Business research firm Temkin Group has taken a look at 206 companies in 18 business categories, and discovered that one of the very best when it comes to customer satisfaction is the fast food industry. As a group, the 17 familiar names that make up the group are second only to grocery stores and well ahead of the other 16 categories. But the differences within the group are striking.
The companies studied in the survery, known as the 2012 Temkin Experience Ratings, include Arby’s, Burger King, Chick-fil-A, Dairy Queen, Domino’s, Dunkin’ Donuts, Hardees, Jack in the Box, KFC, Little Caesar’s, McDonalds, Pizza Hut, Sonic Drive-In, Starbucks, Subway, Taco Bell, and Wendy’s.
Temkin looks at companies in three different ways and then averages scores to come up with an overall rating. The questions it considers are these:
Functional: Does the company meet consumers’ needs?
Accessible: How easy is it for consumers to do what they are trying to do?
Emotional: How do consumers feel about their interactions with companies?
Three in the fast food category managed to hit the lowest rung of the excellent category, which runs from 80% to 100%. Three managed only an OK rating, running from 40% to 59%, and the other 11 were in the good range in between, 60%-79%.
Other lower categories include poor and very poor. None of the fast food operations fell to either depth.
Bruce Temkin, the author and managing partner of Temkin Group, said, “Most fast food chains are doing a good job of meeting their customers’ need.”
Temkin group specializes in studying and analyzing the customer experience, offering both research and consulting services, with the goal of assisting companies in increasing customer loyalty.
Almost across the board, the fast food companies included in the study fared much better in the functional and accessible categories of measurement, and fell a little flat when it came to appealing to consumers’ emotional responses.
Chick-fil-A, Starbucks and Subway all tied with an overall score of 80%, making it into the lower extremity of the excellent category. Jack in the Box Domino’s and Hardee’s were at the other end of the spectrum. Here’s the full list:
| Restaurant | Functional | Accessible | Emotional | Rating |
| Chick-fil-A | 82% | 84% | 74% | 80% |
| Starbucks | 85% | 84% | 73% | 80% |
| Subway | 86% | 85% | 71% | 80% |
| Sonic | 78% | 84% | 71% | 78% |
| Pizza Hut | 82% | 81% | 67% | 77% |
| Arby’s | 79% | 80% | 68% | 76% |
| Dunkin’ Donuts | 81% | 78% | 65% | 75% |
| Taco Bell | 77% | 80% | 67% | 75% |
| Wendy’s | 80% | 81% | 64% | 75% |
| Little Caesar’s | 76% | 78% | 67% | 74% |
| Dairy Queen | 77% | 78% | 64% | 73% |
| KFC | 76% | 76% | 61% | 71% |
| McDonalds | 76% | 79% | 59% | 71% |
| Burger King | 76% | 76% | 58% | 70% |
| Jack in the Box | 72% | 73% | 61% | 69% |
| Domino’s | 71% | 74% | 59% | 68% |
| Hardee’s | 74% | 70% | 49% | 64% |
| Source: Temkin Group |
RBR-TVBR observation: Knowledge is good – here’s some knowledge, put it to use. Franchise owners who are running a company at the top of Temkin’s list may want to go on the air to brag. Franchise owners near the bottom may want to go on the air to point out that their local operation is much better than those in other locations.
For radio stations, any one of these companies should be seeking air time as close to the point of sale as possible – that means getting on the air when hungry consumers are in their cars and looking for something quick and convenient for breakfast, lunch or dinner.
Finally, no matter what kind of venue you are selling for, knowing what the overall perceptual challenges each company is facing will help you design an effective media campaign to overcome them. If you can help one of these restaurants clear some hurdles and improve their business, you will likely become the highly valued resource of a long-term client.
