News

The good, the bad and the ugly of restaurant customer service

August 24, 2016

When it comes to great restaurant customer service, Americans are feeling the love for brands like Chick-fil-A and Starbuck's, but not so much for other big chain names like McDonald's and Burger King.

Chick-fil-A took the No. 2 spot for great customer service, with 47 percent polled by Zogby Analytics rating the restaurant "excellent" and another 35.7 percent rating it "good." 

The poll, which was commissioned by financial news site 24/7 Wall St., involved 1,500 people rating customer service at 151 best-known U.S. companies and represented 17 industries among its brands, including food service. The results, released today in a news release, have culminated in the 24/7 Wall St. Hall of Fame as well as the Hall of Shame. 
 
The big winner in best customer service was, for the seventh consecutive year, Amazon.

This "best of" list also contained a healthy representation of grocery chains, but in the realm of food service, Subway came in at No. 19, with 32.7 percent rating the sandwich shop's customer service as "excellent." And, at No. 22, came Starbuck’s with 32.2 percent of those polled rating the retailer as "excellent" in tending to its customers. 

In the more dubious award list for the Hall of Shame in customer service, the mass media conglomerate, Comcast led the losers with 28.3 percent claiming customer service was "poor" and another 26.1 percent rating it just "fair." Food service brands on this inglorious list included McDonald's, at No. 23, with just 19.7 percent rating service as "excellent." Burger King landed at No. 27, with nearly 24 percent rating it as having "excellent" customer service. 

Other top losers for customer service include AT&T, DirectTV and credit cards (Bank of America). The 15 companies with the highest share of poor ratings make up the Customer Service Hall of Shame; those with the most excellent ratings make up 24/7's Customer Service Hall Fame.