Murshed Mohamed, the co-founder of DrivU
Doha, Qatar: The drive-thru has become increasingly critical for delivering an effective quick-service restaurant (QSR) experience, especially in Qatar.
Changing consumer eating habits, reliance on cars and the hot weather are some factors that make this model attractive and significant today. Hence, the rising importance of drive-thru has prompted many market leaders in the sector to invest heavily in improving their drive-thru experience.
To enhance the drive-thru service in Qatar and spur customer experience, UAE-based DrivU has recently launched for faster services and real-time tracking.
In an interview with The Peninsula, co-founder of DrivU, Murshed Mohamed, said the company, which recently had a soft opening in Lusail, hopes to add more shops to its service soon with an aggressive advertising strategy in the works. “We chose Qatar because there are many similarities in the customer behaviour and the F&B industry between UAE and Qatar. There is a similarity in shops, customer behaviour, need for car takeaways, and quick ordering – which has become critical,” Mohamed said, banking on the service’s popularity in the UAE to drive the market in Qatar.
“Many people think that it’s laziness that people order from the cars in the region, but it’s more about the weather -- it has become a necessity. In some cases, some people are in a hurry to work; they want something quick and on the go, and this is where it becomes convenient for them,” he stressed.
According to Mohamed, while drive-thrus helps with convenience and speed, he emphasised that DrivU is faster. According to him, DrivU operates around 1,000 active shops, and speed is essential for its model, indicating people have to order on time. The platform allows customers to navigate a list of nearby coffee shops and restaurants based on their location, order, pay for it and even use loyalty cards. Real-time car location tracking alerts restaurants when the customer approaches to pick up their food or beverages, and a staff member will go outside to serve the order, eliminating the need for customers to leave their vehicles.
The service, per Mohamed, would help the retail industry have a drive-through sales channel without complex infrastructure and operational changes. He added that, while regular drive-thru still has value, the effectiveness and range of options of DrivU’s service makes it more desirable.
“When we started in 2017, our competitor was simply consumers calling the shops directly. So we made sure that whatever we do is ten times better than that. We offer consumers more options and visualisation, showing them what is trending. “Besides the options, consumers can select every aspect of their order, how they want to be served and clarity.”
While drive-thrus are typically associated with fast-food chains, they’re not the only venues that can benefit from the DrivU platform. Independent restaurants and other sectors can also take advantage of DrivU services, which is part of Mohamed’s plans to expand in the region. “We want to expand more in Qatar and into more markets. The plan is to cover every single coffee shop, restaurant and sector within the F&B. Soon, this geographical expansion would saturate the market with the supply that customers need, but that would depend on what the country requires,” Mohamed said.
