Top fast-food, full-service restaurants for customer satisfaction named in new ACSI survey
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
When it comes to their favorite fast-food chain, consumers keep clucking about Chick-fil-A, a new survey finds.
The chicken-sandwich chain maintained its lead to emerge as the favorite chain by a comfortable margin over second-place Panera Bread, finds the American Customer Satisfaction Index's Restaurant Report 2018.
Texas Roadhouse outpolled Cracker Barrel and LongHorn Steakhouse, both in a second-place tie, among full-service restaurants. And Pizza Hut and Papa John's came up even among pizza chains.
This year, the survey is based on interviews with 22,500 customers who are asked about quality of products, services and satisfaction with more than 380 companies in 46 industries and 10 economic sectors, ACSI says.
Measured on a scale from zero to 100 points, with 100 being the best, both categories scored restaurants on food accuracy; waitstaff behavior; food quality; beverage quality; restaurant cleanliness and layout; food variety; beverage variety; and website satisfaction.
Chick-fil-A was ranked 87 for the third year in a row. After Panera Bread at 81 came Subway at 80 and Arby's at 79.
Pizza Hut had the largest gain in its ACSI category with a 5 percent jump in customer satisfaction. Pizza Hut, under Yum! Brands wing, underwent changes that included a new rewards program and improvements in equipment, technology and marketing.
Tags
Who is online
93 visitors
I've never been in a Chick-fil-A in my life and prolly never will, but good for them.
Thank you for your honest and civil comment.
I haven't either, though I use to have one less than a mile from my house. Now I'm 12-15 miles from the nearest fast food chain and no chic filet anywhere.
I'm not a fast food fan. So I am not going to seek them out.
Me neither, plus I live pretty rural as well so options are pretty limited (an A&W and a KFC). I'd have to drive an hour and a half to see the nearest McDonald's or Wendy's.
Never been to one either. Nor a Panera Bread. Papa Johns pizza sucks, so I don't know why it is rated as well as it is.
Odd survey though. 2nd in both categories is 'all others'.
I recently went to a Panera Bread for the first time and was pleasantly surprised with the food quality, customer service, and very reasonable prices. I ordered a bowl of French Onion soup and a "tweaked" order of Chicken Tortellini Alfredo ... approximately $13.00 for a very filling, delicious meal!
Good to know, because I've never been to one. We get our pizza from a local, family-owned restaurant.
It is better than fast food for lunch, but it isn't something that I would ever look forward to. Their bread and pasty items aren't baked in the location. They taste day old to me.
We actually don't have a Panera Bread my my area. I only see them when I travel.
What I didn't like about Papa Johns was the crust (or dough). It was like cardboard. I wish we had a good pizza joint. We only have the chains so I don't get pizza very often.
Lol I've never even seen either of those places (or truthfully a Chick-fil-A)
Love French Onion soup especially with a good thick layer of real cheese on top and over flowing a bit down the sides
We live in the 'home of pizza and wings'. Not sure how Pizza Hut and Domines survives. We don't even have a papa johns local. There is literally pizza joints everywhere around here.
Same here. When you can get a chicken sandwich anywhere, why settle for one made by a bigoted corporation?
I was there once in the late 1990s and don't see what the big deal was. It wasn't good.
It sounds really good:
This recipe is a little different:
I've never eaten at a Chick fil A. But that's not unusual, I rarely if ever eat at fast food restaurants of any kind.
Just not my kind of food.
Same here. Finding insects or their body parts in my food is simply not that appetizing.
And as you say, it is just not my kind of food. Not many fast food places provide Fry Bread.
You'd be surprised by what goes in the kitchens of some of the "better" restaurants.
This is very true. One of my sons interned in Front of House positions at some upscale restaurants. The stories he told us about what Back of House did - It's worse than kitchen staff not wearing gloves, spitting on food, or picking up dropped food from dirty floors and re-plating it. Appalling!
Not at all. I worked for a very well to do restaurant on the San Diego bay many years ago and I got a good education of what their kitchens have running around in it and how careless the staff are. Even though I was allowed one meal a day there from their menu, I would never eat there. I brought my own food from home. I would not even drink the water there. I brought my own water jug with me every day.
That's why I never eat out.
Same here. A lot of people eat at them (with their children) several times a week, though. Most of the meals at some fast food places aren't very healthful (lots of fat, carbs, sugar). Folks don't realize that it's easy and less costly to make meals at home.
You never outgrow your need for "grease". If I am out and about and need to refuel, I'll get a couple MD cheeseburgers, or a Whopper if I'm really hungry.
And a lot more healthy as well. I don't care for fried foods or the heavy greasy kind either. I'm pretty strict on what I eat and it's isn't a chore for me, I've done it for so long that it's second nature. And no, I'm not a vegetarian.
Isn't "grease" part of the essential food groups? You know, the "grease" group, the "cholesterol"group, the "sugar" group and the "beer" group.
You and I are definitely on the same page with this.
Neither am I. I've always eaten a lot of fresh vegetables and fruits, beans, whole grains (the good ones, unprocessed), nuts (unsalted, mostly cardio-friendly almonds and walnuts), and other non-meats.
My one, rare indulgence is a single scoop of ice cream. My cardiologist told me that as long as I keep active and my (hereditary) cholesterol levels remain within normal ranges, it's OK.
You're lucky that the cholesterol monster hasn't invaded your body!
Sounds a lot like my diet...I also eat a fair amount of fish and when I have red meat it's buffalo or venison. When I have sausage for breakfast (one of my indulgences) it's buffalo shoulder ground with pork...It's really tasty.
Buffalo (bison) is very good. I've had venison, but still haven't developed a liking for it.
I haven't tried that, but I'm sure I'd like it. To cut down on fat (cholesterol), I've replaced those greasy "Italian" sausages from supermarkets with my local farm's chicken sausages. They raise the chickens and prepare the sausages on site.
And you don't know how old the grease they cook with is and it can taste a bit rancid if it is too old.
Like you, I like certain foods that fast food and restaurants don't normally have. And Fry Bread is a must.
If you are ever in SF CA, check out Tommy's. They are famous for their buffalo stew.
Based on personal experience, I can't disagree with the survey. Great customer service is not an accident. It's intentional and it comes from the top down. You hire the best people and you insist on certain attitudes and behaviors. Chick fil-a has a corporate mission to be involved with their community and provide the best customer service. That's why Chick fil-a consistently tops this list. Oh, and the chicken is pretty good, too.
Humble Beginnings: How Truett Cathy’s Love for Customers Grew From a Coke and Smile
If I was still eating fast food, I would check this place out just to see if they live up to the hype. I have had a funny side effect from a recent bout of severe food poisoning (lost 60 lbs so far). I have completely lost my desire for sugar, booze, and fast food, the three things I had almost daily before.
Ooohooo that is really sad to hear Paula. I hope you are feeling better. That stuff is hard to recover from. Take your time and don't rush it.
If it got those three monkeys off of my back, it was worth it.
I prefer In'N'Out, but both are good.
Hilarious CHik fil a song
I love how people are rating their favorite fast food restaurant. It's like discussing which dumpster has the tastiest garbage.
It seems that an unidentified moderator unlocked this seed last night after I locked it. How do I know this? Two reasons:
Jasper, that might have been a glitch from the site melt down. There are several malfunctions going on around the site.