Consumer Research: Service and Satisfaction
Restaurant chains fare well against other industries when it comes to customer satisfaction.
By Mary Boltz Chapman, Editor-in-Chief -- Chain Leader, 7/1/2009
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| Over the past four years, McDonald’s has improved customer satisfaction more than any other fast-food brand and at a rate more than four times the industry average. |
The index, produced by the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business in partnership with the American Society for Quality and CFI Group, measures customer satisfaction of companies.
Research analyst Claes Fornell, director of the National Quality Research Center at the Ross School, reports that rising ACSI scores are often a precursor to growth in consumer demand.
“There is a relationship between ACSI growth in one quarter and consumer-spending growth in the following quarter,” he writes. “Analysis of ACSI data, household income and changes in household-debt ratios suggest that a consumer spending increase of 1.5 percent would be a reasonable expectation for the second quarter of 2009.”
ACSI evaluates different industries in different quarters. The first quarter looked at the quality of products and services in utilities, transportation and warehousing, information, health care and social assistance, and accommodation and foodservice.
Restaurant TabFast food scored 78, the same as last year and its highest score ever. In fact, the ACSI score for fast food has improved by 13 percent since 1997. The category is led by “all others,” which aggregates smaller chains and improved 4 percent to a score of 83, its highest level.
| AMERICAN CUSTOMER SATISFACTION INDEX | ||
| 2009 score |
% change |
|
| Full-Service Restaurants | ||
| Olive Garden | 81 | (1.2) |
| Red Lobster | 80 | 1.3 |
| Outback Steakhouse | 77 | 1.3 |
| Chili's Grill & Bar | 74 | 1.4 |
| All others | 85 | 6.3 |
| Limited-Service Restaurants | ||
| Domino's Pizza | 77 | 2.7 |
| Starbucks | 76 | (1.3) |
| Wendy's | 76 | 4.1 |
| Little Caesars | 75 | 0.0 |
| Papa John's | 75 | (1.3) |
| Pizza Hut | 74 | (2.6) |
| Taco Bell | 73 | 4.3 |
| McDonald's | 70 | 1.4 |
| KFC | 69 | (1.4) |
| Burger King | 69 | (2.8) |
| All others | 83 | 3.8 |
Full-service restaurants improved 5 percent to 84, led by a 6 percent increase in “all others.” Though down 1 percent to a score of 81, Olive Garden leads the segment.
Among Other Industries* Airlines improved for the first time since 2003, up 3 percent to a score of 75.
* Hotels held steady at 75.
* Utilities are unchanged at 74.
* Traditional local and long distance is down 1 percent to 72, while wireless telephone services reached an all-time high of 69.
* The cable and satellite TV category fell 2 percent to 63.
Segments evaluated in fourth-quarter 2008 include gas stations (up 5.7 percent to 74), banks (down 3.8 percent to 75) and supermarkets (unchanged at 76).
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