New Survey: Chick-fil-A tops list of America’s favorite fast food restaurants
Overcoming protests, outrage over their conservative Christian stance, Chick-fil-A sits atop of the new list of America’s favorite fast food restaurants. Making headlines, McDonald’s sits on the bottom.
The annual American Consumer Satisfaction index polled 70,000 people for their opinions on various consumer offerings, including fast food. In its first year on the index, the Christian-run sandwich chain debuted at the top.
At the bottom was McDonald’s, recently attacked over the quality of their non-healthy food.
Chick-fil-A scored 86 out of 100 on the index, second was Chipotle, another newcomer, the burrito chain scored an 83. Trailing Chipotle in the index was Panera with a score of 80.
Rounding out the top six were pizza chain Papa John’s and Pizza Hut along with Dunkin’ Donuts, all of which scored 78.
Chick-fil-a stood out both because it blew away its fast food competition and because it beat out every full service chain in this year’s ACSI.
“It is laser focused on a particular product,” said Forrest Morgeson, director of research at ACSI, on why he believes Chick-fil-A tops the lift. “It focuses on one thing and does it exceptionally well … and that is chicken sandwiches.”
“All those companies down at bottom [of the list] have been around for a very long time, they just aren’t as fresh any more in the mind of the consumer, just not exciting,” said Morgeson.
Dunkin’ Donuts came out ahead of Starbucks. Dunkin’ Donuts’ customer satisfaction increased 4%, while Starbucks experienced a 3% drop.
“They are expanding into new markets … reaching new consumers” Morgeson said about Dunkin Donuts. “They have freshened up their brand a little bit and improved their perception of quality and are still price competitive.”
Gay marriage supporters targeted the company for their traditional marriage stance, organizing protests and boycotts. Equal and opposite was support for the company, which obviously have recovered well from the backlash.
Full list:
1) Chick-fil-A — 86
2) Chipotle Mexican Grill — 83
3) All Others — 81
4) Panera Bread — 80
5) Papa John’s — 78
5) Pizza Hut — 78
5) Dunkin’ Donuts — 78
8) Subway — 77
9) Domino’s — 75
10) Little Caesars — 74
10) Starbucks — 74
10) Arby’s — 74
13) Wendy’s — 73
13) KFC — 73
15) Burger King — 72
15) Taco Bell — 72
15) Jack in the Box — 72
18) McDonald’s — 67