The Taco Bell Defy is a concept that focuses on the quick customer service aspects of a fast food restaurant. In doing this, they improved service times to two minutes or less and reduced customer contact with employees by creating a two-story Taco Bell. The lower level has three lanes for the customers to pick up their food, and the second story is for employees to cook the food and send the order down by elevator. Each lane consists of an automated conveyor machine that distributes orders, with a conventional drive-thru and three other online pick-up lines. Taco Bell Defy is currently located in Brooklyn Park, MN and is the only one in the world. 

Upon my first look at the restaurant, it appeared similar to what a conventional bank looks like. But as I arrived at the drive-thru, I noticed that there was no dining room accessible to customers. My experience at the drive-thru seemed normal until I stopped at the window. The food I ordered had come down on an elevator to the employee working the drive-thru.

Unfamiliar with the Taco Bell menu, I decided to order the fan favorites: the Crunchwrap Supreme, Baja Blast, and Nacho Fries to end it off — that and a dollar menu item so that I could order for the pick-up line.

The Crunchwrap Supreme came in a plastic cover and left an oil stain. Although the impression and looks of it were bad, my first taste of it was rejuvenating. The mix of the different layers consisting of meat, cheese, veggies and sauces had a delightful crunch. Despite the satisfying taste of the food, the process of eating it did not have quite the elegance. Sauces continued to spill out of the bag and caused a mess, which was a definite major downside.

My two sides were by far better than my main entrée. I preferred the Baja Blast and my Nacho fries due to their lack of sogginess and the satisfaction they brought. The two sides complemented each other fantastically, as I would munch on the fries and take a sip of my drink. It was a perfect combo.

I never got the full experience of Taco Bell’s concept of Defy by observing the single-lane drive-thru, so I continued the circle around the restaurant to create an online pick-up order. Shortly after, my food was ready to be picked up, and I got into one of the three pick-up lines, which were all empty.  

The process needed to go through to pick up my food was confusing. The QR code scanner was finicky as I showed my order. After no success in multiple attempts of scanning, I resorted to manually typing in my order number. The order line seemed more accessible to larger vehicles as it was difficult to use the directories throughout the line, causing more of a hassle to pick up my food. Finally reaching the food elevator, I waited for about five minutes until my food scaled down on the platform.

Nearing the end of my experience with this new concept of Taco Bell, I felt weary of how this is expected to fan out in the future. I felt sad after buying my food because I never got to talk to anybody besides the single lane with an employee. I like the concept of customer service and interacting with somebody before spending your money to eat. 

Despite the lackluster process of the highly anticipated Taco Bell’s Defy pick-up, the experience was fun and unique. I believe the concept could be great in the sense of a social distancing environment, such as for COVID-19, due to their human interaction limitation. Overall, the Taco Bell Defy deserves a 3.2 / 5.

Verdict: 3.2/5