For restaurants and diners alike, the 2020-2021 period was a time like no other—but customer ratings of their experiences at fast-food restaurants remained surprisingly unchanged. The American Customer Satisfaction Index says that in its annual survey, Chick-fil-A took the top spot for the seventh year in a row, with a score of 83 out of 100; McDonald's remained in last place with a score of 70, USA Today reports. The ACSI interviewed almost 20,000 randomly chosen customers between April 2020 and March 2021. The top five:
- Chick-fil-A
- Domino's
- KFC
- Starbucks
- Five Guys
Wendy's came second from bottom (tying Jack in the Box, Popeyes, Sonic) after a 4-point year-on-year decline, while McDonald's score was unchanged. Fast-food—or "limited service"—restaurants as a group scored lower on the ACSI index than full-service restaurants, though Chick-fil-A outscored full-service leaders LongHorn Steakhouse, Olive Garden, and Texas Roadhouse,
Forbes reports. (More
fast food stories.)