How Chick-fil-A, Taco Bell and McDonald’s Rank
Calling all fast food fans: the verdict is on the best chain in the country.
November 16 is National Fast Food Day, celebrating our favorite drive-thrus and burger joints.
The American Customer Satisfaction Index recently released the best fast food restaurants of 2023, based on customer satisfaction and reviews.
Wondering where your favorite spot is or just looking for a tiebreaker when choosing where to dine tonight? Check out the listings below.
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How the ranking was determined
The American Customer Satisfaction Index gathers information from 500,000 customers surveyed each year and integrates it into a multi-equation model developed at the University of Michigan. Unlike other organizations that measure things like revenue and volume of customers or purchases per year, the American Customer Satisfaction Index is unique in that it emphasizes experience and customer satisfaction.
This year’s restaurant study was based on interviews with 16,250 customers, randomly selected and contacted by email between April 2022 and March 2023.
According to the study, customers care most about a number of customer service experiences and components. In order of ranking, they are:
- Food order accuracy.
- Quality of the mobile application.
- Mobile app reliability (minimal downtime, crashes, lags).
- Quality of the drink (taste, temperature).
- Courtesy and helpfulness of the staff.
- Food quality (taste, temperature, freshness of ingredients).
- Site satisfaction.
- Layout and cleanliness of the restaurant.
- Speed of payment or delivery.
- Variety of drinks on the menu.
- Variety of dishes on the menu.
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Top 5 fast food restaurants in terms of customer satisfaction in 2023
In customer satisfaction, Chick-fil-A ranked No. 1, closely followed by Jimmy John’s.
- Chick-fil-A with a satisfaction score of 85, up 2% from last year.
- Jimmy John’s at 84 years old, up 6% compared to 2022.
- KFC with a customer satisfaction score of 81, an increase of 4%.
- Papa Johns with a score of 80, up 5% since last year.
- Domino’s remained consistent with a 78 satisfaction rating.
- The list also included a “All the others” category in third place for unnamed restaurants, with a score of 82.
Bottom Five Fast Food Restaurants in Customer Satisfaction in 2023
Of the chains listed in the index, McDonald’s customers were the least satisfied, followed by Taco Bell and Sonic. Jack in the Box and Wendy’s round out the bottom five.
- Wendy’s achieved a satisfaction score of 74, up 1% from last year.
- Jack in the box weighed in at 73, also up 1% from 2022.
- Sonic saw its satisfaction drop by 2%, from 74 to 72.
- Taco Bell it also went from 72 to 71, a decrease of 1%.
- McDonalds at the bottom of the list at 69, up one point from last year.
Complete ranked list
The survey found that America’s favorite fast food chain is Chick-fil-A, which received a satisfaction score of 85, an improvement of 2% from last year. Here is the ranking of your other favorite and least favorite channels:
- Chick-fil-A.∘ Score in 2023: 85.∘ Score in 2022: 83.
- Jimmy John.∘ Score in 2023: 84. ∘ Score in 2022: 79.
- KFC.∘ Score in 2023: 81.∘ Score in 2022: 78.
- Papa Johns.∘ Score in 2023: 80.∘ Score in 2022: 76.
- Domino’s.∘ Score in 2023: 78.∘ Score in 2022: 78.
- Five guys.∘ Score in 2023: 78.∘ Score in 2022: 76.
- Pizza Hut.∘ Score in 2023: 78.∘ Score in 2022: 77.
- Starbucks.∘ Score in 2023: 78.∘ Score in 2022: 77.
- Arby’s.∘ Score in 2023: 77. ∘ Score in 2022: 76.
- Dunkin’∘ Score in 2023: 77. ∘ Score in 2022: 74.
- Panda Express.∘ Score in 2023: 77.∘ Score in 2022: 75.
- Burger King.∘ Score in 2023: 76.∘ Score in 2022: 75.
- Panera bread.∘ Score in 2023: 76.∘ Score in 2022: 77.
- Chipotle. ∘ Score in 2023: 75. ∘ Score in 2022: 77.
- Queen of milk.∘ Score in 2023: 75.∘ Score in 2022: 74.
- Metro. ∘ Score in 2023: 75. ∘ Score in 2022: 75.
- Little Caesars. ∘ Score in 2023: 74. ∘ Score in 2022: 75.
- Papeyes.∘ Score in 2023: 74.∘ Score in 2022: 71.
- Wendy’s. ∘ Score in 2023: 74. ∘ Score in 2022: 73.
- Jack in the box.∘ Score in 2023: 73.∘ Score in 2022: 72.
- Sonic.∘ Score in 2023: 72.∘ Score in 2022: 74.
- Taco Bell.∘ Score in 2023: 71. ∘ Score in 2022: 72.
- McDonalds.∘ Score in 2023: 69.∘ Score in 2022: 68.
