Chick-fil-A’s Satisfaction Reign Over Restaurant Segment Reaches 7 Years, but Its Lead Is Shrinking, American Consumer Satisfaction Index Data Show

The top 10 fast food restaurants are as follows:

1.) Chick-fil-A
2.) Domino’s
3.) KFC
4.) Starbucks
5.) Five Guys
6.) Panera Bread
7.) Pizza Hut
8.) Arby’s
9.) Chipotle Mexican Grill
10.) Dunkin’

https://www.theacsi.org/news-and-resources/press-releases/press-2021/press-release-restaurants-2020-2021

Chick-fil-A’s Satisfaction Reign Over Restaurant Segment Reaches 7 Years, but Its Lead Is Shrinking, American Consumer Satisfaction Index Data Show

The top 10 fast food restaurants are as follows:

1.) Chick-fil-A
2.) Domino’s
3.) KFC
4.) Starbucks
5.) Five Guys
6.) Panera Bread
7.) Pizza Hut
8.) Arby’s
9.) Chipotle Mexican Grill
10.) Dunkin’

https://www.theacsi.org/news-and-resources/press-releases/press-2021/press-release-restaurants-2020-2021
I am surprised that Domino's is ranked above Pizza Hut.

I do like Chick-fil-A.

Domino's doesn't look appealing at all from their ads. They had a location open near my parents a few months ago. My mom said their taco pizza was awful, she won't get it again. Dunkin Donuts is highly overrated, food is just average and lousy service. Tim Hortons is better, and I wish Krispy Kreme would come back to Fort Wayne. Whoever conducted this survey doesn't know what fast food is, Pizza Hut is a sit down restaurant. :crazy:

Very nice..... Ill have to check it out sometime Jimmy :)

I tried Chic-Fil-A for the first time last week. Their chicken sandwich is definitely better than Burger King and McDonald's (which are horrible), but still not worth paying their higher prices for IMO. There are at least 4 other top-10 selections that I would quibble with...

Interesting that Panera is considered fast food. It's faster and more casual than a traditional sit-down, but I wouldn't call it fast food fast.

. Whoever conducted this survey doesn't know what fast food is, Pizza Hut is a sit down restaurant. :crazy:[/COLOR]

That is just the thing. ALL of those "best of" listings are subjective to the pollster's personal preferences.

Personally, I suspect that many such surveys are opportunistic, and may potentially be done "for hire" by groups trying to effect policy change.

Whenever I see a story in the local newspaper claiming "Fort Wayne selected as most affordable mid-sized City" by the XYZ Review board, I suspect the City itself might have commissioned the survey, as a prelude to raising the Water bills, or other taxes.

Sort of a "oh come on, you know you are already getting a bargain, so what's a few dollars more?" type ploy.:mad:

As far as the restaurant listings go, I have reservations over a few of them, but none more than Arby's.

Arby's menu, when everything goes right, is superior fast food...and you pay extra for it.

But it is SO SELDOM that "everything goes right".

More typically you go into Arby's and see these wonderful graphics depicting the sandwiches you are ordering, generous portions of lean meat, artfully arranged with lush lettuce and red ripe tomatoes.

And when you open the wrapper what you see looks more like something they scraped off the floor next to the waste basket. pinkish-white mealy tomatoes, scant portions of meat, lettuce turning orange around the edges, ...and TONS of sauce to camouflage what a sick disgusting excuse of a sandwich they just charged you $8 for.

I recently went into one and ordered two of their brisket sandwiches, feeling that I would concentrate on eating the meat from both sandwiches, Paying $12 seemed worthwhile to fill up on brisket. Specified "no BBQ sauce", wanting to enjoy the flavor of the meat.

What they served me was disgusting, greasy, stringy, pale, looked more like it came out of the bottom of a bucket of lard than anything you might want to eat. Makes me very reluctant to even go back.

Cool topic. I agree with Icecream and Dawsongirl that Pizza Hut and Panera are NOT fast food.

My best fast food chain experience consistently has been Dickie's BBQ Pit. The meat has always been tasty, and the service has always been good. Chipotle has also been fast and good service.

The worst experiences have been at Taco Bell (half-hour waits for "fast" food) and Arby's (we didn't get waited on, and eventually left). We've occasionally had mistakes made, such as the wrong pizza from Domino's, but not so bad we wouldn't go back. KFC has occasionally made mistakes, but usually in our favor, such as giving us an extra side that wasn't on our order; this has happened several times, but because they bag everything before it's given to you, you don't catch the mistake until you're home, and it can't be returned (they would have to throw it away).

My best fast food chain experience consistently has been Dickie's BBQ Pit. The meat has always been tasty, and the service has always been good. That sounds like a good place, too bad it doesn't have a Fort Wayne location.

What Jim described at Arby's hasn't happened for me. Their food has always been good.

Ones first inclination when you are served bad fast food is to complain. Then the reality sets in that the person making your replacement sandwich is going to be an upset minimum-wage person who you just made look bad in front of their boss.And yes, I've talked to fast food employees who boast about spitting on food destined for troublesome customers

That sounds like a good place, too bad it doesn't have a Fort Wayne location.

I can recommend them, and they even support local charities (not just big charitable orgs, but also locals), so I love them. Looks like the only Dickey's in IN are in Lawrence and Brownsburg, both near Indianapolis, but there is also a Dickie's in Coldwater, MI, so it's conceivable they may open more locations near you eventually. Best in-restaurant briskets I've ever tasted.

The only drawback I can see is that my area location has an extremely small dining room, with maybe 8-10 tables. I guess they think most people will carry out... and they have to. But the food and service are excellent.

What Jim described at Arby's hasn't happened for me. Their food has always been good.

I haven't had bad food at Arby's, either, but I don't doubt GJ's bad experience. My only bad experience was one time not even getting waited on. That was so weird. Didn't go back for a few years.

LOL, maybe the guy who made my sandwich at Arby's, recognized me from the homeless camp?

Seriously though, I encourage each of you, next time you go to Arby's look at the sandwich pictured on the menu, and compare it to what they serve you.

They short you, they give you reduced quality, and then drench it under an ocean of sauce, hoping to hide how yer getting shafted,

The "market fresh" sandwiches I've never had any problem with, but the others, especially the top of the line sandwiches, always seem to be (?) to me. Sometimes just a little bad, and sometimes not so little.

What sauce? My usual Arby's sandwich is the half pound roast beef, which just has the meat. My seasonal favorite is the deep fried turkey, which I always order without mayo. The tomatoes I have had on it are fine. Now the tomatoes at Subway which brags about everything fresh, those are almost always stale.

Seriously though, I encourage each of you, next time you go to Arby's look at the sandwich pictured on the menu, and compare it to what they serve you.

This is every meal at a fast food restaurant, though. I mean, they're not going to put a normal sandwich on the photo. Ads for food are full of glue (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9k7PJoNAXkk).

What sauce? My usual Arby's sandwich is the half pound roast beef, which just has the meat. My seasonal favorite is the deep fried turkey, which I always order without mayo. The tomatoes I have had on it are fine. Now the tomatoes at Subway which brags about everything fresh, those are almost always stale.

Well, as an example, the Brisket is given both mayonnaise AND barbecue sauce
The Arby's Super is given their Special red ranch sauce that for all the world reminds me of catalina salad dressing straight from the bottle

\
And as I mentioned earlier, invariably in sufficient quantity to hide their sins.

This is every meal at a fast food restaurant, though. I mean, they're not going to put a normal sandwich on the photo. Ads for food are full of glue (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9k7PJoNAXkk).

There is truth to what you say. Perhaps it just bothers me less when a $2 sandwich at Rallys does not live up to expectations, than when a $7.00 sandwich promoted as a "premium" selection FAILS TOTALLY to please me.

Bear in mind, my observations are not based upon a single visit, or "slight" imperfection.... I can write off any single disappointment to random fail. But, once you begin to recognize a pattern, it's difficult to continue surrendering your money to negative satisfaction.

What I suspect is going on with the brisket at arby's, the sliced "real meat" brisket is one of their higher cost components, and as such they are simply reluctant to discard questionable odds and ends, due to the impact on their bottom line. They just figure once it's buried under sauce, and in the customer's hand, most will eat without noticing.

Now, I might give your counter argument more credence, if the consumption of my sandwich was a positive experience. But somewhere in between "yeesh" and "WTF?" I decided to open my sandwich to explore why I wasn't just thrilled like the TV ads propose I will be.......

And what I discovered was not what they are advertising. If you want to damn me for being self indulgent because I noticed how badly I was being screwed, that is your prerogative.

The sliced tomatoes offered with most fast food sandwiches, is inferior across the board, with scant exception. So I generally specify hold the tomatoes. I've even had counter help ask "oh, you don't like tomatoes?" To which I respond "Got any REAL tomatoes? Or just those pink imitations?"

One pleasant exception being Jimmy Johns, they seem to understand the value of red-ripe tomatoes

. Ads for food are full of glue (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9k7PJoNAXkk).

Well, they expect real money in payment, don;t they? I cant just hand them monopoly money and expect them to be satisfied.

I feel that I have as much right to expect what they advertise, as they have to expect the payment form to their liking.

Why should concession be one sided? :(


My personal bottom line from the experience is that now when I see an Arby's commercial on TV, my negative recollections drown out their hype, and I'm motivated to go elsewhere, not wanting to end up feeling screwed again.

Just so you won't think that I have unrealistically high standards, following is a shortlist of fast food restaurants that SELDOM disappoint me

Jimmy Johns
Panda Express
Popeye's
5 Guys
In-n-Out
Penn Station
Jersey Mike's
Sbarro

Hardee's/Carl's Jr
Wendy's

I put the last 2 in a separate group, because they can be hit or miss, I can't really say that I have NEVER had a bad experience with either, like I can with the first group

Somehow this ended up being a duplicate post of the post PRIOR to the one immediately preceding it...musta been bouncing around the dark regions of the www?

So I decided to delete the duplication and replace it instead with an observation I feel to be relevant.

Some of the people working in fast food at entry level, really don't care if you have a positive experience with your meal. They could care less if you find their work appetizing, they are are there for one reason only, they need a paycheck. So, they slap the components together in the combinations they have been instructed to use, with all the enthusiasm of a janitor sanitizing a toilet. aka "Ya got meat, ya got cheese, ya got sauce on a bun, what more ya want?"

After several years absent from the local market, Hardees opened a new restaurant here a few years back. On my first visit there some kid that didn't even appear competent to fold laundry for a living, was assembling my burger, and it was a greasy, undercooked mess.

I went back a week or so later, and while I was waiting at the counter for my order, I noticed something unusual, back at the grill area stood a balding, middle age man wearing a dress shirt, tie, and an apron, flipping the patties, taking the spatula and pressing the grease out of them, and then assembling them into the finished product.

Let's just say the guy had a management "air" about him. Wouldn't surprise me if he was corporate level.

And the burger was fantastic. I decided this experience deserved a little positive reinforcement. So, after finishing my meal, I walked up to the counter and told the woman I had originally ordered from, that "whoever cooked my burger deserved a raise". She snickered, and immediately went back to tell him that, and I spied the two of them laughing as they gazed back at me...

Moral being, the quality of food they serve you is highly prone to being affected by whether or not the preparer gives a damn about what he's serving you.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ :2bump ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Just so you won't think that I have unrealistically high standards, following is a shortlist of fast food restaurants that SELDOM disappoint me

I never believed your food standards were too high; I just thought it was unrealistic to expect your food to look like what's on the menu. Those photos are faker than a three dollar bill.


Jimmy Johns
Panda Express
Popeye's
5 Guys
In-n-Out
Penn Station
Jersey Mike's
Sbarro

I've never heard of Penn Station, and have never tried Sbarro. Popeye's is okay. I adore Panda Express (in fact, I had it tonight); the food is always good, although I had bad service, once, when I had three identical orders, but had to go through the line three times to get all three orders, even after I told the server that I had three identical orders.

Five Guys and In-n-Out are not in my community, so I don't often go, but they do have decent food. Jersey Mike's and Jimmy John's feel pretty interchangeable to me.


Hardee's/Carl's Jr
Wendy's

My experience with these two has been basically the same as BK or McDonald's: kinda iffy sometimes. Like, you wouldn't be surprised if your order came out wrong.

I just thought it was unrealistic to expect your food to look like what's on the menu. Those photos are faker than a three dollar bill.
.

I guess I must have a "Fox on the Run" complex when it comes to fast food? (song by "the sweet")

I......don't want to know your name......cause you don't look the same... lol!


That brings me to a sincere fast food pet peeve...lack of consistency. To me consistency should be the alpha and omega of fast food. If you go to a restaurant one time and everything was great, and the next time horrible...how can you know which experience was the "norm" that you should expect, going forward?

McDonaild's leaves a lot to be desired, but at least for the most part they do manage to deliver consistent mediocrity.

Seems to me that the fast food industry is ripe for a FTC crackdown....their menu pictures vs what they often serve is about as clear a case of "bait and switch" as I've ever seen. :rant:

Seriously, this is how it feels sometimes after I open the bun

https://i.imgur.com/LWaJx2y.jpg

And they wonder why I have a "thing" for breaking windows.....

I've never heard of Penn Station.Penn Station is fantastic. I like their Dagwood sandwich with five meats, three cheeses, tomatoes, and oregano. Their chocolate chip cookies are the best of any restaurant and bigger than several places as well. Also, they have good fries and lemonade.

I like Hall's ...and even Powers too, but I didn't think many here would identify with either.

Penn Station is fantastic. I like their Dagwood sandwich with five meats, three cheeses, tomatoes, and oregano. Their chocolate chip cookies are the best of any restaurant and bigger than several places as well. Also, they have good fries and lemonade.

Thanks! Looks like they have no locations in my state, but I'll look out for them when I travel again. Always appreciate the advice on decent places to eat.

I like Hall's ...and even Powers too, but I didn't think many here would identify with either.

I don't know either of those places, either.

One other fast food chain I can recommend is Culver's.

I like Hall's ...and even Powers too, but I didn't think many here would identify with either.If you are referring to the Hall's restaurants in Fort Wayne, those are not fast food. :lol:

If you are referring to the Hall's restaurants in Fort Wayne, those are not fast food. :lol:

I guess that depends upon how long one's memory is. True, Hall's has been blessed with success, and if you think only of his upscale locations that came along later, such as the Gashouse, the Factory, the Stockyards, etc...they clearly are a cut above.

But here is a 1953 aerial of his Quimby Village location, buildings which still stand today bearing his name,...and notice the carport area. Complete with car hops, the "window-hangy" tray things, and a delightful menu including typical fast food fare. And although they have worked mightily over the years to put lipstick on that pig....many of those old fast food classics remain on their menu today.

https://i.imgur.com/miDA7ZK.png

That is the Hall's that comes to mind when I hear the name.

Their location at the corner of Lima and Coliseum got started off as a drive-in too, but I never ate there until just a couple years ago

So, you are right, in sum total Hall's is more than a fast food restaurant. But, they are also a fast food restaurant

The Bluffton Road "Food Factory Express" still has a drive-thru service, so that qualifies them as well.

I've been there a couple of times. They are alright, it's not a franchise I would go out of my way for.

The biggest one in the U.S. is in NYC on Fulton Street. It has 5 floors w/ a rooftop seating area.

I don't know either of those places, either.

.

That's likely because there is only one left. Powers is like what Krystal always wanted to be, but never quite managed.

Inch and a half balls of ground beef squashed flat on a searing grill so hot that the furnace seldom runs even in the dead of winter, smothered in angelhair shredded onions cooked till carmelized, then served on a dinner roll sized bun. Part of the beauty was that they were cooked enmasse, so if you ordered 4, the 4 you got on your plate would be clustered together, and share the nest of shredded onion that you would have to untangle as you separated the individual burger.

Open all night back in their heyday , one of the true comforts at 3 am was the knowledge that so long as the cook stayed near the grill, that was one less hoodlum likely to be lurking in the alleys to rob you.

The place has an atmosphere like no other...especially when they are shredding the onions for the day.

One other Hall's that was always a favorite of mine was their "Prime Rib" (https://www.google.com/maps/@41.097007,-85.1120109,3a,42.6y,359.44h,86.15t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1s2VGykSJ0pJXzzqLsaQIrOQ!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fpanoid%3D2VGykSJ0pJXzzqLsaQIrOQ%26cb_client%3Dsearch.revgeo_and_fetch.gps%26w%3D96%26h%3D64%26yaw%3D73.95749%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i16384!8i8192) specialty shop on East State Street.

I always thought it was cool the way they had the large hunk of prime rib rotating on a rotisserie under heat lamps, visible from the street. (still visible to the right of the door, at the above-linked location)

Haven't been there in 40+ years, but what I always thought was cool is you could order a full meal, and then if you wanted seconds (or even thirds, etc) of prime rib, you could purchase additional servings at a reduced price.

Now the tomatoes at Subway which brags about everything fresh, those are almost always stale.

Ugh, Subway. There are literally a dozen sub places that make better, fresher sandwiches than they do. Those giant subs they show on TV? Ha, like they would ever put that much meat on one in real life.

Panda Express

I must be the only person who doesn't like that place. As a general rule, chicken in dishes from Chinese restaurants tends to be the most disgusting pieces they can find (no white meat in sight), but Panda's is just extra nasty. The beef is the same (except for the one Angus beef choice they have). Naturally, most of their menu is chicken or beef. The spring rolls are also pretty gross, and I'm not sure how a spring roll can even be ruined. They somehow managed though.

I would love some good Asian fast food, but it doesn't seem to exist. Guess I'm too picky.

I must be the only person who doesn't like that place. As a general rule, chicken in dishes from Chinese restaurants tends to be the most disgusting pieces they can find (no white meat in sight), but Panda's is just extra nasty. The beef is the same (except for the one Angus beef choice they have). Naturally, most of their menu is chicken or beef. The spring rolls are also pretty gross, and I'm not sure how a spring roll can even be ruined. They somehow managed though.

I would love some good Asian fast food, but it doesn't seem to exist. Guess I'm too picky.

We have several "indie" chinese restaurants that are pretty good, one of which is next door to "Ice Cream" 's favorite downtown bar, that has Tempura shrimp that are 2die4. And at the more formal Chinese restaurants, a fav of mine is "Mushu Pork", with plumb sauce.

I have a few caveats that I keep in mind to assure my happiness at Panda Express

1. Never go through the drive through. Go inside and stand right in front of them while they fill your container. They seem to do a better job of giving you choice pieces, when you are right there watching.

2. I always try to go 4-5 PM just before the dinner hour, as they are filling up their service line, in preparation for the dinner rush. Your food will be fresher. Never go after 7 PM when you are likely to get tail ends, since they don't like to start fresh big batches close to closing time

3. If they are giving out free samples, and your order is going to be one of those items being sampled, make sure they haven't depleted the goodies thru samples, leaving you with just a bunch of vegetables. If what is left looks picked over, tell them you don't want to pay $15 for a bunch of vegetables, so would they please wait to fill your order after the next batch is prepared. I cannot over emphasize the importance of this.

I like the Wok Seared Steak and Shrimp, and the Black Pepper Chicken is usually good too. Mongolian Beef is decent also. Most of the rest I really never have much desire for.