Please Drive Around

Just the other day I was able to buy lunch and mail a letter, all without getting out of my truck, and both transactions took a combined total of three minutes. This is, of course, awesome. (Lazy, I admit, but awesome.) The drive-through window is a wonderful invention, because it allows us to save enormous amounts of time. (Not to mention, with my automotive history the fewer times I have to turn off and then start my car, the better.) I always pick the drive-through when given the option. In fact, when I actually see people inside of a Burger King or any other fast-food restaurant, I find myself wondering what is wrong with their cars. They obviously aren't going in there for the ambiance. Thus, it is no surprise that some business (specifically Dunkin Donuts) have turned some of their locations into exclusively drive-throughs. They have enough room to make the donuts, a window and a register - that's it. I'm willing to bet those locations make the company a ton of money, because since the employees don't have to spend any of their time cleaning up what customers have left behind they only have to worry about serving the person in front of them and can get to more people, thus making more profit.

Ironically, the pioneer of this idea, the Photo Hut, is no longer with us. But I don't blame their business plan, I blame the product. If people still used film in their cameras I'm willing to bet those little huts would still be everywhere. The proof is in how many other services you can do without unfastening your seat belt - it's not just food. You can do drive-though oil changes and prescription pick-ups. Now obviously, with drive-through liquor stores and weddings a real option, some people have taken drive-through availability to an extreme it didn't need to be at. However, that doesn't mean more business shouldn't explore a drive-through option. Because I often know exactly what I am shopping for, I would love it if I could call my order in ahead of time and then swing by to pick things up without hunting for a parking space. (I can obviously have things sent directly to me now, but those come with obscene shipping costs, so I like this idea better.) Going into the holiday season some people claim that their goal is to find presents for everyone without having to fight traffic or set foot inside of a mall. I say within the next five years my goal is getting all my holiday shopping done without having to get out of my truck.

-While we're on the subject of vehicles: I may not like having to get out of my truck to buy things, but that doesn't mean I need my truck to do everything for me. The other day I saw a commercial for a mini-van than featured, among other fancy new options, an air scrubber (which the woman turned on because her dog had bad breath). Now, in a previous post I talked about how sometimes it feels like we're run out of good uses for technology and we add features to items like cars because we can, not because we should. (I believe what got me riled up that day was my new toothbrush feeling the need to be ergonomic for my hand.) This is another example of that. You don't need an air scrubber for your car. Open your windows and drive. That will do a fine job of getting the air circulating and the stink out. And if it doesn't, you don't need an air scrubber, you need to get your dog to the vet.