Every time I decide to go eat fast food, I pray that the line is not too long. I can’t stand waiting when the idea of fast food is speedy service. At Cookout, when they are not flooded with drunk people late at night, their service is rather quick. I believe it is because they choose to have one walk-up window outside and two separate drive thru lines.
McDonalds, Wendy’s, and Burger King all decide to have one line and two windows, where Cookout uses a different design. Cookout uses two lines each going to their own window. Each window is near each other, but they are on adjacent walls, allowing the cars to simultaneously get the same service. They also have their own order station. Even if there are 2 cars in each line, the next driver only see 2 car line instead of a 4 car line. This helps alleviate the pain of waiting or the perception of having to wait. McDonalds sometimes chooses to offer 2 order stations, but then combines the lines to pay and pick up food out of one or two windows. The cars ultimately join the same line, which can look horrific!
The cookout I specifically go to is on 2540 Freedom Drive, Charlotte, NC 28208. They do not provide seating inside or outside. I’ve seen other Cookouts provide outdoor seating, but never indoor. I believe this also helps keep the lines moving quickly. It allows for the employees to only focus on making the food and serving it to their guests. Indoor service creates a whole different experience and needs employees to focus more on customer service and cleaning the inside dinning room.
The locations of some cookouts can attract some unsafe people. I believe this is also a reason that there are no inside seating areas in these dangerous locations. It helps keep the employees safe. On the other hand, keeping everyone outside puts guests in danger. The Cookout on Freedom Drive can be very dangerous. There have been multiple shootings in the parking lot. The safest way to get the food is to use the efficient drive thru.
Communication in My LIfe 