don't really matter in life, slow drive-thrus are right at the top of the list.

Slow drive-thrus are completely frustrating and sometimes maddening. We've all experienced these emotions repeatedly as we stop to pick up a "quick" lunch or dinner. Problem is, quite often getting your fast food in a drive-thru isn't fast.

There are a number of reasons why drive-thru service can be slow.

• Perhaps the restaurant is cooking up every order as it comes in (fat chance)
• Perhaps the restaurant isn't prepared for an unexpected onslaught of customers during a non-peak time and doesn't have enough food ready, and could be short-staffed.
• Perhaps there are people in the drive-thru lane taking home dinner to their wife and six kids. ( I would  strongly urge these folks to go inside to order)
• Perhaps the restaurant employees have no sense of urgency and are just flat-out slow.

We should keep in mind that drive-thrus were created for convenience - not speed - as pointed out by this Facebooker.

But, we live in an "I want-it-right-now society," and we are constantly looking for the fastest, cheapest way to get through life.

A recent study says Chick-fil-A has the slowest drive-thru lines in the nation. This is mainly attributed to the huge popularity of the chicken chain. Grand Junction's Chick-fil-A line is often long, but, in my view,  they seem to have a good system in place to move people through as quickly as possible - and it feels like it's important to them. I also feel like the food I'm getting is worth the wait.

When we asked about the slowest drive-thru in Grand Junction, we got a variety of answers. It might be easier to make a list of the ones that didn't get mentioned. But, here's what folks had to say on Facebook.

When it comes to drive-thrus, it looks like it's slow no matter how you go. But, here is a list of some drive-thrus that didn't get mentioned as being slow, so, I'll list them, for what it's worth.

• KFC
• Arby's
• Taco John's
•  Del Taco
• Popeye's
• McDonald's
• Starbucks (Surprised this didn't make the slow list)

Here's a little known "fact" about drive-thrus. The more pressed for time you are - the slower they are and the longer the wait. In other words, the amount of time you spend waiting in the drive-thru line is directly proportional to the feeling of impatience you have as you wait to get through.