One of the most important aspects of managing a quick-service restaurant is maintaining your drive-thru equipment. With more and more customers using the drive-thru, rather than ordering in-store, it’s crucial that orders are filled quickly. If your drive-thru systems aren’t performing at their best, the result can be bad customer experiences, which jeopardize repeat business and ultimately  decrease your bottom line.

A quick way to evaluate your faulty drive-thru equipment is by calling CE's technical support at 877-731-0334. The rep will diagnose the problem and will either help you repair it over the phone or suggest next steps. If an on-site visit is required, a technician visit will be scheduled for you. Most often your drive-thru equipment will simply need to be sent in for a quick repair.

Everyone knows summer is one of the busiest times of the year for quick-service restaurants. With the weather warming up and schools letting out, more people are traveling and looking for affordable eating options on the go. If you haven’t started your drive-thru maintenance, now is the time to get on the ball. When you’re expecting heavy traffic, you want to make sure your business is fully prepared. CE not only provides the best quality service at the lowest price, but also provides discounts and specials so you don’t have to break the bank in order to have your drive-thru equipment running properly. Below are five ways to save with CE:

Bonus Bucks--For every $100 you spend on drive-thru repairs, CE will send you $5 in bonus bucks. You can redeem these with any future drive-thru repair. Simply place the bonus bucks in the box with your broken equipment and CE will deduct that from the total repair bill.  

New Customer Discount--Haven’t used CE before? Just for giving us a try, you’ll receive up to 50% off of any all-in-one drive-thru headset or belt-pac for any HME, Panasonic, or 3M drive-thru system. On top of that you will receive a four-month warranty on your repair.

Current Customer Discount--If you frequently use CE, there is an option for unlimited repairs at a low monthly fee. CE’s Drive-Thru Protection Plan covers all models and brands of drive-thru equipment. With a Protection Plan you can expect to receive reduced downtime at your store, high-quality parts and service, and peace of mind, knowing that your system is covered.

Free Drive-Thru Battery Specials--Many underestimate the power of the drive-thru battery. It not only keeps your headsets functioning, but when using newer, fully charged batteries they increase the amount of time between charges and also improve drive-thru sound quality. If you’re looking to purchase a drive-thru battery, consider ordering more than one at a time. They are always useful, and when you buy three you’ll receive the forth one free!

Multi-Store Discount--CE understands that keeping your drive-thru equipment in its best condition can get expensive. Running multiple stores can calculate to multiple repairs in a given month. That’s why CE offers up to 25% off select products and services for multi-store owners. You shouldn’t have to sacrifice great service to stay on budget.

The last thing you need is for your drive-thru equipment to take a vacation when everyone else is. So grab those busted headsets, dust off those dirty belt-pacs, and send them to CE. You'll get them back refreshed and ready to work, just in time for the summer rush.

With all of the rain, wind, and snow during the winter months, it’s likely you will have some drive-thru maintenance to do when the sun peeks through. Use the checklist below to ensure your drive-thru equipment is performing at its best all year round.

Drive-Thru Speaker Post: Check the vents in the speaker post to make sure they aren’t clogged by leaves, mud, or any other debris that could have become wedged during a storm or high winds.

Drive-Thru Lane: When there is a lot of snow or rain it can cause cracks and potholes in your drive-thru. So check your drive-thru lane for any cracks, especially near your order point and also at your cash and pick-up windows. If moisture gets down into the concrete it can disrupt the underground loops that detect your vehicles. 

Menu Board: Check your menu board during the day and also at night. You want to make sure that all of your electrical components are working correctly and that your menu board is free of any debris. Replace any lights that have shorted or burned out. This is also a great opportunity to check that your menu board is current. Look over the menu items as well as the prices to ensure you aren’t misleading customers.   

Drive-Thru Headset System: Test all drive-thru headsets and batteries. If you come across any that aren’t working, call CE’s technical support at 877-731-0334. If the problem cannot be solved over the phone you can use the free shipping label located on the website to send in your drive-thru headset repairs. If you need a new drive-thru battery, you can also purchase it on CE’s website.

Drive-Thru Timer: Compare your reports from the past few weeks. If you see something that looks out of the ordinary, pay close attention to your remote display. Is it detecting every car? If it only detects some and not others, or doesn’t detect any at all, contact CE’s technical support. They will help you troubleshoot the problem and recommend the next steps to take.

With your post-winter checklist completed, you will have the confidence that your drive-thru is in optimal condition. Sit back and watch your sales spring ahead.

I’m an owner of a quick-service restaurant in Oklahoma with an HME System 30 Timer and a 3M XT1 Headset System. In the winter we have a heck of a time with thunder storms and, wouldn’t you know, a lightning strike near my restaurant took down a power line and caused us to lose power throughout my entire store. We were left in the dark for several hours until the utility company could get out and restore our electricity. Once everything came back on, a surge caused my drive-thru headsets and timer to malfunction.  At this point anyone would be stressed and irritated. The last thing I wanted to do was sit on the phone with two separate companies, giving all of my information twice, in order for two separate technicians to come out and fix each piece of equipment.

Fortunately one of my shift managers took one of CE’s magnets off the filing cabinet and tossed it to me. Turns out CE repairs and services all major brands of drive-thru systems. Instead of taking up all of my time on two separate phone calls, I was able to have one of their technicians come out and repair both pieces of equipment at the same time. The convenience alone is a great reason to use CE for anything drive-thru related, but what puts them above the rest is their quality of work and the pride they take in the services they perform. Since the electrical outage, I have used CE for a couple of drive-thru headset repairs and to purchase a new drive-thru battery.

Whether it’s for a drive-thru intercom or timer system from 3M, HME, Fast Track or other, CE handles all drive-thru needs.  Their prices are the best in the market that I’ve seen, and their turnaround is the quickest.  There’s a reason why CE is the best, and you can count on me to be a life-long customer.

 

If you have broken drive-thru headsets, belt-pacs, drive-thru battery chargers, or timer systems, everyone knows that CE is the best place to send your drive-thru equipment for repair. But did you know that CE also provides onsite installation and service?

For drive-thru equipment problems that can’t be fixed by troubleshooting with technical support or shipping them for repair, CE has installation and service providers nationwide to help. Here are a few common problems CE technicians can fix onsite:

-Broken loops

-Bad speakers and microphones

-Wiring issues

-Malfunctioning vehicle detector boards

-Installation of base stations and drive-thru timer systems

-And more!

Whether you have HME, Panasonic, 3M, or any other major brand drive-thru equipment, CE is your one-stop shop for all your drive-thru maintenance needs. Don’t need any repairs, but can use a new drive-thru battery or other drive-thru accessories? CE also provides small accessories for all major brands. They even have an online shopping cart for your convenience. Now that’s what I call a full-service company!

Many QSRs have a drawer full of broken drive-thru equipment because they don’t have the time or the money to send it for repair. This can get you in to a pickle if you’re down to your last working headset. What would you do if it happened to break down during lunch rush? With a CE Protection Plan those worries can be a thing of the past.

There are several plans to choose from to fit any budget. Some benefits to having a Protection Plan include:

-Unlimited drive-thru repairs for a low, fixed monthly fee

-No long-term contracts

-Good for any model/any brand headset and timer

-Less downtime in stores

-Quality parts and service

For convenience at its finest, try CE’s premium coverage for headset systems. This provides you with advanced exchange and overnight shipping on base stations, vehicle detector boards, speakers, power adapters and chargers. Also included is advanced exchange on headsets and belt-pacs with second day shipping. Instead of waiting for drive-thru equipment to be shipped, repaired and shipped back to you, CE will send  replacement equipment within one to two days. All you have to do is put your broken equipment in that same box and hand it back to the UPS driver. It doesn’t get easier than that.

If you’re on a tight budget, there are other plans that provide full coverage and include mail-in drive-thru repair of headsets and belt-pacs for a low monthly fee.  

Failing to plan, is planning to fail. Protect yourself with one of CE’s Protection Plans.

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Have you had a situation like this in your drive-thru where the person keeps cutting out, or there is so much static in your headset that you’re having to ask them to repeat their order two or three times? It’s not only frustrating for the customer, but also for the employee taking their order. Most often people think that the headset must be broken, or that there is an issue with the speaker, or that the entire drive-thru system is busted.

There are situations where that is the case, but often times it’s a less severe problem than you think. Here are a few ways to troubleshoot your drive-thru sound quality before wasting time and money sending in equipment that might not be broken.

Try a few different headsets. If the sound quality is clear in any one of them, then you can eliminate the base station and drive-thru speaker post as the cause. Take a headset that sounds clear, remove the battery, and place it into the headset that is not working properly. If that headset now sounds clear, then it could be that you have a battery that is low on juice or is just getting old. Most drive-thru batteries have a manufacture date on the bottom. If the battery is more than two years old it should be recycled and a new one purchased.

Clean the connections with an alcohol pad. If drive-thru equipment isn’t cleaned on a regular basis, then grease build-up occurs and can get into the electronic components. If it gets into the battery compartment, it can interfere with the connection between the battery and headset, causing static and audio cut-outs.  Turn off your headset, take the battery out, and clean the connections with an alcohol wipe where the battery and headset meet.

Move to another area of the store. If your headset only gets static or cuts out in certain areas of the store then there could be an issue with the antennas on the base station. Someone may have removed one of the antennas to adjust something else in the base station and forgot to screw it back in, or when the antennas were screwed in they weren’t tightened down correctly. Unscrew each of the antennas all the way and re-thread them back in, making sure they are secured properly.

If you are still having issues with drive-thru sound quality, call in to our free technical support. Our friendly staff will troubleshoot further to narrow down exactly where the problem is occurring and help you get back up and running in no time.

Have a question about drive-thru equipment repairs? Chances are you’ll find the answer at CE’s online Drive-Thru Repairs FAQs page.

 

Not all questions or problems need a live service technician to resolve.  So we’ve put together a list of frequently asked questions that address common drive-thru repair issues. For example:

 

·         -How do drive-thru maintenance agreements work?

·         -What kind of warranty does CE include with its drive-thru repairs, accessories and systems?

·         -Should you buy a new or refurbished drive-thru system?

·         -What is CE’s return policy on purchased drive-thru equipment?

 

Get the answers to these and more at www.cerepairs.com/drive-thru-faqs.

 

If you can’t find what you’re looking for on our FAQs page, call us at 877-731-0334. Our friendly service representatives will answer any questions you have about drive-thru repairs.

They say if you want something done right, go to the experts. I learned that the hard way when I bought a fast food restaurant with a drive-thru lane. The restaurant came with a great HME headset system, but even the best drive-thru equipment breaks down or wears out over time.

 

At first when I needed drive-thru repairs or service, I tried a local restaurant equipment repair company. Their prices were good, but the workmanship wasn’t. Too often, I had to send equipment back two or three times before they fixed it right.

 

That’s when I learned about CE, the only independent HME factory-approved and trained facility in the U.S. That means you can trust the quality of their workmanship and their replacement parts.

 

Every CE repair starts with a rigorous 35-point inspection. They only use quality manufacturer and aftermarket parts. And they thoroughly test the repaired equipment before sending it back to you. They also give excellent service, often fixing a part with 24 hours of receiving it. Did I mention that their prices are even better than the local repair company I used before?

 

I’ve never had to send anything back to CE after they fixed it, so I don’t go anywhere else for my drive-thru equipment repairs. It provides real peace of mind knowing they will get it right the first time.

 

With the holidays coming up, everyone can use a little extra money. If you’re a first-time CE customer, you can save up to half off any all-in-one headset or belt-pac repair with our new customer special offer.

 

All you have to do is print the coupon, place it in a box with your broken drive-thru equipment, and send it to CE for repairs. The offer is good for all brands, including HME, Panasonic and 3M. You’ll get our convenient same-day service and 4-month warranty. And all our repairs are 100% satisfaction guaranteed.

 

To save even more money, print a UPS return service label and place it on the box for FREE SHIPPING! Simply drop the box off at any authorized UPS service location or give it to your UPS driver.