News

Fast food customer satisfaction remains unchanged, but high

June 20, 2017

There weren't too many surprises for fast food operators in the latest American Customer Satisfaction Index, a national poll on the quality of an entire range of goods and services sold to Americans. 

Overall customer satisfaction remained at last year's level, at 79. That's high, relative to other sectors like full-service dining, which suffered a real blow in the most current ratings. But fast food has remained relevant because chains are responding to customer demands for better ingredients and faster service while keeping prices low, a news release said. 

The top players also have remained fairly stable: Chick-fil-A leads satisfaction scores with an 87, followed by Panera, which rose 1 percent from the last poll and is now tied with Papa John's at 82. In the pizza category, Papa John's remained the leader, followed by Little Caesars (down 4 percent to 78), Domino's (unchanged at 78), and Pizza Hut (down 1 percent to 76). 

Among sandwich-makers, Panera Bread remains on top — up 1 percent to 82. Subway is also up 1 percent to 82, while Arby's is unchanged at 80. Meanwhile, Chipotle is recovering from its sharp drop in last year's in survey — up 1 percent to 79 — followed by Taco Bell (up 1 percent to 76) in the Mexican category. 

Dunkin' Donut remains on top for coffee brands, though it dropped 1 percent this year to 79, and is still followed closely by Starbucks, which rose 3 pointsto 77.

Hamburger chains are still well below the industry average for customer satisfaction. Category leadership changed, as Burger King topped Wendy's for the first time in 20 years, rising 1 percent to 77. Wendy's was unchanged at 76, followed by Jack in the Box, up a percent to 75. At the bottom of brands polled sits the industry patriarch, McDonald's, at 69. 

The poll is based on more than 5,500 customer surveys conducted between June 2016 and May 2017. The report is available here for free download.