Americans have many choices when they want to eat out, whether in a fast food chain or a full-service restaurant, where customer satisfaction is an important factor in where they are going.
A New report The American Customer Satisfaction Index (ASCI) provides insight into how brands stack in terms of customer satisfaction.
In general, customer satisfaction with fast restaurants remained the same as last year and arrived at 79 out of 100, according to the Asci Restaurant and Food Delivery Study 2025. From FastFood brands, Chick-Fil-A noted the highest score of customer satisfaction, at 83, the study said. It also ranked the highest from chicken-oriented fast food connections specifically.
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The chain, which has more than 3000 locations in the US and Canada, has now held first place for customer satisfaction at Quick-Service restaurants for 11 consecutive years.
People who enjoy the terrace in Shoreview, Minnesota. Chick-Fil-A is an American fast food restaurant chain that specializes in chicken sandwiches. (Michael Siluk/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images/Getty Images)
In the overall fast food score there was a two -way band for second place. Panda Express and Starbucks received according to the ASCI scores of 80. Starbucks booked a 4% jump in customer satisfaction on an annual basis, according to the study.
Arby’s, Panera Bread, Dad 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.
An external view of a fast food restaurant from McDonald’s in Pittsburgh on 24 May 2024. (Paul Weaver/Sopa Images/Lighttrocket via Getty Images/Getty Images)
However, the ASCI said that “the new efforts of the company to speed up R&D to stimulate faster technology and menu changes, can reverse this trend.”
McDonald’s recently debuted McCrisSpy strips on his American menus and will again introduce his fan favorite snack wraps next month. The company also said that drinks are an area where great growth can see.
McDonald’s confirms permanent return of snackwraps as menu favorite returns
The full-service restaurant sector now had a customer satisfaction score of 82, according to the ASCI.
That meant a decrease of 2% compared to last year.
The ASCI said that customers of full-service restaurant “perceive less value and are frustrated by their implementation and delivery experiences”, but noticed that food and service benchmarks were still “fairly high”.
Texas Roadhouse, which came with Longhorn Steakhouse for the first time last year, held the best customer satisfaction score for sit-down restaurants this year despite a fall of 1%. It scored 84.
The Texas Roadhouse logo can be seen on a plate outside one of its restaurants in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, on 10 August 2024. (Paul Weaver/Sopa Images/Lighttrocket via Getty Images/Getty Images)
With a decrease in customer satisfaction of 2%, Longhorn Steakhouse fell to number 2 and received an 83, according to the study. Darden Restaurants Olive Garden, at the age of 81, was under Longhorn.
Two brands – Applebee’s and Cracker Barrel – scored 80 for customer satisfaction, according to the ASCI study.
ASCI Director of Research Emeritus Forrest Morganeson said in a statement that restaurants “can no longer simply rely on their traditional playing books.”
“The brands that succeed will be those who quickly adapt to shifting flavors without endangering the consistency or experience,” he said.
The ASCI research has also looked at how food delivery services are doing to customer service. It found “smaller” services saw higher customer satisfaction compared to large 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.
An employee of food delivery rides on 7 July 2023 in New York City on his bike. (Photo by Leonardo Munoz / ViewPress / Getty images)
In general, customer satisfaction for food delivery services achieved 74, an increase of 1% on an annual basis.
With economic uncertainty, Americans spend less on fast food
“Although prices remain the lowest scoring part of the experience of food delivery, the scores have somewhat improved with the honesty of food prices and fairness of taxes and service costs, both 3% to 71,” said the ASCI report, and noted that customer satisfaction with mobile apps for food delivery and websites also made some profit.
The average total that American households spend on eating out every month is an average of $ 269 per month, according to Wallethub.
Some restaurant brands have competing with consumers who eat less and spend less if they do in recent months, because economic uncertainty has been incorporated into their decisions.
