News

ACSI survey: Drooping QSR customer satisfaction dragging down whole industry's scores

June 25, 2019

The restaurant industry scored a solid B-minus on the latest customer satisfaction rating, down 0.6 percent since last year to 78.9 on a 0-to-100 scale, and the QSR sector appears to be the thing dragging the overall score down, according to the American Customer Satisfaction Index's or ACSI's Restaurant Report 2018-2019.

Full service brands are still scoring high grades with diners, but ACSI said the most marked take-away from the surveys is that the entire industry is remaining relatively stable in terms of customer satisfaction. 

"The restaurant industry faces challenges in everything from staffing shortages to competition from other vendors, like prepared foods from grocers and convenience stores," ACSI Managing Director David VanAmburg, said in a news release about the findings from the company. 

"Overall, foot traffic continues to decline, and restaurants are seeking to grow sales by relying on guests spending more per visit. Restaurants that focus on changing consumer tastes and preferences, however, could see the biggest boost in customer satisfaction."

But off-premise dining may be the big story in the latest. ACSI said that sector of the business is expected to have made up 37% of 2018 restaurant industry sales  when final tallies are made. The company said offering this option even increases full-service brands' satisfaction level, so ACSI speculates that catering and delivery components of the foodservice industry should become even more competitive in the immediate future. 

QSRs

In the QSR sector, the brand whose cows implore customers to "Eat more Chickin'" — Chick-fil-A — led the pack for customer satisfaction, though the fast food sector as a whole fell 1.3% in its rating on this business aspect to a score this year of 79.

Overall guest perceptions of value have fallen, while the customer experience aspect has deteriorated, according to ACSI, partly because the big fast food brands are putting so much of their attention and cash into tech and menu improvements. In fact, even Chick-fil-A fell a percentage point this year in customer satisfaction, even though it leads the fast food category with an 86 grade overall.

The second place went to fast casual brand, Panera Bread, with Arby's, Papa John's, Pizza Hut and another brand that identifies as fast casual, Chipotle, all tied at third place, with 80 scores. The remaining brands in order of place were: 

• Domino's (unchanged), Starbucks (up 1%) and Subway (down 1%) at 79. 
• Dunkin' and KFC (Yum! Brands) score 78.
• Little Caesars and Wendy's(unchanged) score 77.
• Sonic Drive-In and Burger King (unchanged) .
• Jack in the Box and Taco Bell (both up 1%) to 75. 
• McDonald's (unchanged for four years) at 69.

Identified issues in the survey included things like speed and food variety, though the variety of beverages offered was seen as more positive. The ACSI Restaurant Report 2018-2019 is based on interviews with 23,468 customers, chosen at random and contacted via email between June 5, 2018 and May 27, 2019. Customers are asked to evaluate their recent experiences with the largest sit-down and fast food restaurants in terms of market share, plus an aggregate category consisting of "all other" — and thus smaller — restaurants in those industries.