Once the order was placed, the driver would continue, again single file, toward the order pickup window on the opposite side of the building (see Exhibit 5 for pictures of a typical Pal’s unit). Most Pal’s units were designed so that a maximum of four vehicles could queue between the order-taking and order-pickup windows. All sandwiches were assembled to order. Pal’s did not keep finished products in inventory. Hamburger patties and hot dogs were cooked and stored (for a strictly limited time) and placed in special holding containers until required to fill an order. A typical order for two people—consisting of two sandwiches, two sides, and two drinks—took about 43 seconds to fill. During quiet times of the day, there might be no queue of vehicles at a Pal’s, but at the midday rush, seven cars in line before the order window was not uncommon.A key metric of focus for Pal’s management was the time it took a vehicle to leave the order- pickup window from the time it entered (called the “wheels stop to wheels go” time). Since the line was single file, this also set the pace at which every car in the line moved. Crosby felt this metric was very important because it influenced customer perceptions of wait time. Pal’s “wheels stop to wheels go” time was 18 seconds. Pal’s research showed that at McDonald’s the comparable figure was 64 seconds and at Taco Bell it was 104 seconds.
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