Drive-Throughs Thriving in Land of Smog

Southern California. It’s the land that put personal fitness trainers on the map. It’s where health clubs are as predominant as red ants. And where virtually every resident purports to either jog, bike, swim, surf or ski.

It may seem ironic, then, to note that Southern Californians so hate to step out of their cars that they may be turning this into the drive-through capital of the world.

Los Angeles-based Security Pacific National Bank maintains that it has the largest drive-through automated teller network in the nation, with about 300 lanes. We have drive-through dry cleaners, drive-through photo shops, drive-up firewood peddlers, drive-in car washes, drive-through supermarkets and drive-through dairies. Not to mention drive-through windows for any number of fast-food joints.

And that’s just the formal drive-through market. Chances are you can grab a sack of produce while swinging onto the freeway; buy a T-shirt, pillow, rug or bean chair by shouting out your car window. And on warm Friday nights, it is a rare intersection that doesn’t have a flower peddler on the corner.

Of course, there is no Drive-Through Society of America tabulating the preponderance of no-stop doughnut shops state-by-state so it is impossible to verify that this is, indeed, where more drive-throughs call home than anywhere else. But tell me another state where you can get a flu shot while signaling for a left-hand turn. (Hospitals in both Pomona and Newport Beach have provided drive-through flu shots during peak flu season.)

Of course, this buy-on-the-go mentality has its detriments. The South Coast Air Quality Management District estimates that our use of drive-throughs causes 14.8 billion tons of carbon monoxide to be spilled into our already toxic air each and every day. The district even considered banning the construction of new drive-throughs in Los Angeles, Orange and Riverside counties but abandoned the plan after intense protests by Southern California business owners.

Why Californians are so hesitant to leave their cars is anyone’s guess. Some think its because we spend so much time in our cars. Others maintain that Californians just have more to do, so we’re in a bigger hurry than our counterparts in other states.

“Going to the drive-through leaves you more time to go to the gym,” suggests Debbie Lewis, a spokeswoman for Security Pacific.

Still others maintain that this is simply where consumers demand--and get--more convenience from their vendors.

“California generally does lead the way when it comes to making routine services more convenient,” said Nancy Grant, a partner at the Fairfax, Va.-based consulting firm of Grant & Bochicchio.

But the real answer may be simple competition. There are roughly 2 million businesses currently incorporated in California, according to the secretary of state’s office. Dozens more incorporate each day. And when it comes to spending power, the Los Angeles-Long Beach metropolitan areas are top notch. According to a survey in Sales & Marketing Management magazine, Angelenos have more discretionary income than residents of any other area, including New York and Chicago.

That helps make Southern California one of the most competitive markets around, said Jack Kyser, chief economist with the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce.

Proprietors of drive-throughs maintain that they have an edge on the competition. Their customers, they say, are often willing to drive miles out of their way just to avoid a walk.

“Some of our customers live in the (San Fernando) Valley or Marina del Rey, but they come here because it is very convenient,” said John You, owner of Golden Glo Dry Cleaners in West Los Angeles. “People don’t want to move much. Here they just hand over their clothes from their car and that’s it.”

Meanwhile, Loraine Boland, a vice president at Wells Fargo Bank, says drive-up automated tellers are far more popular than their walk-up counterparts. She estimates that drive-up machines are used 10% to 20% more than walk-up machines at the very same branch.

“It definitely increases our sales by having the drive-up capability,” added David Bogacz, yard manager at California Firewood Sales in Sun Valley. “There are a lot of people who want to just sit in their car and have someone load their firewood for them. I’d say 50% of our business is from people who just want to stay in their car.”

The point, Kyser said, is that businesses with a gimmick--or a niche--are more likely to succeed than those that don’t differentiate themselves.