Taco Bell Rewards
Drive-Thru Check-In
Overview
Extending digital loyalty into the physical drive-thru, giving customers a frictionless way to check in and earn, while equipping team members with real-time context to personalize every interaction.
The Challenge
Rewards lived in the app. The drive-thru didn't know you existed.
Customer gap
No seamless way to identify themselves or redeem benefits when ordering at the drive-thru.
Team member gap
No visibility into loyalty status, tier, or rewards, so personalization wasn't possible.
Research & Discovery
Designing for two audiences simultaneously
Service design workshops aligned the guest and team member experiences, ensuring the technology fit the existing order flow without disruption.
Audited existing POS workflows to identify where loyalty interactions could layer in with minimal cognitive load for team members.
Customer needs
Fast, code-based check-in
Link Rewards account to an order without extra apps, downloads, or complex steps.
Team member needs
Just-in-time context
Tier, name, and eligible rewards at the right moment, not buried in a separate system.
Design Execution
Consistent from app to POS to drive-thru board
Customer check-in screen
Clear visual hierarchy for codes, rewards, and tier, scannable in the seconds a drive-thru allows.
POS enhancements
Name, tier, and eligible rewards surfaced in the order flow, no tab-switching required.
DMB parity
Real-time confirmation on the Drive-Thru Menu Board, what the customer sees matches what the team member sees.
Fallback & error states
Retry flows for failed check-ins so team members could recover gracefully without slowing the line.
Tiered offer screens
Deep reward menus for tier-specific offers, e.g. choosing from an entire drink menu, not a single item.
Flexible POS navigation
Exit the loyalty flow and return to the main POS at any moment, critical for high-volume service.
Outcome & Impact
Loyalty that travels with the customer — everywhere they order
Customer engagement
Extended Rewards into a real-world context, bridging the gap between the app and in-store experience.
Personalized service
Team members could greet by name and highlight tier-specific offers directly at the window.
Reduced cognitive load
Only essential info surfaced at key moments, minimizing training and driving faster team member adoption
New data opportunity
Tied loyalty activity to in-store transactions for first-ever cross-channel visibility into customer behavior.
Future considerations
AI-driven upsell recommendations based on individual order history and loyalty tier.
Iteration roadmap targeting V5 POS implementation.
Takeaways
What this project reinforced
Bridge the digital-physical gap
Loyalty only retains its power if it follows the customer beyond the app.
Both audiences matter equally
Team member usability is as critical as the customer experience.
Ops constraints shape design
In QSR, speed and accuracy are design requirements, not nice-to-haves.
© Joshua Miller 2025