Chick-fil-A leads limited-service chains in customer satisfaction

Chick-fil-A is the nation’s favorite limited-service restaurant chain, according to a new report.

The chicken chain received the highest score ever given to a limited-service restaurant by the American Customer Satisfaction Index, which released its most recent restaurant findings Tuesday.

Chick-fil-A edged out a number of competitors, including No. 2 Chipotle and No. 3 Panera Bread, in terms of perceived order accuracy, food and beverage quality, restaurant cleanliness and staff helpfulness.

“As the economy improves, consumers with more disposable income—but squeezed for time—want higher-quality ingredients, freshness and better service at a reasonable price…” the report states. “High scores for Chipotle and Panera Bread suggest that consumers think they’re getting a reasonable value for money.”

Texas Roadhouse took top honors in the full-service restaurant category, an area that has seen simplified offerings and shorter menus in recent months, the report notes.

The ASCI, first published in 1994, is updated quarterly. Its recent restaurant report was based on 5,023 customer surveys compiled during the first quarter of 2015. 

Members help make our journalism possible. Become a Restaurant Business member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.

Multimedia

Exclusive Content

Financing

Podcast transcript: Dutch Bros CEO Christine Barone

A Deeper Dive: Here is the transcript for the May 29 podcast with the chief executive of the drive-thru coffee chain, who talks real estate, boba and other topics.

Financing

McDonald's value perception problem is with its lighter users

The Bottom Line: The fast-food giant took the extraordinary step of publicizing average prices this week. It was speaking to its less-frequent customers, who are a lot less likely to say the chain is a good value.

Financing

CEO pay soared last year, despite a volatile period for restaurants

Pay for CEOs at publicly traded restaurants took off last year, but remains lower than average among public companies, even as tenure for the position remains volatile.

Trending

More from our partners