Aug 22, 2014Eli Grinvald's family is very particular about breakfast. After one bungled breakfast order at a drive-through window four years ago, Grinvald's daughter—who was then eight years old—pointed to their E-ZPass toll tag and made an observation: Why doesn’t this restaurant know what we want the moment we arrive? And why not pay for breakfast with the toll tag?
Grinvald founded iDriveThru to improve customers' experiences at drive-through windows. The four-year-old company uses a driver's RFID-based E-ZPass to streamline the ordering and payment process. Grinvald claims that the system, now in use at five Wendy's locations on New York City's Staten Island, has helped to increase consumer spending. The solution incentivizes repeat business by rewarding customer loyalty.
Leveraging Existing Technology
When a customer arrives at the restaurant, an RFID reader (supplied by iDriveThru) installed on the drive-through speaker reads that vehicle's E-ZPass toll tag. A video screen attached to the restaurant's menu board then displays a personalized welcome message that can be configured to present a promotion to that customer. The patron places an order as usual, and the restaurant processes payment via a payment card linked to his or her unique toll tag. The purchaser then receives an e-mail receipt for the transaction. Grinvald notes that the system does not draw on a customer's E-ZPass toll account. Instead, it associates the toll tag with a payment card configured online or via the iDriveThru mobile app.
Rewarding Customers
IDriveThru proposes to offer a competitive advantage to franchisees by rewarding customer loyalty. For every dollar spent using the iDriveThru system at a participating merchant, a customer accrues 10 points. Upon reaching 500 points from that particular merchant, he or she receives $5 in credit. Customers can view their rewards balance on the video screen at the drive-through, or on the associated mobile app. The company is presently exploring the possibility of integrating vendors' proprietary rewards cards with the iDriveThru solution, thereby obviating the need for customers to search for them.
Grinvald cites testimonials from early adopters to support his contention that consumers appreciate the ease and convenience of a hands-free payment experience. However, he is careful to note that iDriveThru is more than a payment facilitator—the company aims to make every customer feel welcome, by creating a personalized experience.
The Technical Details
Some 24 million E-ZPass battery-powered 915 MHz RFID tags, manufactured by Kapsch TrafficCom, are currently in circulation across 14 U.S. states. They are available free of charge in New York State and have demonstrated a number of benefits, including reduced idling times, safer tollbooths and discounted tolls for customers.
To date, iDriveThru has signed up 1,500 customers at iDriveThru locations, as well as via the company's website. Grinvald notes that Staten Island has an unusually high population of E-ZPass users because it is surrounded by toll roads, and cites the wide proliferation of these devices as a factor that should allow iDriveThru to expand rapidly in the future. His experience with high-tech payment systems as a consultant in the financial services industry, he says, supports his belief that his solution will succeed where others have failed.
The Future
Grinvald observes that many Staten Island customers prefer to pay with cash. In order to accommodate their wishes, he plans to focus his product on creating a positive experience for clients—even outside of the payment process. A preset order system is now in the works that would allow customers to set their orders via the smartphone app. The iDriveThru system would then push this order to the restaurant as soon as a consumer arrives, eliminating confusion at the drive-through window. Grinvald is also considering allowing customers to use a smartphone's Bluetooth and cellular network functionality to place an order, as an alternative to the E-ZPass transponder.
Regardless of the underlying technology, Grinvald says, iDriveThru makes it easier for consumers to pay for drive-through meals. Furthermore, he maintains, the system can make a customer feel catered to in an industry with little differentiation in physical products. His company, he says, accomplishes this goal by providing a distinctive audiovisual experience, and by helping restaurants understand their customers' needs.
