Chick-fil-A, Starbucks, and Subway Are Top Fast Food Chains in Customer Experience Ratings, According to New Temkin Group Research

Large-Scale Research Study Rates More Than 200 Companies Across 18 Industries Based on Feedback Survey of 10,000 U.S. Consumers

Waban, MA  (Restaurant News Release)  A new research report published by Temkin Group, 2012 Temkin Experience Ratings, rates the customer experience of 206 large companies across 18 industries. This is the second year that Temkin Group has released these ratings.

The research, which is based on a survey of 10,000 U.S. consumers in January 2012, includes 17 fast food chains: Arby’s, Burger King, Chick-fil-A, Dairy Queen, Domino’s, Dunkin’ Donuts, Hardees, Jack in the Box, KFC, Little Caesar’s, McDonalds, Pizza Hut, Sonic Drive-In, Starbucks, Subway, Taco Bell, and Wendy’s.

Chick-fil-A, Starbucks, and Subway earned the top customer experience ratings in the industry and are tied for third spot across all 206 companies. The three leading fast food chains are the only ones in the industry to earn “excellent” customer experience ratings. Eleven of the 17 fast food chains earned “good” ratings while the bottom three — Hardees, Domino’s, and Jack in the Box — earned “okay” ratings.

The overall fast food industry earned the second spot out of 18 industries, slightly behind grocery chains but well ahead of other industries.

“Most fast food chains are doing a good job of meeting their customers’ needs,” states Bruce Temkin, author of the report and Managing Partner of Temkin Group.

The Temkin Experience Ratings evaluates three dimensions of customer experience:

  • Functional: Does the company meet consumers’ needs?
  • Accessible: How easy is it for consumers to do what they are trying to do?
  • Emotional: How do consumers feel about their interactions with companies?

Other highlights from the research include:

  • Starbucks and Subway received the highest Functional ratings while Domino’s and Jack in the Box received the lowest.
  • Subway received the highest Accessible ratings while Hardees and Jack in the Box received the lowest.
  • Chick-fil-A and Starbucks received the highest Emotional ratings while Hardees received the lowest.

This report can be accessed from the Temkin Group website at http://www.temkingroup.com or from the blog, Customer Experience Matters, at http://experiencematters.wordpress.com. The data can be accessed from the Temkin Ratings website, http://www.temkinratings.com.

For more information about Temkin Group, visit http://www.temkingroup.com.

About the author, Bruce Temkin

Bruce Temkin is widely recognized as a customer experience thought leader and is Customer Experience Transformist and Managing Partner of the Temkin Group. He is also the author of a very popular blog, Customer Experience Matters. Prior to forming Temkin Group, he was a VP at Forrester Research for 12 years. Bruce is a highly demanded speaker who consistently receives high marks for his content-rich, entertaining keynote addresses. He is also the co-founder and Chair of the Customer Experience Professionals Association (CXPA.org), a global non-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of customer experience management.

About Temkin Group

Temkin Group is a leading customer experience research and consulting firm with one simple goal for its clients: increase customer loyalty by becoming more customer?centric. The company combines customer experience thought leadership with a deep understanding of the dynamics of large organizations to help senior executives accelerate their customer experience results. For more information, contact Bruce Temkin at 617-916-2075 or info@temkingroup.com.