McDonald's — Drive-Thru Window Film in Delaware & the Maryland Eastern Shore
A rolling multi-location program: solar control film on drive-thru and service-side glass across 20+ restaurants, installed after hours so no location lost a single service window.
- Locations served
- 20+
- Install window
- After hours
- Program type
- Multi-location rollout
Project snapshot
- Client
- McDonald's franchise locations
- Region
- Delaware and the Maryland Eastern Shore
- Sector
- Quick-service restaurants
- Scope
- Drive-thru and service-side glass, 20+ locations
- Application
- Solar heat and glare control
- Scheduling
- After-hours installation, zero closures
PDF case study
McDonald's franchise locations — project documentation
Shareable one-page summary of the scope, products and finished work.
The challenge
Drive-thru glass is the worst-conditioned glass in a quick-service restaurant: west- and south-facing, opened and closed hundreds of times a shift, with a crew member standing directly in the sun line for the entire afternoon rush.
The operational constraint was harder than the technical one. These restaurants do not close. Any solution that required daytime downtime at the drive-thru window was a non-starter across 20+ locations.
Multi-location work also has to be repeatable. A franchise group needs the same film, the same finish, and the same result at every store — not a different answer per site.
Project objectives
- Reduce solar heat and direct glare at drive-thru and service positions
- Improve working conditions for crew at the window during peak afternoon sun
- Deliver an identical specification and finish at every location
- Complete every install with zero loss of service hours
Why this solution
Solar control film is the only practical retrofit here. The glass can't be shaded, can't be replaced store by store on an operating schedule, and can't have anything added that interferes with a window that opens hundreds of times a day.
One specification across the portfolio means every store gets the same appearance and the same performance, and the franchise group gets one answer instead of twenty.
Because film is a same-day, per-opening install, an entire location can be completed inside a single overnight window.
Installation approach
- 1
Each location was surveyed to confirm glass type, orientation, and opening count before scheduling.
- 2
Crews mobilized after close and completed each restaurant overnight — glass cleaned, film installed, and the space returned to service condition before opening.
- 3
Locations were sequenced across the region so the program rolled through the portfolio without ever putting two nearby stores out of rhythm at once.
- 4
The same film and the same install standard were carried across every site so the result is consistent store to store.
Results
- Solar control film installed at 20+ McDonald's locations
- Heat and glare reduced at drive-thru and service positions
- Zero closures and zero lost service hours — every install completed after hours
- One consistent specification and finish across the entire portfolio
McDonald's franchise locations — frequently asked questions
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