News

In-N-Out Burger ranks on top for customer centricity

December 10, 2014

dunnhumby, a customer science company, announced that T.G.I. Friday’s and In-N-Out Burger topped the Top 10 list in its second Customer Centricity Index on foodservice retailers.

According to a news release, the CCI measures how well retailers are responding to the needs and wants of their guests based on feedback from actual customers.

"Restaurants are facing increasing challenges every day – pricing pressures, an increased focus on having an assortment mix of healthy and indulgent offerings, as well as increasing labor and food costs," dunnhumbyUSA SVP Peter Miles-Prouten said in the release. "With new competitors and formats being introduced almost daily, the key to winning the 'battle for the stomach' is to find new and different ways to connect to the customer. The restaurants included in this report lead their respective categories, from the perspective of their guests."

dunnhumby surveyed customers for their opinions on menu assortment, price, overall experience, feedback, promotions, loyalty and communications for restaurants in these categories. These factors comprise the Seven Pillars of Customer Centricity that dunnhumby has identified as most important to long-term loyal customer growth. The CCI report examined these responses in casual dining and quick-service categories.

Tops in QSR

The top 10 QSR retailers based on this feedback were:

1. In-N-Out Burger
2. Chick-fil-A
3. Culver's
4. Subway
5. Whataburger
6. Sonic
7. Arby's
8. Popeyes
9. Hardee's
10. McDonald's

According to dunnhumby, all QSRs scored high on price and promotion but, in general, QSR chains scored low in loyalty. The Chick-fil-A-list and MySubway programs were exceptions.

"The category is ready for a focus on building loyalty but in order to do so will need to go well beyond the traditional and shift focus toward engagement and personalizing the experience," the research said. 

Scores for feedback and communication are also low in the QSR segment. In the digital age, this seems like a ripe area for improvement, dunnhumby said, leveraging mobile, social media and direct feedback as a way to make customers feel like they are being heard.

The top 10 casual dining retailers this year were: TGI Friday's, Texas Roadhouse, LongHorn Steakhouse, Bonefish Grill, Red Robin, Carrabba's Italian Grill, Olive Garden, Outback, Chili's and Bob Evans.