The default prep time averages 14.6 min, but orders actually take a median of 16.4 min (75th percentile: 21.8 min) to prepare and hand off to couriers. This means couriers are dispatched too early and routinely arrive before food is ready — waiting an average of 11.5 min per order. Setting prep times to the p75 of actual prep would cover ~75% of orders with food ready before the courier arrives.
The 12pm–2pm window is your highest-risk period, with 12pm averaging 9.7 min avoidable wait and 1pm averaging 9.3 min. Both hours also have the longest actual prep times (p75: ~25 min) vs. a ~14.8 min prep setting — a gap of over 10 minutes. The dinner window (5pm–9pm) is nearly as bad, with avoidable waits of 8–9 min across those hours.
Monday and Thursday both average 13.0 min courier wait with ~8 min avoidable — the worst days of the week. Wednesday is close behind at 12.5 min. Sunday is your best day at 8.9 min avg wait and only 4.6 min avoidable. The weekend (Fri–Sun) tends to have better prep alignment despite higher order volumes.
Once the courier picks up and drives, delivery averages 16.4 min — reasonable. However, with a std deviation of 10.1 min there is meaningful variation by time of day (15 min at midnight vs. 20 min at 4pm–5pm). The problem is not the drive, it's the kitchen-to-courier handoff. Fixing the prep time setting is the highest-leverage action available.
Bad Hombres Mexican Kitchen averages 24.7 min courier wait with 19.0 min avoidable — far above the portfolio average. While it has only 8 orders in this period, this location needs its prep time setting reviewed urgently. brEggfast Burritos is also elevated at 15.2 min avg wait and 10.0 min avoidable across 84 orders.
The midnight–2am window performs well relative to daytime: 10.5 min wait at midnight, 8.5 min at 1am, and just 7.0 min at 2am — with avoidable wait dropping to only 2.6 min by 2am. Late-night kitchen pace is more predictable and order flow is consistent. Steak & Frites leads all locations at just 8.6 min avg courier wait.
| Hour | Orders | Current Setting | Actual p50 | Actual p75 | Recommended | Avg Courier Wait | Avoidable Wait | Priority |
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| Day | Orders | Current | Actual p75 | Recommended | Avg Wait | Avoidable |
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| Store | Orders | Avg Wait | Avoidable |
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