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Blog
Bane of fast-food
February 11, 2008
This just in from Sandelman & Associates, a San Clemente, Calif.-based research company and a contributor to Chain Leader:
"Pei Wei, a small Asian quick-service restaurant chain that is the sister concept of full-service P.F. Chang’s China Bistro, receives top honors in Sandelman & Associates' 2007 Quick-Track Awards of Excellence. ... Pei Wei has a small base of users compared with the fast-food giants, but 59 percent of those who recently patronized the chain rated their last visit 'excellent' overall. That is the highest 'excellent' rating of all 138 quick-service chains monitored by Sandelman & Associates’ in 2007."
The research firm, which said it polled some 84,000 "fast-food users" in 70 markets during 2007, also listed several other leading chains that received high marks from customers. They included:
♦ In-N-Out Burger (57%)
♦ Panera Bread (57%)
♦ Raising Cain's (55%)
♦ Chick-fil-A (54%)
♦ Firehouse Subs (51%)
♦ Starbucks (49%)
♦ Chipotle (49%)
The average score among the 138 chains rated -- i.e., the percent of customers who rated their last visit "excellent" -- was merely 37%. That's pretty sad, if you ask me. If slightly less than two-thirds of QSR customers did not have an "excellent" experience, then what kind of experience did they have?
I bet they didn't have one-on-one interaction inside the unit. Among chains scoring the highest (49%-59%), only one or two have drive-thru windows. Chipotle, Starbucks, Pei Wei and Chick-fil-A do not as a rule make customers order through a window. They've got to go inside the unit.
Don't get me wrong. Windows are wonderful things in terms of boosting speed (and sales). But they do nothing for customer-employee interaction, which in my mind is the basis for a pleasant restaurant experience. Sure, there are times customers don't want to deal with workers and times when they must eat at their dashboard.
But once in the drive-thru habit they miss out on the human aspect of talking to another person about what they are going to eat -- someone trained, of course, to engage them at a level beyond, "May I take your order, please?" So it scarcely surprises me that most customers don't have an above average experience.
Meanwhwile, congrats Pei Wei.
Posted by David Farkas on February 11, 2008 | Comments (2)
In response to: Bane of fast-food
Old Marketing Guy commented:
I know something about research and maybe we're being too hard on limited service places. Perhaps 37% of the patrons having an excellent experience is really a rave review. I don't go into a McDonald's or Wendy's or whatever expecting an excellent experience. I'm usually there because I have to be. I'm rushing around and have very little time. A LSR is the only game in town. Or, it's where the kids want to go. I don't expect excellent food or excellent service or excellent decor. I want to get and get out and for the expense involved it is an acceptable experience and that's what I expect. The real question is -- would I eat there again. The answer is "of course."
In response to: Bane of fast-food
Mary Chapman commented:
Old Marketing Guy, are you lumping limited-service places into one "only if I have to" bucket? Because I think the research cited shows the opposite: that customers see a real difference in their fast-food experiences.