Once again, Chick-fil-A fried the competition and maintained its spot atop U.S. customers’ list of favorite restaurants for the eighth year in a row.
On Tuesday, a survey of more than 20,000 customers found that America’s favorite fast food restaurant continues to be Chick-fil-A.
The American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) released this year’s rankings and found that despite fast food’s overall appeal decreasing by 2.6% in the last year, Chick-fil-A stayed “steady” with the highest score of 83.
#ChickfilA continues to lead the industry – and all restaurants – for the 8th straight year with a steady score of 83 (out of 100).
Download our study to see how other fast food and full-service restaurants ranked in customer satisfaction: https://t.co/3udsQk6Ghb pic.twitter.com/XSvEQSbPEJ
— The ACSI (@theACSI) June 30, 2022
Forrest Morgeson, Assistant Professor of Marketing at Michigan State University and Director of Research Emeritus at the ACSI said in a statement:
“The large group of smaller full-service restaurants experiences substantial deterioration in mobile app quality, contributing to a steep decline for the industry overall, which tumbles 8% to 78.”
“Amid the pandemic, restaurants needed to quickly up their game in the mobile arena. With fewer resources, smaller chains and independent restaurants are offering apps that aren’t making the grade per customers. In contrast, positive shifts in both mobile app quality and reliability for several larger chains appear to reflect major app updates for these bigger industry players,” he added.
Chick-fil-A’s statement to Fox News Digital was quick to thank its customers for the honor.
“We are honored by the results of this survey and we are grateful to our customers for choosing Chick-fil-A – it’s truly our pleasure to serve them,” the statement read.
Here’s what the spokesperson said:
“More than 170,000 people represent Chick-fil-A in 2,700 restaurants. This recognition is acknowledgment of the care they put into serving great food with gracious hospitality. Every day, our restaurant Team Members go above and beyond each day to create a friendly, welcoming place to visit.”
More details of this report from The Daily Wire:
Chick-fil-A led all restaurants overall and was also the winner in the fast-food category. Behind Chick-fil-A in second place in the fast-food segment was Jimmy John’s, followed by Domino’s Pizza and KFC. Other high-ranking franchises included Chipotle, Panera Bread, Pizza Hut, and Starbucks.
The survey revealed that more Americans prefer sit-down dining over a fast-food experience despite Chick-fil-A’s win.
“Customers agree that sit-down spots outperform fast food chains when it comes to food order accuracy (87 to 83), restaurant layout and cleanliness (84 to 81), food quality (86 to 81), and food variety (84 to 79),” the ACSI report added.
Chick-fil-A has become so popular that long lines at the drive-thru at some franchises have become a concern for communities. In California, the Santa Barbara City Council considered labeling a location a public nuisance over long lines that back up into nearby streets and caused traffic issues.
The franchise’s traditional values have also led to controversies in some parts of the nation. In 2021, Democratic state legislators in New York pushed to keep Chick-fil-A out of rest stops in the state because of past donations to organizations that are allegedly anti-LGBTQ.
The Daily Wire previously reported that Democratic Assembly Member Harry Bronson, who represents the Rochester area, started an online petition to prevent Chick-fil-A from being included among the restaurants being added to rest stops along I-90 in the New York State Thruway Authority’s $450 million service-state modernization project, according to RochesterFirst.com.
Sources: DailyWire, Theacsi.org, FoxBusiness
