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Sliding Drive-Thru

 "Ya'll need to move that building over this way a little bit."
 
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I got this idea today when I was taking money at the drive-thru and an elderly man, who had driven up too far from the window, commented: "Ya'll need to move that building over this way a little bit." That's when the idea hit me.

I propose that the window, counter, and a few feet of floor be on a moveable platform. When the window is opened, the floor/window automatically telescopes the perfect distance, right out to the car. Imagine a telescoping camper.

An ultra-sonic detector would keep the window from bumping into the car. The floor/window would start to slide back in again when the window was closed, or when the car started to move again, as a safety feature. If a hasty attendant opens the window before the car comes to a complete stop, the system would wait to until it was stopped to move. The seal would be a folding accordion type deal, like used on passenger trains to connect cars.

—fogfreak, Aug 17 2003

RV slideout http://www.barkermf...de_out_systems.html
[lurch, Oct 05 2004, last modified Oct 17 2004]

Drive-Thru Bank Transaction Drawer http://alliancesecu...p.com/products.html
Click on the Deal Drawer button from the site home page. Loads relatively slowly. [jurist, Oct 05 2004, last modified Oct 17 2004]


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Annotation:







       As you point out, [fogfreak], this isn't exactly new technology. Captain Piccard of the Enterprise would simply say, "Make it so".   

       I'm sure increased sales will justify the nominal physical cost within the very first year. But, as a sidenote, consider losing the "seal" portion of your description: A tight, weatherproof seal is not necessary to complete the food for money transaction and I personally think it would be more intimidating than encouraging to a profitable exchange.
—jurist, Aug 17 2003
   

       Might it be cheaper to have a conveyor belt outside the window,and scooch cars toward you on that, instead? Though admittedly, there would be drawbacks:
1: Even the tiniest nudges would leave you open to whiplash- and spilled-hot-beverage-lawsuits.
2: Soon, most american cars will actually weigh more than a McDonalds restaurant, thus making it cheaper to, "Move that building," as your dazzlingly stupid customer suggested.
3: It wouldn't have the same "Bond villain secret lair" panache.
—friendlyfire, Aug 17 2003
   

       instead of a open window thing to take transactions, for the small amout of crap drivers, have a door.   

       teller person can just simply move their arse to the car. perhaps a surcharge for the inconvinence
—wobbly, Aug 17 2003
   

       I honestly thought this involved Helter-Skelter.
—thumbwax, Aug 17 2003
   

       [wobbly] We're talking about a foot, not a yard.
—fogfreak, Aug 17 2003
   

       Shouldn't be any more difficult than a slideout on an RV (see link)
—lurch, Aug 17 2003
   

       Thanks, [lurch], that's what I was talking about.
—fogfreak, Aug 17 2003
   

       So, this window would be navigable much the same as a jetway at (insert your local airport here)? Very Bakable...   

       As mentioned... the technology exists, but as much as I'm aware of, the application does not.   

       (+)
—X2Entendre, Aug 17 2003
   

       Of course, banks with drive-thru window operations solved this problem very simply several decades ago. [Link] I don't know why the exact same extendible drawer device wouldn't work for a fast food operation. In fact, in a reverse engineering of this concept, I know of a Tim Horton's Restaurant with a drive-thru window that went out of business and subsequently became a small satellite bank branch with a drive-thru window.
—jurist, Aug 18 2003
   

       I feel the urge to post the obligatory "why are Americans too lazy to get out of their cars?" comment, but will desist as it is an old, old argument.
—suctionpad, Aug 18 2003
   

       //A tight, weatherproof seal is not necessary to complete the food for money transaction//   

       Not according to Mukluk, my Innuit friend. He's seen some of those Southern hunters get awfully lonely.
—UnaBubba, Aug 18 2003
   

       (Ba-dum tish!)
—friendlyfire, Aug 18 2003
   

       I was also tempted to make a comment similar to [suctionpad]'s, but then it occurred to me that this might well speed up the servicing of drive-thrus. (When people pull up too far from the window, often they fumble with their money or try to get out of the car, gumming up the works).   

       Anyhow, since cars idling in drive-thrus contribute to greenhouse gases without getting anywhere, anything that speeds up the process is a good thing for us all. +
—krelnik, Aug 18 2003
   


 

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