Candid Camera At The Fast-Food Drive-Thru

Money Cnn:

Wendy’s, McDonald’s and other chains test technology that will match customers with their orders.

Smile! Candid camera could soon be coming to the fast-food drive-thru near you.

With more than 70 percent of fast-food orders today coming at drive-thrus rather than at restaurant counters, leading chains such as Wendy’s (Charts) and McDonald’s (Charts) are testing new technology aimed at combating some of the growing problems facing the $142 billion fast-food industry: Things like long lines, rude service and incorrect orders.

Exit41, a closely held Boston-based based provider of technology for the fast-food industry, has developed the system, called “Order Perfect.”

Exit41 CEO Joe Gagnon said the system was developed primarily for restaurant locations with multiple drive-thrus. The technology is already in use in 40 locations across the nation, including select Wendy’s, McDonald’s and Burger King (Charts) locations, Gagnon said.

Here’s how it works: when a customer places an order at the drive-thru speaker, the order is taken by someone at a remote “order center.” The order is then sent right back to the restaurant where it was received.

Gagnon said the purpose of using an order center is to speed up the process, especially during peak times when restaurant workers are busy taking orders, delivering food, pouring drinks and mopping floors.
A little Big Brother-ish?

The second component of the technology is even more interesting, and somewhat controversial. It involves a camera located at the drive-thru order window that takes a picture of the customer and the car.

According to Gagnon, the pictures help staff accurately match the order to the customer, thus cutting down on botched orders.

While that makes sense, plenty of people could be very uncomfortable with the idea that they’re being photographed every time they make a quick stop for a double cheeseburger with fries.

Gagnon insisted that Picture Perfect is a “non-invasive” procedure. “The photos aren’t stored in our system. They’re deleted as soon as the order is completed,” he said. “A lot of restaurants already have surveillance cameras on their premises that photograph people.”

Nevertheless, he conceded that a handful of customers did ask restaurant staff why they needed to be photographed. “So some of the restaurants that use our picture technology decided to put up a disclaimer letting people know they will be photographed at the order point,” he said.

Still, some consumer privacy advocates are concerned.