I live in Kenya, and while we obviously have drive-thru fast food, the idea that you can pick up prescription medication, withdraw cash from a bank, or even buy alcohol without ever leaving the driver's seat of your car seems completely wild to me.
Is this actually a normal part of your everyday routine? Do you ever actually walk inside a physical bank or pharmacy anymore, or is the drive-thru the default option for most people?
34 comments
Yes, they are used. And also not unique to the US…
How is this mind-blowing? You drive your car to the bank… why do you “need” to get out to go up to an ATM?
Just another mild convenience. I use them sporadically
Drive-thru pharmacies are perfectly normal. Drive-through banks are also normal, although more and more people do fully virtual banking and never actually visit a physical bank.
Drive-through liquor stores are limited to a couple specific states and are not the norm.
Why would I want to walk into a bank or pharmacy if I don’t have to?
Pharmacies and ATMs absolutely.
Liquor stores are more novelty.
I’ve never used a liquor store drive-thru because I never know what I want and I like browsing, but I literally never go physically inside of pharmacies or ATMs unless the drive-thru line is unreasonably long. Why would you bother getting out of your car for those things when you don’t need to?
When i lived in Wisconsin, which gets very cold and snowy in the winters, drive thru ATMs and prescription pickup made sense because i didn’t have to go out in the cold to get cash. Being able to get your prescription without going inside the pharmacy is also good for when you’re sick and probably infectious- you can keep your germs inside your car without infecting the pharmacist or the other customers in the pharmacy.
There are no drive-through liquor stores where I live. The rest are normal, though
Liquor store drive-throughs are so the Southern Baptists can get a drink without seeing anybody they know inside.
Drive through liquor stores are very much a regional thing (we don’t have them where I live) but the other two are quite ubiquitous.
Only one that is kinda a novelty is the liquor store one, but even then they are common enough that most people have heard of them.
As for the other two, they are quick easy transactions. What’s the difference if you are sitting in a car or you go in?
Used all the time.
Use these frequently. The “drive through” is what we call them in Ohio where you can buy alcohol. It’s more apt to think of it as a convenience store with an attendant that comes to your window as you’re driving through. They also tend to offer all kinds of stuff as well like drinks, ice, and even cigarettes.
“Novelty” makes it sound like they’re useless or pointless when they’re not. They’re a convenience that some people utilize and some people don’t.
Parking and going into a bank definitely takes longer than a drive thru if all I’m doing is using the ATM.
I don’t normally use drive thru pharmacies because I use the pharmacy at my grocery store, so it’s easier to pick up stuff inside while I’m also doing my grocery shopping
They wouldn’t exist if people didn’t use them. I go to liquor stores with drive thrus but I never use the drive thru. Other people do use it. I occasionally use the one at the pharmacy. I will use the ATM from my car and some other banking.
It all depends on the person and situation. Definitely not a novelty but definitely not universal.
Even in rural areas we have drive thru pharmacies and drive through ATMs
I love drive through everything and use it any time it’s available. We have drive through liquor stores and gas stations too. My local DMV used to have a drive through.
My dispensary is a drive thru. It’s fantastic!
I’ve never used a drive through liquor store because I like to peruse before I buy, but pharmacies and ATMs all the time.
I’ve seen drive-thru pharmacies and ATMs, never seen drive-thru liquor stores, although I’m not surprised they exist.
Maybe it’s because I’m American, but I’m not sure why it’s so mind blowing.
A drive-thru pharmacy to pick up a prescription is common but you’re not doing it to pick up random medication, only what your doctor has prescribed. I’ve used them occasionally but prefer to go inside.
Drive-thru ATMs are common and I’ve use them often.
Drive-thru liquour stores are less common ime because they’re not legal in the states I’ve lived in.
I’m at a pharmacy drive thru right now actually
Pharmacy drive thrus and banks only SEEM convenient, in my experience. It’s sorta easier to stay in your car, but I feel like it usually takes longer.
In Las Vegas there are drive-through weddings! 😊
You obviously understand why drive-thru fast food is popular. Is it really so strange that other drive-thru services would be appealing and convenient?
Drive-up ATMs & pharmacies are especially popular with parents of young children. It’s a hassle to keep getting babies in & out of car safety seats. Once the kids are old enough to handle booster seats & safety belts themselves, it’s easier.
Drive-thru banking preceded the ATM. You used to be able to deposit or cash checks by putting them into a tube, which would be sucked inside where a teller would complete your transaction and send you the receipt or cash.
I believe part of the reason was security: it could be watched easily and the customer has the added safety of staying in their car. Good if they had a quantity of cash.
I don’t use them but they are convenient for people who have trouble getting in and out of cars for simple “let me pick up one thing” trips. That includes:
• disabled people
• senior citizens
• moms with kids
• anyone with literally only 15 minutes to spare to take care of personal errands
I use a lot of drive thrus, especially pharmacies and banking. I am in a wheelchair so it is so much faster and easier.
My goal is to never leave my car if possible. Just got my grocery order, dinner and prescriptions via 3 different drive thrus or pickup. Never exited my vehicle.
Drive-thru pharmacies are CLUTCH when you have a screaming child with an ear infection or when you yourself are quite ill. You can pick up your kid’s antibiotics without having to get out of the car, subject the whole store to screaming, and wrestle the kid back into the car. And when I’m sick I can avoid giving the whole store my flu virus or whatever.
Most banks have closed access to regular banking requests forcing users to use the drive through atm machines. So yes this is very normal now.
Drive through pharmacies are a blessing for those that have suffered an injury or have trouble walking. Absolutely yes this is a thing. They still check your identity with ID and most have screens to have a conversation with the pharmacists.
I’ve never seen a drive through liquor store so I can’t answer that one.
True story: I grew up in a tiny town in Oklahoma. 600 people. There was a local bank with several branches that decided to put one in our tiny town. Our populace really couldn’t support a bank branch when there was another just 20 miles away near a shopping area, so it closed.
The building was purchased by a large funeral home as our local “branch.” They kept the bank drive through and converted it to a drive through casket viewing.
They would announce on the exterior sign who would be viewed that day, and their elderly family members could drive through, press the bell, and the drapes would open to a beautifully lit deceased in their casket.
That funeral home lasted about 10 years, closing sometime in the late 90s.
Drive thru pharmacies are helpful for elderly people or people with mobility issues or even people who are busy but need their prescription medications. Same thing with banks. Sometimes people have trouble walking but can get into a car just fine.