Will you get the better breakfast at Starbucks or Dunkin’? Does Chipotle or Taco Bell have higher quality Mexican food? Which burger joint has the fastest service?
While the ACSI can never answer these questions definitively, we can tell you what customers think about everything from food quality to store speed to mobile ordering.
When we look at scores for some of the biggest restaurant rivalries in the business, we get a new perspective on what’s working and where these brands could focus their efforts to improve customer satisfaction.
Starbucks vs. Dunkin: Top coffee brands face off on food
Last year, Starbucks and Dunkin’ were dead even in their overall ACSI customer satisfaction scores. This year, Starbucks inched up 1% to take the lead, 79 to 78.
In terms of beverage quality, Starbucks and Dunkin’ tie, but Starbucks has a slight lead in the variety of beverages. Where things get interesting is in the food. Both restaurants have been putting more resources behind their food offerings.
At its annual shareholders meeting in 2018, Starbucks revealed its intention to double its food business by 2021. Dunkin’ recently beefed up its breakfast options, debuting a new Egg White Bowl and Sausage Scramble Bowl to compete with the likes of McDonald’s, Taco Bell, and Panera, not to mention Starbucks.
Starbucks has a small advantage over Dunkin’ on food quality according to customers, but customers give Dunkin’ better marks for variety of food as it edges out Starbucks. These results aren’t in the same echelon as the two brands’ drinks, but it will be interesting to see how the scores evolve as both brands continue to expand and enhance their food menus.
One area where both are especially strong is mobile. Starbucks stands out for the quality of its mobile app, while Dunkin’ is close behind. Customers also give Starbucks higher marks for the reliability of its mobile app compared to Dunkin’.
Chipotle vs. Taco Bell: Digital and delivery from top Mexican food chains
Chipotle’s overall ACSI score plummeted in 2016 following its food safety crisis, and still hasn’t returned to its pre-crisis score, but it has shown incremental improvement, rising 1% this year to a respectable score of 80. Its same-store sales are also improving, up 10% in the first quarter of 2019. Taco Bell now sits at 75 after a 1% gain of its own.
Despite its struggle to return to its pre-crisis ACSI score, Chipotle still outstrips Taco Bell in food quality. And while Taco Bell has a strong showing in order accuracy, Chipotle again ranks higher.
Both restaurants are moving quickly to cater to a new generation of mobile-first customers seeking convenience. Both brands have launched delivery options — Taco Bell through GrubHub, Chipotle through DoorDash — and are ramping up digital operations.
But when rating mobile apps, Chipotle again is the clear winner, scoring high for both the quality and reliability of its mobile app, with Taco Bell lagging behind in both categories.
Wendy’s, Burger King, Red Robin, or McDonald’s: Who has the fastest fast-food burger?
Red Robin, in the full-service restaurant category, has the highest overall ACSI score among the four burger restaurants at 79. Among fast-food chains, Wendy’s leads with a score of 77, followed by Burger King at 76. McDonald’s sits at the bottom of all fast-food restaurants at 69.
When it comes to courtesy, the scores tell a similar story. One thing you don’t often see in the service industry is high scores for courtesy. But these burger joints are serving up a different trend.
Red Robin scores high for courtesy, followed by Wendy’s and Burger King close behind with respectable scores of their own. McDonald’s, however, lags the field in a distant fourth place.
McDonald’s has been trying to modernize its operations, adding self-order kiosks, digital menu boards, and curbside pick-up for mobile orders. So far those efforts haven’t improved its overall ACSI score, but did it do anything to improve its speed in fulfilling orders?
Not according to customers. McDonald’s scored well below the category average for speed of checkout or delivery. The fastest burger is from Wendy’s, but Burger King and Red Robin are close behind. Unlike the standout courtesy scores, the store speed for all four burger chains is pretty low across the board.
Does competition bring out the best of the brands?
Every one of these restaurants is making moves to improve and expand their menus, better cater to changing consumer tastes, and advance their mobile technology and delivery capabilities to serve customers the way they prefer to order and receive their food.
While brand rivals certainly fuel the strategy to some degree, restaurants should also make sure they’re listening closely to their customers, who are ultimately the only judge that matters in the competitive restaurant industry.
