Americans have a lot of choices when they want to eat out, whether it be at a fast-food chain or a full-service restaurant, with customer satisfaction being a significant factor in where they go.
A new report from the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ASCI) offers insight into how brands stack up in terms of customer satisfaction.
In general, customer satisfaction with quick-service restaurants stayed the same as last year, coming in at 79 out of 100, according to the ASCI Restaurant and Food Delivery Study 2025. Of fast-food brands, Chick-fil-A notched the highest customer satisfaction score, at 83, the study said. It also ranked highest out of chicken-focused fast-food joints specifically.
SUMMERTIME FAVORITE RETURNS TO CHICK-FIL-A FOR A 16TH YEAR
The chain, which has over 3,000 locations throughout the U.S. and Canada, has now held the top spot for customer satisfaction among quick-service restaurants for 11 consecutive years.
In the overall fast-food scoring, there was a two-way tie for second-place. Panda Express and Starbucks received scores of 80, according to the ASCI. Starbucks posted a 4% jump in customer satisfaction year-over-year, the study found.
Arby’s, Panera Bread, Papa Johns and Pizza Hut, with scores of 79, were not far behind, according to the data.
The fast-food brand with the lowest customer satisfaction score in the study was McDonald’s, at 70. That was 1% lower than last year.
However, the ASCI said the company’s “new efforts to speed up R&D to drive faster technology and menu changes may reverse this trend.”
McDonald’s recently debuted McCrispy Strips on its U.S. menus and will reintroduce its fan-favorite snack wraps next month. The company has also said beverages are an area where it can see major growth.
MCDONALD’S CONFIRMS PERMANENT RETURN OF SNACK WRAPS AS MENU FAVORITE RETURNS
The full-service restaurant sector, meanwhile, had a customer satisfaction score of 82, according to the ASCI.
That marked a decrease of 2% from last year.
The ASCI said full-service restaurant customers “perceive less value and are frustrated with their carry-out and delivery experiences” but noted food and service benchmarks were still “quite high.”
Texas Roadhouse, which tied for first with LongHorn Steakhouse last year, held onto the top customer satisfaction score for sit-down restaurants this year despite a 1% drop. It scored 84.
With a decrease in customer satisfaction of 2%, LongHorn Steakhouse dropped to No. 2, receiving an 83, per the study. Darden Restaurants-owned Olive Garden, at 81, was below LongHorn.
Two brands – Applebee’s and Cracker Barrel – scored 80 for customer satisfaction, the ASCI study found.
ASCI Director of Research Emeritus Forrest Morgeson said in a statement that restaurants “can’t simply rely on their traditional playbooks anymore.”
“The brands that succeed will be the ones that adapt quickly to shifting tastes without compromising consistency or experience,” he said.
The ASCI’s study also looked at how food delivery services were faring on customer service. It found “smaller” services saw higher customer satisfaction compared to major companies such as Uber Eats, DoorDash and Grubhub.
The small services had a score of 77, two points higher than Uber Eats and five points higher than DoorDash and GrubHub.
In general, customer satisfaction for food delivery services hit 74, a 1% year-over-year increase.
WITH ECONOMIC UNCERTAINTY, AMERICANS ARE SPENDING LESS ON FAST FOOD
“While prices remain the lowest-scoring part of the food delivery experience, scores have improved somewhat with fairness of food prices and fairness of taxes and service fees both up 3% to 71,” the ASCI report said, noting customer satisfaction with food delivery mobile apps and websites also made some gains.
The average total that U.S. households spend on eating out each month averages $269 per month, according to WalletHub.
Some restaurant brands have been contending with consumers eating out less and spending less when they do in recent months as economic uncertainty has factored into their decisions.
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