ANN ARBOR Mich. The consumer satisfaction gap between quick service and full service narrowed as fast-food restaurants improved over the past year and casual chains lagged, according to a study by the University of Michigan.
The 2008 American Customer Satisfaction Index for quick-service restaurants showed a 1.3-percent increase, to 78 out of 100 possible points. The ACSI for full-service restaurants, meanwhile, fell 1.2 percent, to 80 points. For full restaurant results, click here.
Within the quick-service segment, McDonald's showed the greatest improvement, with an ACSI that jumped 7.8 percent, to 69. But the chain is still in the sector's cellar when compared with the other chains tracked by the study.
Rival Wendy's lost the most ground, with an ACSI that tumbled 6.4 percent, to 73.
Pizza Hut's consumer satisfaction score increased 5.6 percent, to 76, the same as Papa John's score, which fell 1.3 percent from last year's. Domino's ACSI was flat at 75.
The quick-service sector's consumer satisfaction leader for 2008 is still Starbucks, though the coffeehouse giant's score fell 1.3 percent, to 77 points.
In full service, Darden Restaurants' two flagship chains both posted gains, with Olive Garden leading the sector with a 2.5-percent gain, to 80 points. Red Lobster's ACSI climbed 1.3 percent, to 79.
Outback Steakhouse had the worst satisfaction performance over the past year, with a 3.8-percent dip to 76. Chili's Grill & Bar, the only other full-service chain tracked separately by the study, posted an ACSI of 73, a 2.7-percent decrease from a year ago.
Claes Fornell, the Michigan professor who leads the study, lauded the improvement of the quick-service chains in consumer satisfaction and called the full-service sector's most recent performance "troublesome."
"These restaurants are especially vulnerable to competition from fast food during difficult economic times," he said.
Both restaurant sectors still outperformed most of the other industries whose annual scores in the study are reported in the first quarter. Restaurants were bested only by the express delivery industry, with an ACSI of 82, and ambulatory care, which was tracked for the first time and posted a score of 81. The hotel industry improved its score by 5.6 percent, to 75. Airlines continued to suffer in consumer satisfaction, with a score the fell 1.6 percent, to 62 points in 2008.
The ACSI across multiple industries was 75.2 for the first quarter of 2008, a 0.4-percent increase over the score in the last quarter of 2007.
The ACSI study is conducted by the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business in partnership with the American Society for Quality and CFI Group.
For more results from the study, click here.