For the first time, Americans are spending more money eating out than they are on groceries, a new report finds, and better-quality fast food is behind customers’ preference.
8. (tie)
KFC’s customer satisfaction ranking is up 7 percent. The chain surged past Pizza Hut into 10th place, tying with Domino’s and Chipotle with a score of 78 out of 100.
(Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
8. (tie)
Domino’s Pizza’s customer satisfaction ranking is up 4 percent.
(Getty Images)
Getty Images
8. (tie)
Chipotle was the only limited-service restaurant in the top 10 whose ranking dropped — 6 percent, in the wake of its food-safety problems.
(WTOP File)
WTOP File
5. (tie)
Subway’s customer-satisfaction ranking rose 4 percent, tying Dunkin’ Donuts and Arby’s at 80 out of 100.
(Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images
5. (tie)
Dunkin’ Donuts rose 3 percent in the customer satisfaction rankings.
(Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images
5. (tie)
Arby’s customer satisfaction ranking went up 8 percent. (Photo by Neilson Barnard/Getty Images for Arby’s Restaurant Group Inc.)
(Getty Images for Arby's Restaurant Group Inc./Neilson Barnard)
Getty Images for Arby's Restaurant Group Inc./Neilson Barnard
3. (tie)
Panera Bread crept up 1 percent in the rankings.
(Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images
3. (tie)
Little Caesars leapt up 9 percent in the ACSI customer-satisfaction rankings. Little Caesars and Panera Bread each scored 81 out of 100, tying with the aggregate of all restaurants not listed separately.
(WTOP/File)
WTOP/File
2.
The customer-satisfaction ranking for Papa John’s went up 5 percent, to 82 out of 100, but it wasn’t quite enough to reach the top spot.
(Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images
1.
Chick-fil-A’s customer-service ranking went up 1 percent in 2016, to 87 out of 100, and it kept its title easily, by 5 points over second-place Papa John’s.
(Photo by Andrew Renneisen/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON — Fast-food restaurants are catching up to sit-down establishments in customer satisfaction, and better-quality fast food ingredients are behind customers’ preference, an annual report finds.
The American Customer Satisfaction Index, released Wednesday, finds that satisfaction at what they call full-service restaurants still slightly outpaces those at limited-service operations, but the gap has closed — limited-service restaurants rose 2.6 percent to 79 on the ACSI’s 100-point scale, while full-service restaurants slid 1.2 percent to 81.
Claes Fornell, the chairman and founder of ACSI, said in a statement, “Americans are now spending more money dining out than shopping for groceries. Fast food restaurants appear to be capitalizing on this trend more than full-service restaurants, maintaining the lower prices and speedy service that has long defined the industry, while also appealing to health-conscious consumers via more diverse offerings and higher-quality ingredients.”
Chick-fil-A retained its title as the limited-service restaurant with the highest customer satisfaction, with a ranking of 87 out of 100. The only limited-service restaurant in the top 10 to fall in customer satisfaction was Chipotle. Its problems with food-borne illness dropped its ranking 6 percent.
McDonald’s was at the bottom of the restaurants ranked by ACSI, but even its score went up 3 percent, from 67 out of 100 to 69.
Have a look at the top 10 limited-service restaurants and how their scores changed from last year.
The ACSI report is based on 4,786 customer surveys collected in March 2016. The complete report can be downloaded free.
Rick Massimo came to WTOP, and to Washington, in 2013 after having lived in Providence, R.I., since he was a child. He's the author of "A Walking Tour of the Georgetown Set" and "I Got a Song: A History of the Newport Folk Festival."
